Block planes mini planes

I have a couple mini planes, and the blades have gone dull. I’ve searched and searched for replacement blades and NOTHING. No hardware stores in my area carry, and can’t seem to find the replacements to order in for me.

So this is my challenge, what are your favorite block planes, and are replacement blades available?

Home Depot has SOME replacement blades, by Buck. Also Japan Woodworker Catalog has a variety of blades that could be adapted. A Dremel, with its parting wheel, can modify the size to fit, if needed. Question: ‘‘Why not sharpen the existing blades?’’ Seems to me, that would be easier.

why don’t you just sharpen them? the sharpening tool will be chearper than buying new blades in the long run. especially if you have to pay shipping for the new blades.

why don’t you just sharpen them? the sharpening tool will be chearper than buying new blades in the long run. especially if you have to pay shipping for the new blades.

Honestly I’ve never sharpened anything but a kitchen knife. So if that is the best alternative could you suggest the tool or tools needed that work good? Thanks

I don’t know the best, but many places that sell power tools sell grinding wheels. some of them will hold your blade at whatever angle you need so you don’t need a steady hand. I know the Sears by me sells one like this. you can also get a pretty good edge with a simple file or whet stone if you have a steady hand.

piece of wet or dry sand paper

tape it to sheet of window pane

lay top of removed from block plane blade

on the little tiny flat surface of the blade

wet sand paperwith water

paper preferably 220 or finer

slide the to be sharpened surface

arround on the sand paper

it will get shiny

after that it will with continued sliding arround it will get sharp.

say wow.

do it.

…ambrose…

go buy the ,or maybe check out the book on how to sharpen

from the library.some body gave me the book,I just looked at the pictures

you could go to the bookstore and sit in a chair and read it it is sunday.

pictures are good.

or mebe ggoooogggglllleee sharpen my block plane blade

but do the wet or dry thing first

yoou will be inspired.

guys who are really good at sharpening

have historicly forsaken their former

masturbation fixation.

I use a razor plane with little wrapped blades a lot.

every time I sharpen stuff guys test their blade sharpness

the do so by shaving the hair off the palm of their hands.

Try the Artu planer.

You can do a google search and find it.

It uses special disposable blades which are similar to double edge razor blades. Buy lots of blades if you buy the planer.

There was a great thread here a few years ago by a wood worker on sharpening planer blades to where they could shave hair. I’m sure you can find it. I printed it and have it my notebook. Uses Ambroses method. Lots of detail.

as ambrose points out…a TRULY flat surface, some spray adhesive and graduating grits of wet dry and

you can sharpen your own…this is the most important skills you can learn for woodcraft.

putting a fine edge on your planes is like finding 5th gear…it’s amazing what a difference it makes to

the feel, effort and effectiveness of even a cheap tool.

google ‘scary sharp’ and you’ll find a break down on DIY sharpening.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=scary+sharp&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

The other shapers I work around are clueless to what a sharp blade is and how to keep one that way.

i have no less than 6 of the “model” makers planes, all have the blade arc’d along the cutting face, some with more arc than others, but the one thing they all have in common is. As soon as I feel any of them NOT doing a surgical slice along the stringer, I chuck them up in my vice and strop the face grind and the flat with my diamond hones.

The Shroz is across the hall from me and I sharpen his blades weekly for him, it keeps him in sharp tools and me in lunches.

He handed me the blade from his Stanley, I had previously ground the blade with and arc for him. I polished out the grind on it and then flipped it over and did the backside to, I used a drop of air tool oil on it to help it cut faster and finished it up with a #2000 diamond hone.

I handed it back to Shroz, but I was holding it between my fingers along the just tuned edges, with the oil on the blade, gravity took over and it spun between my fingers and part way through took a course into the skin of my idex finger.

He pulled the blade away and I pinched my thumb and finger together really tight, I didn’t want to look, I knew I was cut, but also knew it wasn’t as bad as it was going to look.

As the blade dug in doing its spin, it had cut a spiral “J” in the end of my finger, damn, I usually just shave the hair on my arm to show him how sharp it is !!! when least expected!

some stuff i wrote on sharpening from old threads

i used to make pocket knives and lots of chizels and stuff on a forge

if anyone wants to know details on hardening and tempering just ask

sharpening planes and chisels

hollow grind the blade, and then put a micro bevel on it with sharpening stone or diamond hone

so remove the blade and clean up the face of the plane on some 400 grit paper

then clean up both faces of the blande on the paper and take it down to 1200 grit polish on the flat side( only has to be polished in the front 1 cm of the blade)

okay then put it on a bench grinder and hollow grind the bevel on about 45 degrees

you do it by facing the bevel in toward the grinding wheel with the edge of the blade facing upward and move its side to side across the blade

its important to hold it on one plane as you move it from side to side and dont change the angle

this was an important thing for me someone told me and it really made a difference

you visualize that your shaving hair of the wheel with the edge of the blade.

