Lakesailor
New member
I got mine free with some chisels. Even cheaper.
Sharpening chisels etc
- Thread starter coliholic
- Start date
B&M
Member
I would warn anyone to be careful about throwing out old chisels, they will most probably be made of a far higher quality steel and hold their edge far longer than a modern one. I have experience of a well known make with blue handles, as always you get what you pay for.
Amulet
Active member
By softwood I mean the typical pine type stuff. If there is a big difference in the hardness of the winter and summer growth the tool tends to dig into the soft layer then break the hard layer. Often wood turners keep two sets of tools with the softwood ones ground to a finer angle. (Oh, and by hardwood I don't mean balsa, though I accept that it is a hardwood.)
sailorman
Well-known member
See #11
john_morris_uk
Well-known member
Not always true - but often older chisels can be bargains in second hand and junk shops. I have 'rescued' a few. One of my best 1/2 chisels I found in the eaves of a church when the roof was being replaced. The roof was last done in Victorian times and I eventually had to put a new handle on it which I bought from a second hand tool shop I found in Bristol near the hospital.
One of the points that hasn't been made in all this talk of sharpening, is that you will never get a good edge if you can't polish the face of the chisel/blade. I was taught to polish the flat side first on the fine side of the oil stone - then work the edge.
For what its worth, I have an oil stone and one of these modern diamond stones. The diamond block is four sided in a case with different grades of diamond on each face. 800 gets as good an edge as I need for my work. I use a bench grinder to take off lots of material - but usually use the diamond stone to set the first and second bevel angles.
Has anyone used the little diamond cards youi can get to touch up the edges of router bits? Do they work and are they work the money?
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basil421
New member
I am also a a great enthusiast of Car boot chisels ans planes. Usually the cheapest are in the worst condition however most chisels and plane irons need a regrind as the often have lumps knocked out of the edge.
You can do this on a bench grinder but it is all too easy to destroy the temper in these carbon steel blades as it requires a lot of metal to be removed before the notch has been ground away. It's fine if you want to make a few quick cuts but if you are attempting to the restore the tool to its formar glory then a wet grind is much more reliable. I have reconditioned many tools from car boot sources and find it very satisying but without the Torkeck grinder it would have taken too long.
It's as well to be selective when buying old tools however as John Morris in post #45 points out it's important to keep the back surface of the steel flat and shiny and if it's badly pitted with corrosion then it's a great deal of work to grind them out. Good for scraping the keel though!
For those of you who have never used one, the Tormeck is a wet grinding system where the large but quite soft grind stone runs in a water bath. This keeps the stone free of build up of metal particles and also prevents the workpiece from overheating. I real advantage for quality carbon steel.
For grinding high speed steel tools, such as used in wood turning, the Tormeck is excellent especially on skew chisels which "burn" when you put them anywhere near a normal bench grinder. (At least they do when I try it).
For HSS gouges however the normal bench grinder is fine and also much faster. It is normal to cut with them straight off the grinder.
For the occasional woodworker I think the cost of a Tormeck is probably overkill but it's worth considering getting a favourite chisel reground on a wet stone once in a while.
For reshaping a plane iron that has become badly convex the the Tormeck system is the business.
You can do this on a bench grinder but it is all too easy to destroy the temper in these carbon steel blades as it requires a lot of metal to be removed before the notch has been ground away. It's fine if you want to make a few quick cuts but if you are attempting to the restore the tool to its formar glory then a wet grind is much more reliable. I have reconditioned many tools from car boot sources and find it very satisying but without the Torkeck grinder it would have taken too long.
It's as well to be selective when buying old tools however as John Morris in post #45 points out it's important to keep the back surface of the steel flat and shiny and if it's badly pitted with corrosion then it's a great deal of work to grind them out. Good for scraping the keel though!
For those of you who have never used one, the Tormeck is a wet grinding system where the large but quite soft grind stone runs in a water bath. This keeps the stone free of build up of metal particles and also prevents the workpiece from overheating. I real advantage for quality carbon steel.
For grinding high speed steel tools, such as used in wood turning, the Tormeck is excellent especially on skew chisels which "burn" when you put them anywhere near a normal bench grinder. (At least they do when I try it).
For HSS gouges however the normal bench grinder is fine and also much faster. It is normal to cut with them straight off the grinder.
For the occasional woodworker I think the cost of a Tormeck is probably overkill but it's worth considering getting a favourite chisel reground on a wet stone once in a while.
For reshaping a plane iron that has become badly convex the the Tormeck system is the business.
electrosys
New member
With this talk of £200 tool sharpeners and tools costing £30 each, I'm really not surprised that Joe Public (and the Swindleries) have formed the opinion that yachties must all be stinking rich. Think about this next time you're being charged by the metre at blood-letting prices ...
As has been said by a number of people already - a trip to your local boot sale often turns up high quality old tools at bargain prices. I bought a set of Stanley chisels (made at the time when Stanley produced good stuff) for a fiver - 'cause someone was emptying out their dead Grandad's shed. Boxwood planes often sell for silly money, 'cause no-one wants 'em anymore in this age of power tools.
