In the interest of the Wreck tradition of sharing tales of misfortune, I'd
like to inform those who are unaware why they call it the Scary Sharp(tm)
method.
I got my Veritas jig, my granite, rigged up a clamping system because the
only spray glue I could find is way too blobby (anyone want a mostly-full
can of 3M headliner adhesive?) and set to work in earnest.
I never did get *all* the tool marks off the back, even after spending five
hours on one plane iron, but I got it down to just a couple of big ones. I
worked through the grits and built up the mirror shine. It's a mirror
flawed by a couple of curvy lines (dammit!) but a mirror it is. (They're
far enough back from the edge that it might take me years before I need to
worry about it anyway.)
So then I started on the bevel. The Veritas jig set the angle to the
original 25-degrees so precisely, that I had to get through five grits
before I was convinced it was doing anything at all. It was indeed. This
sure beats the hell out of trying to hold the angle by hand!
I got up to 1000, starting to mirror up nicely, and I prepared to change to
1200. I set the iron and jig aside, as I had done umpty previous times,
but at that fateful moment I set it just a trifle too close to the edge of
the workbench.
It teetered, fell. As though it were a fragile egg, I reached out and
cupped my hands to catch it.
I caught it.
Damn that was sharp! I hadn't even gotten all the way up to 2000 yet, but
it was plenty sharp enough to separate skin cells and capillaries, driven
by its own weight, and the weight of the jig.
When the edge plowed into the fat part of the base of my thumb in the palm
of my left hand, I jerked back and sent the iron sailing...
Right across the shop and smack into my barrel full of metal windchime
parts.
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!
As luck would have it, it hit copper, and evidently copper doesn't dent
steel, even when hurled with some force. Phew!
So I got it sharp, set up the plane, and made shavings for an hour. I still
have work to do on tuning this thing up methinks, but it sure is night and
day compared to the factory edge.
I guess all's well that ends well, but I have a red 1.5" reminder of why
they call it Scary Sharp(tm).
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Reminds of when I used to shoe horses for a living back in my college days.
On many occasions I've taken a hot horseshoe out of the fire, set it on the
tail gate, got in a conversation, and forgot what had been in the forge
until I reached over to pick it up barehanded. Upon seeing my reaction,
anyone watching invariably asked 'Was that hot?" My standard response
"Naaah, it just didn't take me long to look at it".
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/21/03
"Silvan" wrote in message
> I guess all's well that ends well, but I have a red 1.5" reminder of why
> they call it Scary Sharp(tm).
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
>
Morgans wrote:
> process,
> knocked a wretch into the machine. I instinctively reached for it, as it
> was headed towards nicking my newly sharpened blades. The back of my
> finger slid down the blade, lengthwise, for a couple inches, costing a
> quick trip to the doctors, and three or four stitches.
>
> I did catch the wrench, though! <g>
Yeowch! Well, at least you caught the wrench. :)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
snip
Silvan wrote:
> In the interest of the Wreck tradition of sharing tales of misfortune, I'd
> like to inform those who are unaware why they call it the Scary Sharp(tm)
> method.
> Damn that was sharp! I hadn't even gotten all the way up to 2000 yet, but
> it was plenty sharp enough to separate skin cells and capillaries, driven
> by its own weight, and the weight of the jig.
> I guess all's well that ends well, but I have a red 1.5" reminder of why
> they call it Scary Sharp(tm).
Congratulations Michael! I'm glad that you've got a method that works
for you, what the method is, is secondary. Enjoy the fluffies.
Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
except if you do a little figuring the resharpening would have cost less
than the doctors bill.
--
Young Carpenter
"Violin playing and Woodworking are similar, it takes plenty of money,
plenty of practice, and you usually make way more noise than intended"
{Put the fiddler back "on" the roof to reply}
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Morgans wrote:
>
> > process,
> > knocked a wretch into the machine. I instinctively reached for it, as
it
> > was headed towards nicking my newly sharpened blades. The back of my
> > finger slid down the blade, lengthwise, for a couple inches, costing a
> > quick trip to the doctors, and three or four stitches.
> >
> > I did catch the wrench, though! <g>
>
> Yeowch! Well, at least you caught the wrench. :)
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
>
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"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In the interest of the Wreck tradition of sharing tales of misfortune, I'd
> like to inform those who are unaware why they call it the Scary Sharp(tm)
> method.
>
> I got my Veritas jig, my granite, rigged up a clamping system because the
> only spray glue I could find is way too blobby (anyone want a mostly-full
> can of 3M headliner adhesive?) and set to work in earnest.
>
> I never did get *all* the tool marks off the back, even after spending
five
> hours on one plane iron, but I got it down to just a couple of big ones.
