Plane Iron trouble..

[Albo]

First off, I'm new here so HI!

I'm quite new to woodworking and have slowly been gathering tools over the last few months. Today was time for a couple of planes. A low angle block plane, and a smoothing plane. I'm not going to go out and spend £££s on Lie-Nielsens, i just bought some cheapish Stanley jobbies.

Anyway, I honed the smoothing plane, which is great however, the iron on the block plane i'm having trouble with. i cannot remove the burr! once i honed it, and the back has a slight burr, i gave it a couple of passes "backing it off" and burr moves back to the front. It won't come off when I give it a quick slice on some pine either. I've tried going back and giving it a pass over the stone on the beveled edge, and the burr moves to the back again. Again I give it a swipe on some wood - still there!!

you can imagine that when I tried it on some end grain, the results were not so good. Is it just a case that the iron is poor quality, or am i doing something wrong?

Many thanks...

 

[matthewwh]

Hi Albo,

Welcome to the forum!

A persistent burr is a sure sign of soft steel, giving you a choice of either trying to harden it or buying a replacement blade.

Trying to harden your existing blade is tricky as different steels require different hardening processes. Because we don't know the composition it's a stab in the dark but I would try heating the business end to cherry red with a blowlamp, quench it in oil (something without detergents in it) for 20 seconds then let it cool down the rest of the way slowly. Let it go completely cold and then pop it in the oven for an hour with your sunday roast to temper it.

If it were me, I'd give Ray Iles a call on 01507 525697 and for not much more than more than a tenner he will kit you out with a properly made O1 replacement blade to fit your plane.

 

[Philly]

Hi Albo
You didn't mention what stone(s) you are using to sharpen the blade with? I find the burr never seems to go away if you are using a coarse stone - a finer polishing stone will allow you to remove the burr.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Albo]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm using a double sided stone with oil. It does my chisels just fine. I have suspected though that the finer side is still too course as it doesn't leave a polished edge (you can still see scratch marks). I have been needing to get a better sharpening system so I'll give that a try before I buy a new iron.

What would you recommend? diamond? or whet stone? Aren't whet stone expensive?

Thanks

 

[Paul Chapman]

There's nothing wrong with an oil stone. Before spending lots of money on new sharpening systems, try a leather strop after your oil stones. That should give you a nice, polished finish and significantly increase the sharpness. Stick the leather to something flat, like MDF, put on some polishing compound, then a few strokes each side (pull the blade, don't push it or you will cut into the leather)

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Philly]

Albo
I've found a 600 grit waterstone to be a superb polishing stone - I've tried different methods and always come back to it.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[woodbloke]

Albo
I've found a 600 grit waterstone to be a superb polishing stone - I've tried different methods and always come back to it.
Hope this helps
Philly

:? - Rob

 

[Philly]

Doh!! That should of read "6000" :lol:
Philly

 

[woodbloke]

Doh!! That should of read "6000" :lol:
Philly

- Rob

 

[bugbear]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm using a double sided stone with oil. It does my chisels just fine. I have suspected though that the finer side is still too course as it doesn't leave a polished edge (you can still see scratch marks). I have been needing to get a better sharpening system so I'll give that a try before I buy a new iron.

What would you recommend? diamond? or whet stone? Aren't whet stone expensive?

Thanks

At this early stage, I would go to a car supply shop and buy a sheet of the finest SiC (wet 'n' dry) paper they have. You want 1000 grit or finer. If (unlikely) they have some really fine stuff (like 2400 grit) get the next stuff down as well (1000 or 1200) - going straight from your stone to a super fine abrasive would be a step too far,.

Glue this down to a flattish surface (MDF or similar would be fine), and try it. You can work dry, or with lubrication.

This is not (in the terms described) a good long term sharpening system, but will show you what a sharp edge is (i.e. very frightening!)

BugBear

 

[Albo]

I've just given the old wet n dry a go. I had some 1200 left over in the garage! Seems to do the job nicely! My low angle block plane is MUCH better, my No4 is a bit better, but still not quite as good as some of the planes I've seen used in podcasts etc. They slide through like butter.

While I was at it a gave my chisels a go - you can tell it's finer as the bevel is much shinier than before when I could clearly see scratches. I also used an old leather belt as a strop too just to experiment I tried going through some pine end grain and it whopped through it no probs.

Thanks guys

 

[bugbear]

I've just given the old wet n dry a go. I had some 1200 left over in the garage! Seems to do the job nicely!

Congratulations! =D>

BugBear