Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 01, 2006 09:12am | #1

   I just noticed the jointer blade holder thing tonight when I was checking out their sharpening stuff, was wondering how handy it might be.  Guess you answered that question!  Cool, thanks for letting us know.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   wrudiger | Jan 01, 2006 09:39am | #2

   Yep, I gotta agree with Jay.  Even the shop that does a beautiful job on the Forrest saw blades can't get the jointer blades as nice as this jig does.  Well worth the investment!

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 01, 2006 09:08pm | #3

   What with Mike4244's technique for setting jointer blades (magnets and glass) I just might get brave and take mine off for honing, using this jig.  Check back with me in February!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   charnwood123 | Nov 15, 2009 11:45pm | #9

   Dear forestgirl

    Can you please tell me how I can find Mike,s posting on magnets and glass

    

   regards Charnwood

2. 
   tkarlmann | Nov 16, 2009 01:15am | #11

   I cannot find this reference to Mike4244's jointer/glass/whatever anywhere.  Can you elaborate?

2. 
   tkarlmann | Nov 15, 2009 01:12pm | #4

   I have been looking at the Veritas Jig for honing jointer blades -- that you are using.  I am wondering how you are honing the faces of the knives?  The jig does not do this for you. 

   Response appreciated to this old post.

1. 
   Jay | Nov 15, 2009 09:25pm | #8

   tkarlmann - I'm not sure if we're both thinking of the same thing when you refer to the face of the knife, but this is how I do it.  I base my sharpening method on what Tage Frid describes in his book on joinery.  I use four to six grades of sandpaper on a solid granite tile, ending at 2000 grit and beginning either at 320 or 600 grit depending on how rough the knives are to begin with.

   I load the knives in the jig and sharpen the edges first.  The jig has stops in them so you can essentially mark where the knife is set.  That way you can ensure that all of the knives are sharpened/honed at the same angle and will wear more or less evenly.  This also allows me to pull out the knife once during sharpening to hone the face.  It may be just slightly off, but I have not found it sufficient to cause problems in honing or sharpening the knives.

   I generally sharpen the edge on 600 and 800 grit.  Then I remove the knife and lay the face flat on the sandpaper and hone the face flat.  This removes the burr on the edge that is produced from the "rough" honing of the lower grit sandpapers.  I replace the knife, sharpen the edge on 1200, 1600, and 2000 grit papers, then remove it and hone the face on the 2000 grit again by laying the knife flat on the paper and pushing/pulling it across the sandpaper.

   Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but to date this has worked for me, and my knives stay incredibly sharp.  I hope this helps clarify how this jig has worked for me!  I still recommend it!

1. 
   tkarlmann | Nov 16, 2009 12:58am | #10

   So for the face of the blade, you just use your fingers?  We need the jig for the bevel, but I was thinking of using some sort of jig for the face -- I'm not sure anything exists to assist with honing the face. 

   So you put your fingers on the 6-8" blade and push with thumbs?  Isn't the corner sharp enough to cut your thumbs?

   Just trying to think it through.

1. 
   Jay | Nov 16, 2009 02:19am | #12

   With a 6 inch blade there is sufficient room on top of the blade to push back and forth without holding the corners of the blade.  I don't apply an extreme amount of pressure to the top of the blade.  I don't think it's necessary.

   If things get difficult to hone, I may actually pull the blade partially off the sandpaper/tile and hold it between my thumb and forefinger in one hand and use the fingers of my other hand to apply downward pressure on the face.  Then I rotate it and do the same on the other side, but I prefer not to do this because I worry I will hone off unequal amounts on one side of the blade.

   At no point do any of my fingers come in contact with the knife's edge or corners of the blade.

3. 
   | Nov 15, 2009 04:44pm | #5

   Hello Jay,

   Glad to hear that the Lee Valley jig performs, then again, it's from Lee Valley and I wouldn't expect any different. I like Lee Valley, great products and even better service. I have been sharpening my own knives for many years now. I have an Inca 10-1/4" jointer/planer, I use a Grizzly horizontal knife grinder (for getting out nicks and blunts) followed by hand honing on my water stones. I don't have a jig for the hand honing, simply hold them by hand. Sometimes my hand will get a little stiff (a touch of arthritis I expect, since my Dr. says I already have it in my shoulders). I think I will give this honing jig a go, maybe my hand won't be so stiff afterwards.