I
> worked through the grits and built up the mirror shine. It's a mirror
> flawed by a couple of curvy lines (dammit!) but a mirror it is. (They're
> far enough back from the edge that it might take me years before I need to
> worry about it anyway.)
Ouch!
Beyond that, anything on the back more than a quarter inch from the edge
doesn't need a mirror polish. You can do that when you need to.
-Jack
[email protected] wrote:
> Congratulations Michael! I'm glad that you've got a method that works
> for you, what the method is, is secondary. Enjoy the fluffies.
Like so many things in life, this is a matter of having the right tool for
the job. That little jig doodad is definitely the ticket.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 01:03:48 -0400, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Tim Douglass wrote:
>
>> One of those little reflex actions that you have to work at. It took
>> me several years as a professional chef to learn that when something
>> sharp starts to slip or fall you just jump back out of the way and get
>> *all* body parts clear. I've seen some ugly, ugly things when people
>> have tried to catch sharp things.
>
>Sad thing is I _have_ the right reflexes for most such situations, and I
>have the toes to prove it even though I habitually wear sandals in the
>shop.
>
>I guess it's because I was putting so much effort into being delicate and
>precise in my sharpening. I started to think of it as something fluffy and
>fragile instead of a gigantic razor blade.
That's the kind of mistake you only make once.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
Tim Douglass wrote:
> One of those little reflex actions that you have to work at. It took
> me several years as a professional chef to learn that when something
> sharp starts to slip or fall you just jump back out of the way and get
> *all* body parts clear. I've seen some ugly, ugly things when people
> have tried to catch sharp things.
Sad thing is I _have_ the right reflexes for most such situations, and I
have the toes to prove it even though I habitually wear sandals in the
shop.
I guess it's because I was putting so much effort into being delicate and
precise in my sharpening. I started to think of it as something fluffy and
fragile instead of a gigantic razor blade.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 18:54:29 -0400, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I got up to 1000, starting to mirror up nicely, and I prepared to change to
>1200. I set the iron and jig aside, as I had done umpty previous times,
>but at that fateful moment I set it just a trifle too close to the edge of
>the workbench.
>
>It teetered, fell. As though it were a fragile egg, I reached out and
>cupped my hands to catch it.
>
>I caught it.
One of those little reflex actions that you have to work at. It took
me several years as a professional chef to learn that when something
sharp starts to slip or fall you just jump back out of the way and get
*all* body parts clear. I've seen some ugly, ugly things when people
have tried to catch sharp things.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
Charlie Self wrote:
> Took me one catch when I dropped my razor my first week at Parris Island.
> Slapping the stock of an M1 with that hand for the week or two it took to
> heal was a great reminder, as was the drill instructor screaming at me for
> getting blood on it.
Ouch.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Tim Douglass responds:
>>It teetered, fell. As though it were a fragile egg, I reached out and
>>cupped my hands to catch it.
>>
>>I caught it.
>
>One of those little reflex actions that you have to work at. It took
>me several years as a professional chef to learn that when something
>sharp starts to slip or fall you just jump back out of the way and get
>*all* body parts clear. I've seen some ugly, ugly things when people
>have tried to catch sharp things.
Took me one catch when I dropped my razor my first week at Parris Island.
Slapping the stock of an M1 with that hand for the week or two it took to heal
was a great reminder, as was the drill instructor screaming at me for getting
blood on it.
Charlie Self
"The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf."
Will Rogers
Silvan <[email protected]> wrote:
>Charlie Self wrote:
>
>> Took me one catch when I dropped my razor my first week at Parris Island.
>> Slapping the stock of an M1 with that hand for the week or two it took to
>> heal was a great reminder, as was the drill instructor screaming at me for
>> getting blood on it.
>
>Ouch.
Urrah!
--
Reply to:
Whiskey Echo Sierra Sierra AT Gee Tee EYE EYE dot COM
Lycos address is a spam trap.
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In the interest of the Wreck tradition of sharing tales of misfortune, I'd
> like to inform those who are unaware why they call it the Scary Sharp(tm)
> method.
> I guess all's well that ends well, but I have a red 1.5" reminder of why
> they call it Scary Sharp(tm).
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
I teach carpentry, so I somtimes have extra challenges to keeping all of my
red liquid inside, where it belongs.
One time, I had just gotten a set of 20" planer blades back from sharpening,
so I honed them, then went to work installing them. I had a group of kids
around, explaining what I was doing, and why, in setting up the blades. I
had the few wrenches sitting on top of the machine, when suddenly, a student
reached in to ask some thing like "what does that do", and in the process,
knocked a wretch into the machine. I instinctively reached for it, as it
was headed towards nicking my newly sharpened blades. The back of my finger
slid down the blade, lengthwise, for a couple inches, costing a quick trip
to the doctors, and three or four stitches.
I did catch the wrench, though! <g>
--
Jim in NC