I'm getting back into woodworking and I'm reassessing my approach to some tools. Right now, I'm focusing on my plane blades and wondering about the best ways to re-establish the primary bevel when using a stone feels like a major time sink. For example, if you have a thick modern plane iron and you want to change its primary bevel, what's your shortcut? Do you grind it, use a belt sander, tough it out with hand tools, or have some other trick up your sleeve?
3 Answers
I take a laid-back approach with my coarse DMT plate. It's sort of like a lazy workout: I set it up with a jig and during commercial breaks while watching TV, I take 30-45 seconds to get back to the garage and sharpen. By the time the show is done, the bevel is ready without the grind of doing it all at once.
Grinders are great for shaping metal, and stones are for sharpening, plain and simple. Trying to change a bevel on a stone is a slow process—you’ll get there eventually, but it's no joyride!
Haha, totally! I feel that frustration when I try to manage a stone for that.
I use a bench grinder with a standard white wheel. It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. The only downside is the dust; I keep a spray bottle nearby to help manage it. I prefer hand tools for the clean-up aspect, but sometimes a grinder is just necessary.
I feel you on the dust, it's a pain! I have my grinder in the garage too, so I totally get that dilemma.
That sounds like a solid plan! I need to adopt a similar routine.