9
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When sharpening, how do I assess what grit to start on?
In order to do this without gaining the experience to be able to assess what grit would be a good start, you would have to (I think this is why people are saying you really have to judge it.):
Use a ...
- 286
9
votes
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How to cleanup diamond plate efficiently?
In terms of the cleanliness of the plates, I think you're worrying about nothing. Most people's plates are a bit grey, and not a few are tinged with rust from the same level of steel residue rusting ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
How to properly deburr a chisel
It looks pretty good to me. It's hard to tell exactly from the pictures, but this is pretty close to what my chisels look like after sharpening. Get some honing compound and either some leather or ...
- 2,772
8
votes
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Sharpening - grit progression
Many videos and tutorials from the much respected internet woodworkers show them always going from a coarse medium through to a fine.
I think there are three key things here.
With respect to a few ...
- 67.5k
7
votes
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How to properly deburr a chisel
The one part in the sharpening process that I'm struggling with is removing the burr.
Most people do when starting out so don't worry you're not alone.
Also even experienced sharpeners will ...
- 67.5k
7
votes
When sharpening, how do I assess what grit to start on?
How do I establish, when looking at a tool, what grit to start the sharpening process on?
Really you don't need to think about it.
In practice you generally don't need to assess your edge, you can ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
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6" or 8" bench grinder
This is unfortunately one of those things where there'll be many differences of opinion, for some people it's 8" all the way and things smaller are nearly toys. But for tool sharpening and the ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
When sharpening, how do I assess what grit to start on?
The basic idea is that you want the grit to make scratches that are finer than the defects you are trying to remove (otherwise the grit will make things worse rather than better), but not a lot finer (...
6
votes
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How do I clean resin residue from router bits
The key search term for this residue is "pitch", like "removing pitch from blade".
A variety of products for cleaning pitch off of cutting tools are sold, many of which use a caustic chemical like ...
- 2,199
6
votes
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How to clean sharpening stone in wood case?
I tried cleaning the top of the stone several times with Dawn dish liquid, after a few hours more oil oozes to the surface (visible in photo).
Keep going. Cleaning old stones is invariably a multi-...
- 67.5k
5
votes
How many times can I sharpen a planer blade?
In general, planer blades are adjustable, such that they are repositioned to the original cutting position (protrusion) after sharpening. So the question becomes "How many times can I sharpen my ...
- 2,199
5
votes
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What's a quick, easy home-made honing guide?
I'm thinking for a 25 degree surface, just cut a block of wood to 25 degrees on a mitre-saw and then screw the plane blade flat to it with the blade end just proud.
Close, this is nearly all that's ...
- 67.5k
5
votes
Can I fix this whetstone?
it is no longer level.
It's worth mentioning right at the outset that a stone that is curved along its length is still usable as-is.
Honing stones/whetstones don't have to be flat to provide a ...
- 67.5k
5
votes
Lathes and cutting machines: sharpness versus hardness
Hardness and sharpness are two distinct attributes that can be applied to these devices and/or materials.
The instrument maker is off-base if he considers that sharpness is not important or a factor ...
- 3,004
5
votes
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Plane/chisel sharpening technique
When sharpening a blade when should I apply pressure to the blade (pull stroke, push, or both)?
Yes :-)
This is one of those things where if you ask 10 woodworkers you might get 11 answers.
As you'll ...
- 67.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Why can't I flatten the back of my mortice chisel?
In short it's because once you get to nearly flat the amount of metal that needs to be removed becomes greater and greater, which can enormously impact the speed of material removal — because you're ...
- 67.5k
4
votes
When sharpening, how do I assess what grit to start on?
If just the edge needs sharpening, you may be able to start with a relatively fine grain and just work on the micro bevel at the actual edge.
If you need to establish the main bevel, you may need to ...
- 9,211
4
votes
Accepted
How to hand-sharpen a badly worn gouge?
I just went through a very similar process. I bought a bunch of old Mifer (Spanish) gouges from craigslist. I tried to bevel them on the stones but the steel was way too hard and thick and just took ...
- 970
4
votes
Sharpening - grit progression
there is none. eventually you will wear the blade down enough at 3000 grit to the point where it will take too long to sharpen while maintaining the same bevel angle. At that point a return to coarser ...
- 2,426
4
votes
How often should I sharpen?
Honestly, as you seem to suspect, there is no way to quantify this except by learning through experience on a given tool/wood species/usage.
Some woodworking tools used on certain woods can last for ...
- 3,948
4
votes
Is there an advantage to removing the guard on a grinder with a CBN wheel?
Normal grinding wheels are made from abrasive grit bonded together in a vitrified medium, so they're like a ceramic. This makes them hard and durable, but very brittle, and even the smallest defect ...
- 67.5k
3
votes
Accepted
My new 13" planer
Sharpening the Blade I have a similar table top planer (Delta). The blades are reversible so I use them for a year or until I otherwise notice significant degradation in the surface smoothness. ...
- 8,529
3
votes
Accepted
Sander in lieu of grindstone?
For flat blades (chisel, plane) you're going to struggle getting to a fine finish. Most sand-paper sharpening systems have you placing the paper on glass or granite, so as to have a dead-flat ...
- 146
3
votes
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How can I properly sharpen my knives with power tools?
The power tools are really only useful for putting the initial bevel on the edge or significantly changing the bevel angle. In my usage they are much more aggressive than you would expect and make ...
- 970
3
votes
What are recommended angles for different wood-turning tools
Don't obsess about the angle, work at sharpening what you have at the moment to a consistent grind and has no multiple facets. Consistency is the key and the wolverine type jigs are great for that. ...
- 136
3
votes
Accepted
Is the "paper test" actually relevant to sharpening chisels and planes?
Is the “paper test” actually relevant to sharpening chisels and planes?
No. As I think I mention in a previous Answer many edges can slice paper while still not being as sharp as you'd really like ...
- 67.5k
3
votes
Can I fix this whetstone?
A whetstone can be leveled by lapping. This is essential grinding the grindstone and must be done with something harder than the stone itself (or perhaps as-hard in certain cases).
A very effective ...
- 2,199
3
votes
How often should I sharpen?
Is it possible to quantify how often I should sharpen a whittling knife?
The need to hone depends on the variables:
the knife (the steel, the edge profile, how well it was sharpened previously)
the ...
- 67.5k
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