Thread: Sharpening....A Dark Side Voyage for Beginners

Gidday

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00003.asp
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/r...cles_556.shtml
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/r...cles_554.shtml
http://www.antiquetools.com/sharp/sharpholdblade.html
http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/...cles_443.shtml

...................Enjoy

Regards Lou

Heres some information covering grinder wheel selection & technique:

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/r...cles_557.shtml
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/r...cles_558.shtml
http://www.hntgordon.com.au/sharpeningprocess.htm
http://www.planemaker.com/articles/grinding2.html

Regards Lou

Do you know what time it is Lou ? ..... bit late for serious reading isn't it......I'll have a look latter. I'm a bit ,,,uno -> ....

But, thanks again for all those smileys. I'm having lots of fun .....

Good idea Lou ,
Myself though hate following links as I'm in the country , copper wire , and the down load is really slow , so here is what little I know of sharpening .
Chisels , really easy , even I can do it
Planer blades , send 'em to the saw sharpener $5 ought to cover it ( I am talking electric you antique dealers )
Saws ditto
Thicknesser , costs a bit more . but still send 'em to the expert.
Drills . Now here is something you'all could help with .

As Apricottripper said last week It is really important to have a sharp blade .

Well I don't think I've added anything constructive to this thread .
Maybe I should just post another picture of my newborn son and have another beer to celebrate .

....................Congratulations M8

REgards lou

Originally Posted by rick_rine

Well I don't think I've added anything constructive to this thread .
Maybe I should just post another picture of my newborn son and have another beer to celebrate .

Sharp looking kid Rick

G'day NewLou,

Thanks heaps for those links. One of my missions at the Melbourne WW Show was to find some demonstrations of sharpening chisels and plane blades, now with your links I'm a bit wiser to the choices of processes.

Still, I'll track down some demos as things in the flesh help too.

Originally Posted by rick_rine

....Maybe I should just post another picture of my newborn son and have another beer to celebrate .

At 25 to 3 ? Put the kid down & go to bed, now mister.

You guys missed a real treat talking to matthewA at Midge's on Sunday. The guy has a wealth of knowledge and experience.

The guy uses a grey wheel - at around 300 RPM - gives him feel and no burn.
Then hones the flat side with compound on a cloth wheel. Mind you that was with turning tools and I'm not about to go into the detail that took an hour to illustrate Generally in depends on the tool you are trying to get sharp.

One thing for sure scary sharp was confirmed to me as a complete waste of time but each to their own I guess - just do what you find works but Matt's approach certainly worked for me today.

Guess that's what it all about

Jamie

Heres a start on internet resources

alternatively you could check out our own "best of" section under sharpening.

it should also be noted that (i think) garret hack has (since the article) been converted to shapton water stones in the 1000, 5000, 15000 configuration.

does anyone have any experience with the 1 micron DMT diamond paste?

Lou, for a Sharpening book, try Thomas Lie Nielsen's Sharpening (Taunton). Very comprehensive, a bit expensive, but in my humble opinion, worth it!

I'll have to wait to I am moe awake to read all the links you posted.

For sharpening, I look for the quickest way. So I can get back to work before I loose that 'groove'. you know. Probably not the 'best' way. But the method I use still gets a razor edge.

For me to flattern anything I use coarse Thermes belt paper. Bit iffy at $5/m, but, removing large amounts of material while keeping it flat is such a sh*tty job. And it eats metal very quickly. Then just use medium then polish waterstones to finish off

To sharpen any bevel I use a frequently AlO grinding wheel, followed by a well balanced felt buffing wheel loaded with green compound. Very fast.

That pretty much covers all my sharpening needs. Then just have a few kinds of jigs to hold all blade types.... jointer and thicknesser blades, all types of plane blades (rebate, skew, block), chisel, drawknife, straightrazor, all knives......etc. who cares really, its getting a bit old.

For drill bits I can sharpen freehand,,,but not for sizes less than about 4mm,,,and only for use on wood. What I can't do, is resharpen a drill bit well enough to drill metal. Can a dedicated drill bit sharpening jig sharpen a bit that well ?

I sharpen my tenon saws myself. But can't sharpen table saw blades, or dovetail saw blades.

Lou.....theres a book that I found very helpful. Not too complicated, which I appreciated. Called ' The Complete Guide To Sharpening ' by Leonard Lee.
Might help.

Congratulations Rick on your newborn. You got a video camera ? ... I've got 3 girls aged 8, 3, and 9 months. I made the mistake of not getting a video camera when my 8 year old was just a baby.... cause there great arn't they. Pick up so much more than just still pictures. The way they talk, act etc.
Here's a snap of my little 3 year old. Lovely little girl.

Gee, this thread makes me really sad.

All those famous old time master craftsmen didn't know how to sharpen their handtools properly.

They did a bodgy job with an oilstone therefore they musta had blunt tools

Gidday

Well after a lot of scouring the internet talking to tradies & looking at a number of worthy options I decided to purchase my first Grinder. I chose an Abbot & Ashby 8 inch grinder............... your typical standard speed run of the mill grinder you'd find in most workshops.

Abbot & Ashby are an Australian company who used to produce here until having to move offshore to remain competitive for production purposes............good enough reason to by one for me. Also theres the added bonus of being able to upgrade to the multitool down the track..............If I end up being that way inclined

(See Pics)

I also got my hands on an EZ Lap combo 600/1200 Diamond whetstone (On special at MIK); some 1000 grit & 6000 grit waterstones from Terry Gordon (HNT Gordon Handplanes) I deliberately got these grits to keep things simple & have decided not to go beyond a 6000 grit waterstone.

After seeing the results Terry gets using his sharpening system I can't justify outlaying for further sharpening gear..............If need be I'll re- assess but I have a suspician that this 'setup' will address all my sharpening needs!!!!!!!

Regards lou