When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
go.

The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)

Thanks,
Fritz

"Fritz" wrote in message
...
When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
....
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)

Thanks,
Fritz

You can reflatten a water stone with a diamond "stone" or a ceramic stone made
specifically for that purpose. They are available from many woodworking stores
(I use Japan Woodworker). You can also use a second stone of similar grit. I
flatten my waterstones with a coarse grit diamond stone produced by DMT.
Alternatively, you could use a diamond stone to flatten your bench plane instead
of the water stone.

Gary

Fritz wrote:
When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
go.

The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)

For stock removal it's hard to beat a coarse diamond stone.

You might also want to take a look at the Harbor Freight Tormek clone
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95236 , on
which you can use the edge of the wheel for flattening. Note--watch the
harborfreightusa site for a coupon and you should be able to get it for 60
bucks or so.

Fritz wrote:
When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
go.

The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)


Piece of glass with 220 silicon carbide paper on top



--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Fritz wrote:
When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
go.

The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)


Piece of glass with 220 silicon carbide paper on top

Yup. Or scrap of MDF for that matter.

Thanks for all the replies!

Regarding flattening stones, I use a the Norton flattening stone to
dress my stones. I think it is carborundum and works well. I expect
that I may need the diamond some day for my harder stones. I have
dressed my 220 stone and will no longer use it for backing off plane
blades. One curious note about flattening one stone off another-I
think this naturally results in a concavity-this is basically how
telescope mirrors are made.

I certainly like the glass idea with Si carbide paper. I ordered some
paper today and will try this. (I have used belt sanders to dress
plane soles but never sanded the blades.)

I checked the Harbor Freight catalogue and it indeed has a few
interesting machines. Seems like 40 years back there were quite a few
sharpening machines at reasonable cost. I was surprised taking a look
recently-there are very few machines out there. (Also I was surprised
at how many plane makers names no longer appear in the catalogues). I
would hate to have to equip my shop today. The Harbor Fright (;-
horizontal sharpener would probably be quite useful for 100 bucks.
(didn't know about the coupon thing).

Thanks again-
Fritz

FS wrote:
Thanks for all the replies!

Regarding flattening stones, I use a the Norton flattening stone to
dress my stones. I think it is carborundum and works well. I expect
that I may need the diamond some day for my harder stones. I have
dressed my 220 stone and will no longer use it for backing off plane
blades. One curious note about flattening one stone off another-I
think this naturally results in a concavity-this is basically how
telescope mirrors are made.

If you're only using two you get one concave and one convex. If you use
three and are careful you can get very, very flat--this is how optical flats
are made.

I certainly like the glass idea with Si carbide paper. I ordered some
paper today and will try this. (I have used belt sanders to dress
plane soles but never sanded the blades.)

I checked the Harbor Freight catalogue and it indeed has a few
interesting machines. Seems like 40 years back there were quite a few
sharpening machines at reasonable cost. I was surprised taking a look
recently-there are very few machines out there. (Also I was surprised
at how many plane makers names no longer appear in the catalogues). I
would hate to have to equip my shop today. The Harbor Fright (;-
horizontal sharpener would probably be quite useful for 100 bucks.
(didn't know about the coupon thing).

Thanks again-
Fritz

Aha-interesting! Always more to be learned. I work with a lot of
optics but I have never made flats. I wonder if anyone has ever
sharpened a chisel down to quarter wave (;-

Cheers
Fritz

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:57:04 -0500, "MikeWhy"
wrote:

"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Fritz wrote:
When I back off (eg-flatten the backs) on my bench plane blades I
start with a 220 waterstone the first time. I find most commercial
blades have some cup and a lot of material must be removed the first
go.

The problem is that the 220 stones I use (Nortons) are quite soft and
I can chew through a stone on a few blades. I went back to 120 oil for
this step but is is very slow of course.
Does anyone solve this problem with some other stone type or a
horizontal wet grinder? (Can't use my vertical Delta for backing off)


Piece of glass with 220 silicon carbide paper on top

Yup. Or scrap of MDF for that matter.


....Scary-Sharp works for me, too!