btw make sure you dont overheat the tip as it will loose its temper and be useless as a blade. you can tell if you fckd it because it will change colour

it helps to have some water handy

okay so you have it ground straigt and clean

now its time to bevel it on the stone

you lay it down on the flat stone and move it forward with the bevel down

again you visualize and hold it so you are shaving hairs off the stone

okay it will only take maybe 10 passes if you ground it properly

probably less

so then you can take it down to the finer stone and do the same thing

then you must remove the bur on some leather or your skin of your palm

i use some 2000 grit paper on a flat steel block

you may have seen he classic image of a barber with a razor on a strop

hes removing the burr

and this from the homemade tool thread

you gotta keep it moving on the edge(corner) of a bench grinder wheel in single passes from one side to the other

face the blade tip upwards,that way you can see the grinding wheel as it gets closer to the blade tip on each pass

if you get it hot and it changes colour then its fcked

gotta keep it cool by moving it and have some water to dip if your new to it

(i dont need to dip in water anymore)

once you got your grind, rub the flat side of the blade over some 2000 grit on a piece of glass or steel blockto polish the flat side(you may need to use some courser grits first if your blades in bad shape)

then its a couple a quick zaps over a fine stone on the ground side,then rub/polish off the bur on the 2000 grit

and its good to go

trick with the stone is you get the micro bevel by going toward you

imagine there are hair on the stone that you are shaving off

if you have ground the blade correctly, this will only take 5 or 6 passes

then its ready to take the bur off with the 2000 grit or i used to just take burs off across my hand or some leather

Stanley makes a good general purpose block plane, I think it’s number is 9 1/2. Thats not its length, but the model number. It’s 6 1/4" long, the blade is 1 5/8" wide, it has an adjustable mouth and they are heavy for their size. Blades can be gotten at any of a number of woodworking specialty dealers. Another good Stanley block plane is the 60 1/2. They don’t make them any more, but they are a low angle plane with an adjustable mouth. If you can find one at a yard sale or flea market pick it up. You won’t be disapointed. You should really learn to sharpen your own blades it’s really not that difficult. For a really good quality blade check out Hock Tools at www.hocktools.com

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184478;search_string=sharpening;#184478

Quote:

I have a couple mini planes, and the blades have gone dull. I’ve searched and searched for replacement blades and NOTHING. No hardware stores in my area carry, and can’t seem to find the replacements to order in for me.

So this is my challenge, what are your favorite block planes, and are replacement blades available?

<a href="http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?username=RichardMc;" class="bb-url"><span style="font-size:6px">RichardMc</span></a><span style="font-size:6px"> </span>

Member since: Mon Mar 29 2004

Location: Maui, Hawaii

Status: Addict

PERFECT RAZOR EDGE ON HAND PLANESPosted: Nov 25, 2004, 6:50 PM

Post # 1 of 11 ( 441 views) Quote | Reply


You can review the complete five part series on sharpening hand planes by clicking on the “Resources” page, as Michael Paler has posted it as a new “article” in a two part series with photos. Thanks, and I hope it helps you out. Let me know if you have questions.

Richard McCormick

I searched that exact quote and came up with this: http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=570 and was hardly any help. I suppose that’s why people ask the same old questions on this forum…

Thanks Greg for the link

Is it just me, or does the swaylocks forum search string method lack in a HUGE way?

RichardMC on sharpening in 5 parts

Part 1 - http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184478;search_string=sharp;#184478

Part 2 - http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184481;search_string=of%205;#184481

Part 3 - http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184482;search_string=sharp;#184482

Part 4 - http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184484;search_string=sharp;#184484

Part 5 - http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184485;search_string=of%205;#184485

http://www.hocktools.com/

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184478;search_string=sharp;#184478

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184481;search_string=of%205;#184481

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184482;search_string=sharp;#184482

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184484;search_string=sharp;#184484

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=184485;search_string=of%205;#184485

I find that all you really need is a good honing guide and a couple of good stones. No grinding wheels, no leather straps, no power tools… just a honing guide and a couple of good Arkansas sharpening stones will give you the best bang for the buck, particularly if you’re not so skilled with the grinding wheel, which can do a lot of damage if done incorrectly. Used frequently, your honing guide and stones will keep your blades sharp and true. Clamp the blade in the guide, roll the guide up and down the stone to get a good, sharp edge, take the blade out of the guide and rub it flat side down on the stone a few times to remove the burr, and you’re good to go. Takes three minutes.

Re the Stanley low angle block plane, I have one of these and love it, adjustable all over the place. Unfortunately somebody borrowed it and I won’t see them to get it back for a month or so. So needing one of these, I bought a cheaper version of the same thing, not expecting much from it as IT ONLY COST £7.00 + £3.00 p&p, beggar me, it was pretty much as good as the Stanley which cost me 35 quid several years ago. The make is Silverline and it rocks. Proper impressed. I’m going to buy another and round over the sides and toe with a file so it doesn’t hang up on the foam when doing the stringer.

Just thought I’d share.