Does anyone have a sharpening question?

[powertools]

I do, and it's my first post. Perhaps I don't get the joke yet ...

Anyway, if anyone can help - I want to re-grind the primary angles on some bevel edged chisels and a couple of plane irons to 25 degrees. I haven't been able to do it myself even with the coarsest papers and have made a bit of a mess of them. There's a local service which will do them using a surface grinder. Is this likely to overheat and damage the steel in the chisels and plane irons? The man at the shop said he would do it without taking much off and so thought he could do them without damage, but I'm not so sure. Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks.

Get the coarsest paper you can find stretch it tight I use clamps to clamp it down and others to pull the clamps apart.
Stick the blade in a honing guide and have at it, check the temprature of the blade as you can build up some heat
This is my set up used for cleaning shoulder plane sides but it works for blades.
DSC_0054 by pete maddex, on Flickr

Pete

All due respect to you for posting a photo of your bench that is in the same state that most of us have.

 

[powertools]

Here's how I do it:

Hold it with your fingers close to the edge you are working and you'll soon know if it is overheating. Either dunk it in water at that point, or pick up another tool and do that one whilst the first cools. Regrinding the primary bevel is such a rare event that I tend to collect up 3 or 4 irons/ chisels and do them all at the same time.

Back in the day when people had patches welded into the floor of their old car to stop their feet dragging on the road I used to earn my living by doing just that.
I can tell you from experience it is very easy to start fire with metal grinding.
I would suggest that any grinding is done outside or at least well away from any wood shavings etc.

As an aside, don't do this sort of work whilst you have any oak (or chestnut) woodwork on the go. It will make an awful mess. Woodwork and steel work don't mix, and oak suffers the most.

 

[powertools]

Dont know what went wrong with my last post.
My advice is not to grind metal with wooden jigs in a wood work shop with saw dust and shavings around.

 

[MikeG.]

Dont know what went wrong with my last post.
My advice is not to grind metal with wooden jigs in a wood work shop with saw dust and shavings around.

Where would you have me do it? In the garden? Sweeping the saw dust and shavings out of the way isn't too onerous a task. Note the spark deflector, and note that in 40 years of various sorts of grinding blades in the workshop I haven't had so much as a single smouldering ember. And within 3 or 4 feet there is a fire extinguisher.

 

[Ttrees]

I hope you can take that thing apart
Wasn't so easy to do on my sander

 

[MikeG.]

I hope you can take that thing apart ......

In about 5 seconds. Why?

 

[ED65]

My advice is not to grind metal with wooden jigs in a wood work shop with saw dust and shavings around.

Er, what? I can't think of a single woodworking bod I know or know of who uses a belt linisher or a grinder that will throw sparks who doesn't have it in their main workshop. Most have no choice as MikeG has alluded to already.

A grinder in the woodworking shop has been common for decades, generations on the other side of the pond where electric grinders made their appearance early (30s or 40s?) and were common by the 50s, and I wonder if anyone knows of a fire from the use of one? There is obviously a potential risk here, but I suggest it's more theoretical than actual.

 

[Trevanion]

and I wonder if anyone knows of a fire from the use of one? There is obviously a potential risk here, but I suggest it's more theoretical than actual.

I think I remember Doctor Bob saying his old workshop burned down as the result of a smoldering spark from a grinder or something like that.

A boat building workshop locally burned down in the night a few months ago and all that was left was the twisted and warped steel beams, according to the owner they had been grinding some steel in there during the day and they reckon a spark got somewhere where no one could see it smoldering and when everyone had gone home the place burned down. Hundreds of thousands of gear and equipment turned into ash.

I remember my father telling me he used to work somewhere where they used to have to take it in turns to spend four hours in the workshop after clocking off to make sure there were no smoldering sparks or such that could case a fire while no one was there. They were getting paid double time to do it so it wasn't too bad, but obviously it was a serious risk.

I think it's quite a serious consideration really.

 

[Doug B]

and I wonder if anyone knows of a fire from the use of one? There is obviously a potential risk here, but I suggest it's more theoretical than actual.

I think I remember Doctor Bob saying his old workshop burned down as the result of a smoldering spark from a grinder or something like that.

.

I thought Bob’s burnt down as a result of his neighbours wood stove but I could be wrong.

