Official Luthiers Forum!

Could you learned elders in the craft please share some tips on sharpening
these puppies, since sharpening seems so critical to good results? Maybe
advice on reconditioning the "Old Baileys" & occasional yard-sale chisel?

I've always prided myself on free-hand sharpening of knives, but these are
precision instruments & getting precise results calls for skills (or tools) I
haven't learned (or acquired) yet.

Thanks!chmood38635.9683564815

the best single source of advice i know of for a beginner is to get brian burns book on sharpening. it is not expensive, $10 or so, and includes plans for a sharpening station and a honing guide.

as for plane tune ups there are more how to's in the woodworking magazines than you will ever want to read. jst google "hand plane tune up" or "bench plane tune up"

I can second crazyman's comment about Brian Burn's book. You can find it at LMI and a few other places. I spent some time last year up at his place, and have actually used the very setup he illustrates in his book. I can testify to its ease of use and the quickness in which one can produce an extremely sharp chisel or iron.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

I'll also give Brians book/system a thumbs up. Google "scary sharp" for a testimony of sharpening using various grits of sandpaper, I much prefer it to my water stones, keeping water stone flat is a pain IMO, they do cut good however. Anyway the two work great together.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I use water stones adn have done so for about 15 years. I have a large number of chisels, from a 1.5 mm japanese chisel for luthiery to 3 inch slicks for timber framing. I have honing guides that I have trued but I always return to this method that I learned at the custom woodwork shop I worked in nearly 20 years ago. The beauty of it is that keeing your stones flat (a choir with soft water stones) is not really an issue.

The secret to very sharp chisels and irons is getting the flat face so smooth that it is mirror shiny. I do this simply by laying this side flat on the stone and doing your usual sharpening process. What I do that is a little bit different is when I sharpen the bevel I run the cutting edge paralell rather than perpendicular to the long axis of the stone. My chisels get real sharp real quick. I have never ever had much success or joy sharpening the "traditional" way. Now, about once a year, I take a good long day and work all of my chisels. If I have the time I actually enjoy the few hours this takes to go through them all. Give it a try, I think you will like it. Oh ya, I uses 1000, 4000 and 8000 water stones, I always use all three and never let my chisels get dull and I rarely have to regrind them, but when I do I use a belt sander rather than a grinder.

Just my method, there are many others!

Shane

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Canada

And.. once they are sharp I find it is easier to keep them sharp than waiting and then resharpening them again from the ground up. A few passes over leather strop at frequent intervals saves a lot of sharpening time.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Dang!

I buy a chisel, and when it gets dull, I simply throw it out and replace it. My time is worth more than the time it takes to sharpen one.






Kidding!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Yea right Don

great responses, guys - thanks a million!

I have great confidence in the methods that are 'luthier-proved' since you
gentlemen are dedicated to getting the same level of results that I want in
my work.

I'll definitely be getting the Burns book once it's back in stock - never
heard of using sandpaper to put an edge on; this will be interesting.

Shane, so you free-hand it with your plane irons? I'm impressed!

Todd, I will look into the videos you mentioned; I did check into the
forum you mention, but came away empty-handed after several hours.
perhaps it was just an off-night for me, but they seem to go on about
everything BUT tools!

"Nevertheless, I shall endeavour to persevere."

It sounds like Tood's sharpening method is pretty close to mine. I also use a combination of diamond stones and water stones, going from coarse / medium / fine on the diamond stones depending on the condition of the edge to 6000 on a japanese waterstone. My honing guide is also very basic, but it can handle most chisels and plane irons. I have this setup ready always, and it's the quickest and most reliable method I have tried, much less hassle than oilstones or abrasive papers. To shape a new edge on a flea market aquisition or badly chipped edges I use a stationary belt sander (do NOT turn on the dust collector ).

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I prsently only use block planes, regular and low angle, so I am not the best to talk with about all plane irons, but they are all in the range of or narrower than the japanese slick (2 inches) and english slick (3 inches) that I do freehand and I can quickly an easily bring them sharp enough to shave with (It makes my wife almost sick when I show her!). As I mentioned earlier and Brock re-stated, once they are sharp, keep them sharp, it is easier on you the tools and your projects.

Shane

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Canada