And you know, there's also a good feeling to be had from holding in your hands a tool which has already witnessed countless years of skilled work from the hands of craftsmen.
As has been said by a number of people already - a trip to your local boot sale often turns up high quality old tools at bargain prices. I bought a set of Stanley chisels (made at the time when Stanley produced good stuff) for a fiver - 'cause someone was emptying out their dead Grandad's shed. Boxwood planes often sell for silly money, 'cause no-one wants 'em anymore in this age of power tools.
And you know, there's also a good feeling to be had from holding in your hands a tool which has already witnessed countless years of skilled work from the hands of craftsmen.
sailorman
Well-known member
D
Deleted member 36384
Guest
I am shi't at hand sharpening, I can't swing a golf club and when I use a pool or snooker cue my elbow wobbles mid stroke. I do however use chisels a lot and have now found that at least a few rubs on the oil stone is better than a blunt chisel by far. I end up with wonky tips after a while. So a machine would be a good idea for me.
Amulet
Active member
I'm not suggesting you throw away money on stuff that doesn't need it. I found out the hard way that you have to buy decent turning tools. You can have the roughing out gouge that bent through 90 degrees and the spindle gouge that broke and flew across the workshop if you want. All of my planes and most of my chisels came from a local second hand tool store very cheaply. The oldest looking chisel keeps an edge like no other tool I own.
All I was saying is that I don't understand why a sharpening system which makes ALL of your tools perform better is not worth a bit of money. As I said, I bought the cheapest bench grinder that I could find but put the best wheels I could afford on it, because that's what makes the difference.
I also found out the hard way with router cutters. A £25 dovetail cutter will cut better than a £7 one on day one, and will last years with occasional resharpening. I had to throw away two of the £7 quid ones after a few days use to learn this lesson.
Giblets
Well-known member
My dear ol' grandad was a master carpenter and used to have in his shed a great big sandstone waterbath wheel that we kids used to turn the handle of while he sharpened away. I had hoped to inherit it but some scote offered my nan a fiver for it before I got the chance! Not seen one since.
Mind you did get most of his old tools though.
Not seen one since.Mind you did get most of his old tools though.
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BERT T
New member
Sharpening chisels
For anyone who can't afford a Tormek, have a look at this one.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/scheppach-tiger2000s-200mm-bench-grinder-240v/40540
It will do the job just the same, but at a lot less money.
For anyone who can't afford a Tormek, have a look at this one.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/scheppach-tiger2000s-200mm-bench-grinder-240v/40540
It will do the job just the same, but at a lot less money.
basil421
New member
If that one had been around when I bought my Tormeck I would definately have bought it instead. Looks like much better value for money.
Giblets
Well-known member
andygc
Member
Although it doesn't have the flexibility of a Tormek - you don't have the option of using a grader to change the cutting behaviour of the stone - that's one of the great features of the Tormek - being able to switch from grinding (~220 grit) to sharpening (~1000 grit) without changing the wheel or the jig settings.
robertj
Active member
I've used one of these for years and they are excellent. Used with a Diamond wetstone it will give you superb results and no electric so can be used onboard.
john_morris_uk
Well-known member
For what its worth I use a stanley honing guide like this:
http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/%200%2016%20050%20Stone%20Oil%20Honing%20Guide%20Sta016050%203253560160500%200%2016%20050%20list
I've used it for the past twenty years and its still going strong.
An ex-boatbuilder showed me how to sharpen chisels. He didn't use a guide - and 'found the bevel' and then managed to keep the blade at exactly the same angle. Without a guide I tend to get a curved bevel. Choose your battles, I thought - and have used a honing guide ever since...
http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/%200%2016%20050%20Stone%20Oil%20Honing%20Guide%20Sta016050%203253560160500%200%2016%20050%20list
I've used it for the past twenty years and its still going strong.
An ex-boatbuilder showed me how to sharpen chisels. He didn't use a guide - and 'found the bevel' and then managed to keep the blade at exactly the same angle. Without a guide I tend to get a curved bevel. Choose your battles, I thought - and have used a honing guide ever since...
cliff
Active member
Naw, the T7 is the doggies do-das. As for the price mine has repaid itself several times over just by resharpening planer knives. These cannot be resharpened by hand and the cost of taking them to a saw doctor was almost as much as a new set of knives plus the time taken so now I can remove the knives from the planer, sharpen and hone them and refit in about 20 mins and I am not waiting on someone to sharpen them for me. The jigs are very handy - scissors, gouging tools, kitchen knives, planer knives, short tools, hand plane blades, twist drills, guillotine knives, etc - damn, I even made a jig to sharpen the radiused / curved blades out of the dowel makers - extremely oversized pencil sharpeners - up to 40mm dia.
Yes, high initial outlay but repaid itself quite quickly.
For those who only sharpen one or two chisels now and again - overkill for sure but for serious use over a variety of sharpening requirements it is hard to beat the Tormek system although Scheppach have now brought out a copy for a fraction of the price but with smaller / narrrower stones for the less discerning butcher
Poignard
Well-known member
Ancient honing guide
Here's another honing guide I own. I suppose it is quite a 'collectable' now.
Here's another honing guide I own. I suppose it is quite a 'collectable' now.
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