Thread: Homemade Plane Blades from M2 HSS for Wooden Planes

I think that the bench grinder is in this case faster then the grey wheel that I have on the angle grinder, it is very slow.

I think that I will just do all the blades that need bevels cut when I go up to Dj's.

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

Groogy have you tried taking a shaving with the blade yet?

No, I haven't finished the blade yet.

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

I want to see some silk smooth forearm

Naughty boy

I'd consider trying one of those flap disks for the angle grinder, can get them down to 40g from memory, & they grind fast & cooler than a normal D/C grinding disc.

This sort of jobbie.


Used to use them a lot for sharpening the mower & slasher blades as they didn't blue the edges.


Cheers..................Sean

'Nother thought, if you could clamp the blade flat on some aluminium plate or something similar as a heatsink when angle grinding, could help with the heat buildup.

Something I forgot to mention earlier, the guys at Alltools thought the best way to rough grind these would be with a good linisher using one of the new blue belts.

Originally Posted by Groggy

Something I forgot to mention earlier, the guys at Alltools thought the best way to rough grind these would be with a good linisher using one of the new blue belts.

Groggy

DO you have a link to those linisher belts? If they come in a belt sander version, I will give the plane sharpener setup of the WASP a go as a grinder.

Jeremy, I had a good look around the net, including the Alltools pdf catalogue and couldn't find them. Lee Valley have the blue zirconia belts but these are lighter in colour than the ones I saw in the store, which were more a cobalt or navy blue.

If my memory serves me correctly, I did see some 4" wide belt sander styles. You might need to call Alltools or, if they don't exist in Sydney let me know and I'll get the details for you.

Keep in mind my past recommendations for grinding ...

Belt sander - use a 40 or 60 grit belt

Bench grinder - 46 grit white wheel

Hand lapping -

My preference (which I ordered) is a pre-ground 25 degree primary bevel. It is MUCH less effort to add the microbevel of your choice. .... and just a note here .... when I say "microbevel" I usually am referring to something in the order of .1-.2 mm wide (note the decimal point) as an ideal. However this is only possible with a wet grinder which allows one to grind to the very edge of the bevel. I do not know how a Tormek et al will go on D2 steel. It may take calender days or weeks to achieve . Life would be good with a decent hollow grind (an we order this next time?). So a realistic compromise may be a secondary bevel of 1mm.

Anyone have thoughts on the above?

Getting the back flat is the next hardest task. Be careful that you do not round over edges on loose W&D sandpaper - glue it down!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

I think that I will just do all the blades that need bevels cut when I go up to Dj's.

TS, are you talking like grind from start to finish with a square blade or finishing up after you have ground the angle with an angle grinder.

Because if it's the first one you will be there for a long time (going by Groggy's account) and would probably also have to replace my wheel when you have finished .

Might be quicker and easier to set up the 4" Multitool Bench Grinder linisher with the chisel jig attachment. Mind you, at the prices quoted for the belts from Piric Design, the belts wouldn't want to wear out to quick.

Piric Design also have the Zirconia Sanding Belts that Groggy is referring to.

I will do the bulk on the angle grinder, just the cleanup on Dj's bench grinder. I will just do Pop's @ 25º, and two of mine at @ 30º.

Everyone else is happy to do their own grinding.

I can always grind my two blades at a later date.

kman-oz came and picked up his blade today, had a little chat about chisels, blades, and wooden planes.

I will do the bulk on the angle grinder, just the cleanup on Dj's bench grinder. I will just do Pop's @ 25º, Dereks @ 25º, and two of mine at @ 30º.

.

TS

Are these not ground yet? And the steel is hardened?

Avoid using an angle grinder. It will overheat the steel and destroy the temper. One of the problems with D2 is that it is hard. But the other is that we cannot re-harden the steel at home if it is over-heated.

The blades must be kept cool as they are ground. In a professional setting this would involve grinding while wet. At home all we cane fo is dunk into water every few seconds.

The coarser the grinding media, the cooler the grind will be. Speed also creates heat. So slow is good. This is not a good combination for the average home workshop, hence better to let a pro do it.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

. Are these not ground yet? And the steel is hardened?

This fact was discussed and agreed to in the thread above, and going by the recent posts it seems that people are grinding their own - I have others who will gladly take the blade as is if you like I can return your $30 deposit.

Originally Posted by DJ's Timber

Piric Design also have the Zirconia Sanding Belts that Groggy is referring to.

I didn't think of Terry Gosschalk, I knew he had quite a wide variety of belts too .

Thanks DJ.

Derek, my experience with these blades would lead me to recommend:

1. Lap the back first
I used a Shapton 5000 stone for 10-15 minutes. Just make sure the stone is flat.

Note: I noticed that softer (King) stones took much longer and really only polished the steel, they did not cut like the Shapton stone.
2. Roughing the bevel (in order of preference):

I did my first at 30 degrees, not 25. It will take a lot longer to do a 25 degree bevel but the result will be worth it!

a) Get it milled!
b) Use a coarse zirconia linisher belt - 60 to 80 grit,
c) An inverted belt sander with a 60-80 grit zirconia belt,
d) Use a bench grinder with a white wheel
e) Use a bench grinder with grey wheel (dunking like crazy)
f) Use a angle grinder with a flap wheel (dunking like crazy)
g) use and angle grinder with a steel grinding wheel (dunking like crazy)

3. Hollow grinding:
These blades are incredibly tough (I own a few Academy Saw works blades - these are harder).

I found the white wheel to be the best wheel on the bench grinder. Dip every few seconds and do not go near the edge, 2-3mm back is good (on a 200mm grinder, make it 3-4 mm on a 150mm" wheel).

It may be possible to jury rig something and do this with an angle grinder, mind the heat though.

4. Honing:
By hand, , I should live so long, oy veh!

Seriously though, if you get the bevel hollow ground this will be much easier to do. Use Shapton stones if you have them, otherwise whatever comes to hand and make sure that is flat! Take it down to about 6000 grit then put a secondary fine bevel on the edge at the finest grit you have. I reckon 30 degrees but use what you will, this is probably not the place to discuss it, but a search will find lots of threads discussing secondary bevels.