twotone

Hello Fidgen,

in reply to your question about the LV water pond, I do like it and use it all the time. I like that the stones are always wet and ready for use and that the lid keeps the water from evaporating. The plastic is ridgid enough and once you have water and a couple of stones in it the weight makes it quite stable (also the bottom has two rubber strips to keep it from sliding around). The nice thing about it is that since I am constantly flushing my stones with a spray bottle the water has somewhere to go (right back into the pond) rather than all over my bench and floor.

The draw backs are that if your stones are wearing down and getting thin the clamps that hold the stones protrude above the ends of the stone. This is a problem because it is too easy to run the edge you are sharpening into the metal and undo all the sharpening you've been doing. The answer to that of course is to make sure that the stones you use are thick enough. The other problem is that unless you place your stones near the sides of the pond where not only are they resting on the aluminum bracket but also on the edge of the plastic then the stones are somewhat unstable and wobble around. Again, that is easily overcome by using the outermost slots and having one side of the stone actually resting on the edge of the pond. Hope that makes sense and you find this useful.

Planes, Planes and more Planes!

I recently accomodated a small but very handy sharpening station in my workshop (apparently some people use this part of their house to park cars?
It sits unobtrusively in the corner and has all I need to sharpen anything from chisels and plane blades to kithchen knives.
I made it out of plywood, covered it with a rubber liner and made a couple of drawers to store all my jigs, abrasive sheets, files etc. I keep my sharpening pond (Lee Valley) out and ready to go with my various stones either in the water or nearby, ready to go (ie. my diamond stone and 8000 water stone). Although a sink would be nice the 'water pond' and a rubber bucket on the floor and a spray bottle deal with all the water issues.
The best thing about this sharpening station is it is set at a height that is the most comfortable for sharpening, it has a lot of lighting and a magnifying lens/lamp. Having eliminated the task of 'setting up' before sharpening it is now a simple matter of walking over to the station for either a quick 'honing' or a serious repair of a damaged edge.
My benchtop belt sander takes care of all the power grinding I need. No hollow grinding for me. But that's the way I like it.

What better way to enjoy your cherished hand tools than by handcutting dovetail joints? Whether the end result is better, worse or indifferent is (as seen above) strictly a matter of opinion. But if you enjoy the feel of a finely made and sharpened chisel easily moving through the wood, the speed and accuracy of a quality saw, the creative process of laying out an interesting pattern of dovetails...the end result quickly becomes secondary to the 'process' of getting there.

Yes I use dovetail joints and the reason is simple, it gives me pleasure.

I am obsessed with sharpening and I am always interested in reading or watching 'anything' related to sharpening. Sometimes it ends up in a big headache though since inevitably everyone has their own opinion and preferences whereas as I am still in search of the best sharpening technique (not necessarily the fastest). So two quick points that I'd like to get some feedback on...

1. The video seems to combine two techniques that don't necessarily go together. Why use a grinding wheel which gives you a hollow (and which is great for freehand sharpening since the chisel registers easily on the sharpening abrasive) but then only sharpen the edge which is being referred to as a microbevel. Why not just use a belt sander or coarse stone to achieve the desired angle and then hone the edge at a steeper angle (a microbevel)?

2. Am I the only one who thinks that using a wheel and hollowing the chisel actually weakens the chisel since you are removing material? The wheel seems like a short cut method but not necessarily the best. Does anyone sharpen their chisels with a completely flat side (no hollows, no microbevels)?

I recently made a shooting board and I can only restate what anyone who's ever used one says. They are indispensible when it comes to making accurate, tight fitting joints.

I took my design from an article written on 'www.whitemountdesign.com'. It is by far the most comprehensive article I've read on shooting boards and clearly illustrates how to build one.

I would add that rather than a block plane, although adequate enough would not be the 'ideal' plane to use on a shooting board. The larger planes are more stable and the weight makes the action smoother. How large? The bigger the better. Obviously a good quality plane with perfectly squared sides.