Forcing yourself to stop and sharpen

[Mr Ed]

Hand planing some maple boards this evening for a small table;

Before;

Hard work pushing the plane, little bits of tear out, struggling to get the board flat, not enjoying it.

So I force myself to stop and sharpen, which in my head is a major distraction from the job but something tells me its needed, so I do it.

After;

Plane gliding across the wood, light and fluffy shavings, the work is done easily and is a pleasure to be part of.


No matter how many times I think I've learnt this lesson about stopping to sharpen the minute things are not going perfectly I seem to forget and learn it over and over again.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Cheers, Ed.


NB - I am thinking of making a big sign above my bench saying

SLOW DOWN AND SHARPEN YOUR BLADES

 

[Oryxdesign]

You just made me laugh, sharpening often takes seconds but it always seems like an unwelcome distraction, until it's done of course.
Simon

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Ed,

I now have spare blades for most my planes - very useful to be able to swap to a freshly sharpened blade without having to stop and re-hone.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[wizer]

good idea about spare blades, never thought about that. I am eager to go through my small collection of hand planes and sharpen them now I have my diamond stones.

 

[woodbloke]

Hi Ed,

I now have spare blades for most my planes - very useful to be able to swap to a freshly sharpened blade without having to stop and re-hone.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

There's a gloat in there somewhere :lol: :lol: - Rob

 

[Benchwayze]

Here's a quote from my wife!

'Why is it necessary to have so many planes. I'd have thought you'd bought enough by now?'

So my gloat is that I don't just have spare blades, I have at least a dozen smoothers. A case of 'And a Baileys to go!'

John

 

[Woodwould]

I suffered a bad back for years, so I incorporated the distracting re-sharpening of tools with my frequent back rests.

It got to the point where I used to enjoy the sharpening stops as they relieved my back ache and when I returned to work, my tools were nice and sharp. Win, win!

 

[Philly]

Incredible the difference sharpening makes - all of a sudden the plane is transformed into a new one. Guess you don't need that new smoother now, Ed? :wink:
Cheers
Philly

 

[tnimble]

I now have spare blades for most my planes - very useful to be able to swap to a freshly sharpened blade without having to stop and re-hone.

Interesting idea

 

[woodbloke]

Same hear Ed. It's even worse when you do something in teak because after after three minutes of continuous planing it simply won't cut any more so you're forced to strip the whole plane down and hone the blade yet again...don't even think about putting teak thru' a P/T - Rob

 

[bugbear]

Same hear Ed. It's even worse when you do something in teak because after after three minutes of continuous planing it simply won't cut any more so you're forced to strip the whole plane down and hone the blade yet again...don't even think about putting teak thru' a P/T - Rob

two words: Lignum vitae

Although I suspect our antipodean friends can upstage us on this topic.

BugBear

 

[Mr Ed]

Guess you don't need that new smoother now, Ed? :wink:

Oh but I do...

Cheers, Ed

 

[Woodwould]

Same hear Ed. It's even worse when you do something in teak because after after three minutes of continuous planing it simply won't cut any more so you're forced to strip the whole plane down and hone the blade yet again...don't even think about putting teak thru' a P/T - Rob

two words: Lignum vitae

Although I suspect our antipodean friends can upstage us on this topic.

BugBear

I'm still not too familiar with indigenous timbers here, but they have a reputation for being somewhat ferrous in nature.

 

[woodbloke]

Same hear Ed. It's even worse when you do something in teak because after after three minutes of continuous planing it simply won't cut any more so you're forced to strip the whole plane down and hone the blade yet again...don't even think about putting teak thru' a P/T - Rob

two words: Lignum vitae

Although I suspect our antipodean friends can upstage us on this topic.

BugBear

BB - whilst I would agree that Lignum Vitae is just the merest tad on the hard side, it's not often that you need to make a whole project out of the stuff and therein lies the difference. Even a smaller project in Teak (aka the Teak Casket) means that you're forever stripping down planes to put back an edge for a few moments...I wouldn't fancy trying to make a dining table out of the stuff :shock: like some of the lads at college did in the 70's - Rob

 

[Dalboy]

Paul wrote

"I now have spare blades for most my planes - very useful to be able to swap to a freshly sharpened blade without having to stop and re-hone."



until you forget to sharpen one then you have two to sharpen may as well just have the one

 

[Racers]

Hi,

I have a Teak table and it was fun to plane the top loads of stoping to sharpen the blade, but it was worth it in the end, plus its good practice.


Pete

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

two words: Lignum vitae

Although I suspect our antipodean friends can upstage us on this topic.

Hi BB

For the record ..

LV has a hardness of 20 kN
Teak (Burmese or Indian) has a density of 4.5 kN

From the UK:
Willow is 2.6 kN
European Oak is 5.5 kN

A few Oz timbers:
Gidgee is 19 kN
Grey Gum is 14 kN
Ironbark is 14 kN
Wandoo (Oh Mama! Even flooring layers refuse to sand this lot) is 15 kN
Karri is 9 kN
Jarrah is 8.5 kN (this one seems a little low in my opinion)
Sheoak is 14 kN (I use this quite a bit)

from http://www.worldwideflood.com/ark/wood/timber_list.htm

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Racers]

Hi,

I know Teak isn't that hard, its those dam silica pockets that really take the edge of your blade, you can see them glitter in the wood.


Pete