As for belt sanders I’ve certainly had one smouldering before & had to take evasive action & a mate threw one out of the workshop door when his set on fire.
I think the problem is when you use them for for both wood & metal, the resins in the wood build up inside the sander over time & the hot sparks can ignite it, certainly was in my case.
These days I have an all metal constructed linisher for grinding metals as sadly I know of too many folks who have had workshop fires.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Here's an idea - do your grinding in the morning, or at least at the beginning of your work session. At least if the worst comes to the worst you'll be there. (There are of course some amongst us who don't possess so much as a fire extinguisher, so in their case it might not matter much. )

 

[Doug B]

Ironically my public liability insurance requires a 1/2 hour, 2 hour & 4 hour fire check so any hot works needs to be done in the morning to conform, that is if I don't want a late night on site.

 

[Jimson]

Thanks for the post and advice. I persevered with a plane iron and got a fairly good result, even if it took me about two/three hours on coarse 3m and w/d paper. I've been surprised by how much graft it takes. Putting a blue marker line on the developing bevel helps, I found, gives you a bit of encouragement that progress, however slow, is being made.

 

[rafezetter]

I do, and it's my first post. Perhaps I don't get the joke yet ...

Anyway, if anyone can help - I want to re-grind the primary angles on some bevel edged chisels and a couple of plane irons to 25 degrees. I haven't been able to do it myself even with the coarsest papers and have made a bit of a mess of them. There's a local service which will do them using a surface grinder. Is this likely to overheat and damage the steel in the chisels and plane irons? The man at the shop said he would do it without taking much off and so thought he could do them without damage, but I'm not so sure. Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks.

He only THOUGHT he could do them without damage?

nope.

Learning how is the only way, it also gives you a bit more appreciation in using the chisels, so you're just that bit more careful, because you'll know how long it'll take you to fix any dinks in the edge

 

[rafezetter]

OK so - I've a sharpening question I've been sitting on for a while, unsure if it was safe to ask, but seems the coast (so far) is clear, so here goes.

During the recent(ish) prepartions for the Christmas dinner for six I found I was struggling somewhat, therefore hopefully one of you can help....

What angle and type of bevel - single or double - would you recommend for my old potato peeler?

 

[Lonsdale73]

My question would be "Does anyone want to buy my spare, brand new, still boxed and completely unused 10" wetstone so I have some cash to buy the jigs needed to use safely and accurately the machine I bought to sharpen my chisels and gouges? Please."

 

[MikeG.]

.......What...... would you recommend for my old potato peeler?

Bin it. Then go out to the garden and get the biggest snail you can find. Discard the squishy bit, and dry the shell thoroughly. You may even contemplate giving it a wash. Punch a hole in the side maybe about 15mm in diameter using a sharp piece of flint. Rub said hole across the outside of your potatoes and carrots and ......lo............they shall be peeled.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

What angle and type of bevel - single or double - would you recommend for my old potato peeler?

Ask her what angle she wants.

 

[Racers]

I do, and it's my first post. Perhaps I don't get the joke yet ...

Anyway, if anyone can help - I want to re-grind the primary angles on some bevel edged chisels and a couple of plane irons to 25 degrees. I haven't been able to do it myself even with the coarsest papers and have made a bit of a mess of them. There's a local service which will do them using a surface grinder. Is this likely to overheat and damage the steel in the chisels and plane irons? The man at the shop said he would do it without taking much off and so thought he could do them without damage, but I'm not so sure. Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks.

Get the coarsest paper you can find stretch it tight I use clamps to clamp it down and others to pull the clamps apart.
Stick the blade in a honing guide and have at it, check the temprature of the blade as you can build up some heat
This is my set up used for cleaning shoulder plane sides but it works for blades.
DSC_0054 by pete maddex, on Flickr

Pete

All due respect to you for posting a photo of your bench that is in the same state that most of us have.

Most people don't have a Fobco bench drill hiding under the right hand side of their bench.
:shock: :wink:
Pete

 

[Rich C]

OK so - I've a sharpening question I've been sitting on for a while, unsure if it was safe to ask, but seems the coast (so far) is clear, so here goes.

During the recent(ish) prepartions for the Christmas dinner for six I found I was struggling somewhat, therefore hopefully one of you can help....

What angle and type of bevel - single or double - would you recommend for my old potato peeler?

Get a speed peeler. You won't go back.

 

[Trevanion]

Get a speed peeler. You won't go back.

I know, but the cost of maintaining a child is extortionate.