The results of a marathon plane sharpening session

[Blacky's Boy]

This past weekend I finally got around to attending to all those plane irons that I had sitting around. There were 6 planes that I am getting ready to offer up for sale. So I needed to tune the chip breakers, flatten the backs, regrind the primary bevel, sharpen, and then hone.

Thank GOD I got a foot switch for the belt sander! I think I'd still be there if I had to do this by hand! I got the technique down on that. You just need to work in short spurts and keep you hand steady. After that, a short run on some sandpaper glued to glass gives you a nice flat back.


Bedrock Type 3 608 Jointer


Coarse setting


Fine setting


Millers Falls No 90CB (No4 size smoother)


Millers Falls No 8 (No3 size smoother)


Stanley Type 19 No4 Smoother


Wards Masters (Stanley Type 13-14) No4 Smoother


Early Union No3 Smoother


And this is what happened when I got careless and hit the No8's plane iron with the tip of my right hand ring finger.



It took the callused end CLEAN OFF. I knew I had gotten then sharp, but I was still amazed at how clean the cut was. It was like that scene in the old Tyrone powers "Mask of Zorro" movie. You know, the one where Zorro slices at the candle and it looks like nothing happened until he touches it with the tip of his rapier?

Lots of blood for such a small cut. And of course, no band aids at ALL in the house! I ended up using gauze and blue painters tape. It was such a clean cut that 2 days later and it's pretty much healing up.

[Rob Young]

Belt sanders are great for fixing boo-boo'd bevels. Not so much for boo-boo'd fingers.

Took a pretty good chunk from my left middle finger once on a freshly sharpened blade. Didn't feel a thing, just wondered where all the blood on the bench was coming from!

[Blacky's Boy]

Rob Young said:

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Belt sanders are great for fixing boo-boo'd bevels. Not so much for boo-boo'd fingers.

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I made myself a jig to hold the plane iron while I use the belt sander. It's really nothing more than a 2 1/2" wide block of wood with a wide shallow rabbet in it. There's also hole drilled into it to receive a csink screw and washer to hold the plane iron in place. It was actually made to be used with a steel Japanese Flattening plate. But it works just as well with a belt sander.







I've since added a small knob at the end to improve the grip.

[eg54string]

Thanks for the tip concerning the jig. Great idea.
And I like/recommend duct tape for cuts.
Eric.

[KSMike]

I made a similar jig for the Tormek. It rides directly on the support bar. So far I've just clamped the iron to the jig, since my iron doesn't have a slot.

[Arlin Eastman]

OK

Just where did you say your damage finger is. It is so little I just can not see it.

Arlin

[bdog01]

Will these be in the Woodnet swap 'n sale? If so, I may be interested in one of the 4s!

[Martin S.]

Bump

[gordon 131]

Sir,
Are you using the jig and belt sander to flatten the backs, or shape the bevel?
I am not sure what you are referring tooo?
Is the belt sander a stationary one or hand held?
Would you mind elaborating?
Thank You
Gordon

[Blacky's Boy]

gordon 131 said:

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Sir,
Are you using the jig and belt sander to flatten the backs, or shape the bevel?
I am not sure what you are referring tooo?
Is the belt sander a stationary one or hand held?
Would you mind elaborating?
Thank You
Gordon

---

Sir?



Around these parts I'm just "Dominic".

Anyway, I was using a stationary belt sander to flatten the back of plane irons and chisels. For REALLY pitted irons it is the fastest way to remove material.

However, I recently was given a nice big chunk of granite counter top that is luckily flat enough to use for this purpose.



I bought an assortment of adhesive backed sandpaper from Klingspor and use that in conjunction with my plane iron holder









For moderately pitted or out-of-flat irons I found that this works as well if not better than the belt sander. It also allows me more control and will not gouge the iron if I sneeze while using it.