slipstones for moulding plane blades?

Re: slipstones for moulding plane blades?

Alan Hamilton

>Ken,

I have all three flavors of stones you mentioned, of various descriptions. I have the usual slip stones, plus cones, rods, square ones, triangular, oval, blah blah blah ad nauseum. From time to time I use them all--as the mood and circumstances arise.

My favorites to use are the water stones--perhaps because I use water "bench" stones for everything else. But I like to think my preference is a bit more rational than that: water stones work quickly; they come in every imaginable size, shape, grit, and color; they leave a great edge and can polish the steel mirror bright too. The problem is that they wear quickly, too quickly for this kind of work--especially the soft, large grit stones--and the wear, of course, changes their shape.

Oil stones. Well... if you can't say anything nice... But I don't have any real good reasons for my aversion to oil stones. I just don't like them, AND I don't think they work quite as well.

So most often I find myself using ceramic stones. Even so, I don't care for them all that much: I don't get the feedback from them that I get from the others, and I don't believe they work nearly as quickly as water stones. Still, they leave a great edge and mirror-bright steel. My favorite type is the one sold by Garrett-Wade (at least I've not seen that kind anywhere else). They come in sets of several different shapes and grits. They work quicker than their ceramic brethren, and they wear faster too; that, I believe, gives me the feedback I miss with other ceramic stones. A close second are the white ones that you often see sold in sets of different shapes but only one grit.

Alan

Re: slipstones for moulding plane blades?

kenc

>Thanks Alan, nice to get feedback from one who has 'em all!

I use a Makita horizontal water wheel for my sharpening, and a lapping plate with varous grits of SiC for lapping plane blade backs etc.

I think I'll go with the ceramics that you mentioned and a set of water stone slips and see how it goes.

Thankss again!

Ken

Re: slipstones for moulding plane blades?

Chad Boehlke

>I have good luck with sand paper for metal wraped around dowels and cut wood to the shape thats need. Dose anyone else do this??

Re: slipstones for moulding plane blades?

Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT

>I've had good luck with that too- mostly with the finer paper grits. I also charge soft wood sculpted to shape with rouge or emory for honing.

Greg

Files

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>I use a nicholson half-round needle file for the vast majority of molder honing. Never tried water stone slips, but I have everything else.

Files may not work well for new solid tool steel blades, but it works okay for antique laminated blades.

I sometimes finish with ceramic files. But I find they cut too slowly for me.

Adam

Sandpaper

Jim Reed @Tallahassee

>Aluminum oxide, 220 grit for coarse and 400 or 800 for final. Use it on a dowel or something else that matches the profile. H&R plane blades can be sharpened with sandpaper on the sole of the matching plane. Good luck.