When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
go.
The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)
Thanks,
Fritz
Fritz wrote:
> When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
> start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
> blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
> go.
>
> The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
> I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
> this step but is is very slow of course.
> Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
> horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)
Piece of glass with 220 silicon carbide paper on top
--
dadiOH
____________________________
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Thanks for all the replies!
Regarding flattening stones, I use a the Norton flattening stone to
dress my stones. I think it is carborundum and works well. I expect
that I may need the diamond some day for my harder stones. I have
dressed my 220 stone and will no longer use it for backing off plane
blades. One curious note about flattening one stone off another-I
think this naturally results in a concavity-this is basically how
telescope mirrors are made.
I certainly like the glass idea with Si carbide paper. I ordered some
paper today and will try this. (I have used belt sanders to dress
plane soles but never sanded the blades.)
I checked the Harbor Freight catalogue and it indeed has a few
interesting machines. Seems like 40 years back there were quite a few
sharpening machines at reasonable cost. I was surprised taking a look
recently-there are very few machines out there. (Also I was surprised
at how many plane makers names no longer appear in the catalogues). I
would hate to have to equip my shop today. The Harbor Fright (;->
horizontal sharpener would probably be quite useful for 100 bucks.
(didn't know about the coupon thing).
Thanks again-
Fritz
"Fritz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:cc624e2e-09e1-440c-bdc0-815ff68e6930@f19g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
> When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
...
> I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
> this step but is is very slow of course.
> Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
> horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)
>
> Thanks,
> Fritz
You can reflatten a water stone with a diamond "stone" or a ceramic stone made
specifically for that purpose. They are available from many woodworking stores
(I use Japan Woodworker). You can also use a second stone of similar grit. I
flatten my waterstones with a coarse grit diamond stone produced by DMT.
Alternatively, you could use a diamond stone to flatten your bench plane instead
of the water stone.
Gary
Fritz wrote:
> When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
> start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
> blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
> go.
>
> The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
> I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
> this step but is is very slow of course.
> Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
> horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)
For stock removal it's hard to beat a coarse diamond stone.
You might also want to take a look at the Harbor Freight Tormek clone
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95236 , on
which you can use the edge of the wheel for flattening. Note--watch the
harborfreightusa site for a coupon and you should be able to get it for 60
bucks or so.
FS wrote:
> Thanks for all the replies!
>
> Regarding flattening stones, I use a the Norton flattening stone to
> dress my stones. I think it is carborundum and works well. I expect
> that I may need the diamond some day for my harder stones. I have
> dressed my 220 stone and will no longer use it for backing off plane
> blades. One curious note about flattening one stone off another-I
> think this naturally results in a concavity-this is basically how
> telescope mirrors are made.
If you're only using two you get one concave and one convex. If you use
three and are careful you can get very, very flat--this is how optical flats
are made.
> I certainly like the glass idea with Si carbide paper. I ordered some
> paper today and will try this. (I have used belt sanders to dress
> plane soles but never sanded the blades.)
>
> I checked the Harbor Freight catalogue and it indeed has a few
> interesting machines. Seems like 40 years back there were quite a few
> sharpening machines at reasonable cost. I was surprised taking a look
> recently-there are very few machines out there. (Also I was surprised
> at how many plane makers names no longer appear in the catalogues). I
> would hate to have to equip my shop today. The Harbor Fright (;->
> horizontal sharpener would probably be quite useful for 100 bucks.
> (didn't know about the coupon thing).
>
> Thanks again-
> Fritz
"dadiOH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Fritz wrote:
>> When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
>> start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
>> blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
>> go.
>>
>> The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
>> I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
>> this step but is is very slow of course.
>> Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
>> horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)
>
>
> Piece of glass with 220 silicon carbide paper on top
Yup. Or scrap of MDF for that matter.
On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:57:04 -0500, "MikeWhy"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"dadiOH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Fritz wrote:
>>> When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
>>> start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
>>> blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
>>> go.
>>>
>>> The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
>>> I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
>>> this step but is is very slow of course.
>>> Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
>>> horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)
>>
>>
>> Piece of glass with 220 silicon carbide paper on top
>
>Yup. Or scrap of MDF for that matter.
...Scary-Sharp works for me, too!