That was a good read,thanksRichard.
Aloha tbod,
Pros make their living crafting things, not sharpening, so your question: "why would a master need an easier way" is an easy answer. As mentioned, I too used idia, arkansas, water stones, etc. twenty years ago (still got all of them), but the abrasive grit method on glass is far and away more efficient and produces a far more professional edge.
richard
OK, I’m convinced, I’ll finally go get some glass!
RichardMc it looks like you and I read the same material. I too have many sanding sheets on glass.
Being a woodworker for many years I take pride in maintaining my tools. I too build my own furniture. Mostly the wood I work with is Exotic. Sharpening your hand planes is so critical for a clean finish of hardwoods as well as your stringer in a blank before it's handed off to glass. Sharpening your planes is part of the shaping experience.
I use a combination of Stanleys, Neilson, and various Japanesee planes and spoke shaves. Every couple of months it's a couple of hours just tuning up the tools. When you get slammed it's nice to have them all honed. This post is making me feel convicted. 80% of my tools are tuned the other 20% need attention.
I'm small time and only do 5 to 10 per week. However regardless of how many boards you shape sharp tools are key to a nice finish!
Well I happen to be a pro. I'm not a surfboard maker though. I'm very familiar with the method described in the article. I don't mind at all if people want to spend money time after time on all that sandpaper and five minutes every time you go up in grit so you can see your self in the bevel's polish. I do understand the application for engraving but why would I want to add all these processes to my work when if you learn the proper fundamentals of sharpening you can have razor sharp blades in less than three minutes just like woodworkers have been doing for centuries. My plane irons need to be sharp and in the plane. Work, sharpen and back to work. Your perspective changes about these things when you are truly relying on these tools to produce the bulk of your work. That is why there are many threads about the power planes you use in your specialty. You're not going to fool with it because you have to get to it and pay the bills.
The article seems like another guru reinventing the wheel IMHO. You do understand that Dunbar and FWW are in the business of selling seminars Ideas and tips and tricks about woodworking.
We are talking about a piece of wood less than a 1/4" wide...only requires a simple sharp tool to shape it. I'm going to spend my Saturday surfing but I know some will get allot of enjoyment from playing with thier tools. :)
Silly are you an engraver?
hey tbod im a master goldsmith. i use the engraver for Pave stetting and channel setting, bright cuts on bezel and gypsy setting and also some hand engraving work until im rich enough to buy a lindsay tool. a rub with 2000 grit enables a sharp graver to cut with bright polish although a strop may achieve similar. the paper is fast. to tell the honest truth i have a bench grinder with a very flat lapidary 300 grit diamond face on it. it takes about 10 seconds and then about another 20 on the paper and i have a shaving blade… but im kinda out of jewellery now. to many scumliars in the trade .
Good engravers are hard to come by as I understand. That's what my Father and Brother say anyway. Both jewelers by trade. Bench work and watches. Like most industries... not what it used to be. Do you have one of those ball vices? Those are sweet.
Makes sense since you don't need to regrind the bevel so much. Had a strop with my carving tools years ago but now I just put some rouge on a buff to finish. One or two passes takes off anything left after the last stone.
yeah i had a ball and sold it when i was poorer. i just use pitch and bowl . i make my own engravers sometimes out of files. anneal them and bend and grind them .quench harden the tips in water then temper on a copper plate to a strawpurple.ive been making my own chizels and engravers and knives for a very long time now. huge bandsaw blades make unreal planer blades and scrapers btw. i also used rouge and buff for a few years. now i just rub some green dialux on the paper for a final polish, however the platinum compounds have huge potential for polishing steel tips. they are agressive but have a more emery action. i also have mini carbide rubber wheels for a the jewellers drill . small diamond laps and heatless mizzy wheels.
heatless mizzy grinders are fcken cool for sharpening stuff. small disk that will fit dremel or jeweller drill
. i can sharpen a . 6mm drill by eye with small dia lap . i used to use arkansas stone
i use a dremel for chainsaws
i personally think that scissors are the hardest to sharpen. still no luck there. but i can cut my glass with them. JUST
the best blades are convex ground on a fine grit belt linisher if you have a few grand. shaving sharp in 10 seconds. (. hollow grinds are easier to sharpen after grinding . but convex holds its edge for much longer). gotta be careful you dont burn it tho
Once you start to get close to the stringer with the sandpaper switch to 220 grit. The foam comes down a lot slower that way and there will be much less chance of ending up down past the stringer again.
i usea big block with 40 grit i think maybe its 60 grit possibly then a course scree on a piece of mattress foam,
wack down the stringer then its finished
I converted my little stanley planer into a "tooth plane". On a bench grinder I ground back the blade on each side a little bit so that the remaining part of the blade was the width of the stringer. Now it planes just the stringer and never touches the foam. I got the idea from an old woodworking plane that was sharpened that was to inlay veneer strips into furniture.
I bought one of the Ibex finger planes from surfsource.net. It works good but it is on the pricey side.
Cheers!!
Do you guys free hone your spoke shave blades on stones, or do you have angleing guides, the ones that hold the blades at a certain angle?
I ask because those blades are very tiny. I have an old violin shave with.convex bottom, but the blade is so small i cant even hold it in my fingers. Or do you make specific angle guides for smaller plane blades?
Done this as well.
Actually ground down the corners, made the entire bottom convex,
and ground the blade to be curved.
Little more work sharpening it.
But only touches the stringer now.
Those violin planes are tricky to hang on too. (Ibex)
Especialy with big hands.
But if properly sharpened, will cut from end to end no problem.
