Smoother Sharpening Question

Re: Smoother Sharpening Question

Adam Cherubini

>I think a smoother should have a radius to its edge to avoid plane tracks, or "gutters" as Moxon said in 1680-something. It just seesm liek foolishness to plane in the tracks then scrape them out. I've never heard of anyone actually recommending that approach.

I did hear the rep from LN (Deneb) say he found if the smoother was set fine enough it didn't leave tracks (or they weren't noticeable).

I think the thing to keep in mind with this issue is that we don't all achieve the same surface quality. You're not comparing 3 different methods that produce the exact same results. So which you choose depends on your expectations.

I like planes that remove a good bit of wood and I'm happy with rougher surfaces.

To camber a plane iron, I establish the radius with a grinder, placing the blade edge on. It does make me a little sick. Depending on the grinder I sometimes smoothen the ground edge- I think this helps. Then I redo the bevel/bezel with the grinder. Now if you haven't got a grinder, you can use a blue zirconium belt sander belt on glass. This is obviously slower, but its surprising how quickly it will cut. You can easily overheat a blade on this stuff so use caution.

I know guys advocate a really really shallow radius. Pretty sure DC does this by just placing more pressure on each corner for a few strokes. My guess is he's in the .001" shaving camp. My wooden planes can do that. With the sort of camber I've got, that resulting shaving may be less than an inch wide. That said, I don't think my surfaces are comparable to DC's- his are clearly smoother plus he works more challenging woods.

So figure out what you want to do and then do what you need to get it. There is no best way in this case.

Adam

Re: Smoother Sharpening Question

Warren in Lancaster, PA

>I thought I would add some remarks from the perspective of one who freehand sharpens only and does not use a grinder.

Since the stones tend to wear hollow, it is often more of a challenge to avoid too much camber than to keep one on the iron. I lean on the edges a little as I sharpen if I want more camber, but I do not really lift the other side to get a rounded corner. If I want less camber, I spend more time sharpening with the iron overhanging the edge of the stone so the middle gets more attention. Sharpening with the overhang encourages wear on the stones edges and thus evens out the wear. I tend to flatten the stone when I am having trouble with too much camber. In other words, I flatten when the stones performance so dictates- it does not have to be perfectly flat.

Re: Smoother Sharpening Question

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I follow Adam''s alternate course and take very thin shavings, thus obviating a camber; but if you want a camber, Odate has a line of stones, diamond IIRC, that have a slight depression built in. Warren's method is cheaper and probably just as good.

Pam

Re: Smoother Sharpening Question

Frank D. in Montreal

>I use the technique Adam described: finger pressure on each side of the blade. I start on my 1000 stone, maybe 10 strokes on each side of the blade (actually I take 4 or five strokes with my finger about 3/4" from the edge of the blade, then 4 or 5 with my finger right at the edge; then I do the same on the opposite side). If you can get a hold of Charlesworth's first book, he describes how to put a camber on a blade very well. The key is to practice a few times, and after each sharpening watch your shavings. They will tell you how much camber you actually put on your blade (shavings .001" thick that taper into nothing on each side mean your camber is around .001"), and you can adjust your technique accordingly.

A lot of people round off the edges of the blade, but IMO this just hides the problem (hides the track marks but doesn't fix or remediate differences in depth of cut) until finishing (marks ca nappear if you sand your finish).

With minimal camber, even no camber at all, you should not have track marks if you finish off by planing from one edge of the board to the other, overlapping your planing strokes at least slightly. If you do have marks, then either your edge is not parallel to the sole (you need to adjust laterally) or your board isn't flat enough.

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Re: Smoother Sharpening Question

David Charlesworth

>Point finger pressure is a great way of creating slight to moderate camber or curve, which I find essential for most work. I use five finger positions across a 2 3/8" blade.

It is also a great way of squaring up chisel edges.

It is described in my first book but is shown even better in my first DVD "Plane Sharpening".

best wishes,

David Charlesworth www.davidcharlesworth.co.uk