   Bob, Tupper lake, NY

4. 
   alanplanesaw | Nov 15, 2009 05:16pm | #6

   Jay,

   My jointer needs honing.  Bought the LV jig to hone the blades.  Any words of wisdom about using it?  Did you used "sandpaper" on glass?  Or ?

   Thanks,

   Alan - planesaw

1. 
   Lataxe | Nov 15, 2009 08:28pm | #7

   Alan,

   I use the Veritas jig to resharpen the 10" HSS blades out of a Scheppach planer/thicknesser.  The Veritas blurb says the jig is for blades up to 8" but in practice I find that it will deal with those 10" blades if they are carefully mounted and one does not use too much pressure.

   I like to use large diamond  plates as they are very flat.  (They are expensive too but last a lifetime, for a hobbyist at least).  I go from 350 grit through 600 to 1200.  The longer the blades, the more important it is to sharpen them on a very flat substrate, to avoid any curves, dips or bumps along the edges, which would mean curves, dips or bumps in the workpieces being "flattened".

   However, this process with the Veritas jig and diamond plates only sharpens blades that are not too worn/blunt.  It takes too long, even with diamond, to take off significant metal from those long bevels, especially if they have been used so much that their edges have become slightly concave.  (The blades wear most in the middle as most planks pass under this section of the cutter block, even if placed to one side or another of the machine).

   I imagine you could use paper-based grits on a flat surface (such as float glass or good quality mdf) and start out at a rougher grade.  Others may be able to advise.

   Sharpening to 1200 grit seems enough for planer blades as any sharper edge tends to disappear rapidly with the first plank or two through the machine, especially if its tough stuff like teak or other abrasive timber.  But even common-or-garden variety hardwoods such as oak soon begin to take off ultra-sharp edges.

   I find one of those diamond strips (325 grit on side and 600 the other) held in a block of wood is a good tool for putting back a reasonable edge to blades when they are in situ - still in the machine.  This reduces the periods between one needing to take them out and give them a proper sharpen with the Veritas jig.  However, this wee sharpener tends to follow the existing edge, so if that edge is getting concave, the wee thingy will just reproduce the concavity.

   http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminster-Diamond-Planer-Blade-Hone-22400.htm

   One tip I would mention is that one needs to be careful not to sharpen so much that the blades end up with significantly different weights.  This causes alarming vibrations when the planer block gets up to full revs.  How much is "significant".  It presumably varies with the machine but I found that just a gram difference has an effect on the 10" scheppach blades (2 in the block).

   ******

   I've often wondered if putting a 1 or 2 degree microbevel on planer blades would help in speeding up subsequent resharpenings.  It would be easy to do this with the Veritas jig. Only the micro-bevel would need to be remade during subsequent sharpenings - at least until it became more of a macro-bevel.  I've avoided the experiment because it is easier to use that small sharpening thingy agin' an existing large bevel, when the blades are touched-up in the machine.......

   Lataxe

5. 
   forestgirl | Nov 16, 2009 06:22am | #13

   The last time I looked for it, no success.  But this time....yes!

   http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=39738.13

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   tkarlmann | Nov 16, 2009 10:16am | #14

   Got it -- thanks.  Slightly different from John White's method.  I like it better because the entire knife contacts the glass support instead of just at two points.

   I disagree with Mike4244 in that I still think TDC is important in setting the knives equally.

   Thanks for that link!!!

   Thom

2. 
   charnwood123 | Nov 16, 2009 11:17pm | #15

   Thank you for posting the link to Mike,s posting

    

   regards Charnwood

1. 
   forestgirl | Nov 17, 2009 12:55am | #16

   You're welcome!  I was glad to find it (finally).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)