Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 plane
alan womack
>blade?
I have about 30,000 (yeah really) strokes in on the back on a diasharp course 3x8 diamond stone. There are substantial scratches from the surface grinder that still need to go. Bad enough you can feel em with the thumb nail still.
How long should it take, or should I get Rob to send me one with a non scratched back?
Alan
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>My opion is that diamond stones don't work that well for flattening the back of LV irons. I much prefer to start with 220 wet dry once the machine marks are removed then go to 400 wetdry. Then onto my 800 king or 1000 norton stones. Flattening the backs of irons on diamond stones just kills them.
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
Dean J in MN
>I agree, my diamond stone ended up just being a way to flatten my water stones. A 200 grit waterstone is faster, even if you need to keep flattening it.
-Dean
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
Glenn
>Forever!!! It took me about 5 hours to flatten and polish the back of a LN A2 blade. I would suggest to start with 220 sandpaper and progress through 400 then move to your stones. When I flattened the back of mine I used a 1000 and 4000 grit water stone. I think starting with stand paper would cut the time down considerable.
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
alan womack
>I've got an icebear flattening stone, maybe I will give that a few more laps with the iron!
Alan
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>I agree with the others on using a 220 to flatten the backs of any irons. Flattening the back of an iron is the hardest thing you could ever do with a stone. The 220 works pretty fast, is cheap and with good glass will be nice and true. You only have to flatten the back once.
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
alan womack
>I took a piece of 80 grit drywall screen to the back, made a massive difference in 1200 strokes. I think another 1500 or so and I will be ready to move onto some 120 drywall screen, then will go up into the 220 sandpaper, then to the diamond, onto the 1000 Shapton, 5000 shapton, and finally the 8000 shapton.
ye ha..
Alan
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida
>Be sure that your Ice Bear itself is flat.
about 20 minutes
david charlesworth
>
Re: about 20 minutes
david charlesworth
>On an 800 grit waterstone a friendly L-N A2 blade might take 20 minutes while a less flat blade might take 40 minutes. There is always some variation in flatness.
I do however fix a small wooden handle, with double sided tape, just close to the heel of the bevel. This helps me to apply much more downward force without the danger of honing away the fingertips....
I work steadily, {at a pace you could keep up all day}, about 50 to & fro strokes on either edge of the stone, and then flatten the stone before continuing.
I notice that beginners tend to make rapid strokes with little downward force. The more force you apply the quicker the rate of metal removal.
Flattening is essential for good chipbreaker fit and to remove manufacturers deep grinding scratches.
I then go straight to the ruler trick on an 8000g stone. This saves an immense amount of unnecessary labour.
It imposes a bevel of 2/3rds of a degree on the 'flat' side. It does not change efffective pitch significantly and will not interfere with chipbreaker fit as long as the front edge of C/B is relieved by one degree or more.
Generally it is only the Japanese who polish the whole of the bevel side. I can see no reason for polishing vast areas of metal which do not form the cutting edge.
best wishes,
David Charlesworth
Today's experience
Denis Ch�nard, Orl�ans, Ont.
>I worked this morning on a LV LA jack plane blade.
I use Scary Sharp, on a granite plate.
Looking at the mill marks on the back of the blade, I elected to start with 320 SiC paper. Could have started with 220, but a couple hundred strokes got it flat.
I then worked up to 400, 600, 1000, 1500, and 9000 papers (I had run out of 2000 without noticing). I could se myself easily in the blade. The whole process took about 15 minutes, without rushing.
I then set the blade in the Veritas MK II guide, and started at 600, then again to 1000, switched to a one degree micro-bevel, then honed to 1500 and 9000. I quickly lapped the back at each grit level.
All in all, taking my time, no more than 30 minutes. I could have done it faster, but at the same time I was watching my two sons playing in the pool...
A quick test this morning gave me smooth, thin shavings on maple end grain.
DC
Re: How long to flatten the back of a Veritas A2 p
paul womack
>I took a piece of 80 grit drywall screen to the back, made a massive difference in 1200 strokes.
I guess that diamond plate's starting to look over priced :-)
BugBear