?Sharpening a plane blade?

[Keith Spaniel]

hello ,
i found a old jack plane in a trash pile. It just says made in the usa. I cleaned the rust off , sharpen it, what alot of fun. Wish i would have tried one years ago instead of sneering at them. I just bought a no.#8 made in 1902.the blade was high in the center and lower on the ends. So i grinded it flat and square.I sharpen most of my tools on a 4x36 belt sander..

I have the table and belt at a 90 deg. then I set my plane blade in a groove on the table and lean the blade into the belt. usually works great, but this time the blade is still higher in the center and lower on the ends?
Does anyone understand why the blade did not sharpen straight across square? The book says the blade must be square all the way across to plane flat? any help? I would be grateful .keith

[Michael Faurot]

So i grinded it flat and square.I sharpen most of my tools on a 4x36 belt sander..
[...]
Does anyone understand why the blade did not sharpen straight across square?

Check the plate under the belt to see if it's flat. If that surface is not flat, it's going to transfer the inverse of that shape to your plane blade.

[Bryan Wuest]

I use my belt sander when sharpening my lathe chisels and carving tools but I use the Scary Sharp method exclusively for sharpening plane irons. I've had fantastic results and my irons and chisels are nice and square. You can see pictures on my planes page.

http://www.jdgreene7.com/planes.html (http://www.jdgreene7.com/planes.html) for Hand Tool Page.
http://www.jdgreene7.com/woodworking.html (http://www.jdgreene7.com/woodworking.html) for woodworking page.
http://www.jdgreene7.com (http://www.jdgreene7.com)/ to check out my other hobby's web site.

[Keith Spaniel]

Michael,
You are right my belt sanders steel base is not totally flat. I hammered it flat and it steal doesnt seem to want to sharpen straight. I squared up the blade ,I noticed the blade is also a little warped, but im losing to much steel playing around.

I am going to buy a plane jig and try the scary sharp method.

Bryan, Nice collection. Thanks for the links. will have to talk to you about your deer hunting.

Thanks guys for your help.
keith

[Michael Faurot]

You are right my belt sanders steel base is not totally flat.
[...]
I am going to buy a plane jig and try the scary sharp method.


I had some similar issues with a stationary belt sander and a "flattening" stone, and it taught me that I can't just assume something is flat or square, I have to validate it myself and keep checking it.

[paul dyar]

Keith,
I use the Scary Sharp method also. It is time consuming, but the results are worth it, in my opinion. I personally would not try to square an edge using Scary Sharp. I use the Delta shaping center to do that.

Paul