Waterstone Honing Station

[John-Paul Volkenant]

This is one of my first projects since re-entering the woodworking hobby. I used to be exclusively a user of power tools. But I was just stinking sick of the noise, dust and space requirements. However, when picking up hand tools, it becomes imperative to know how to sharpen them; and I've spent a lot of time learning the art. The mess, however, from the waterstones, just made me detest the process...along with the setting up of jigs. So I learned to hone freehand and dreamed of having a dedicated sharpening station to contain the mess.

Well, I'm still trying to free up some space, so a real station away from the bench for grinding and honing isn't practical right now. This was my solution.

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A piece of Tupperware that fits within the box will contain the stones and water. I got the idea for this from David Finck, author of Making and Mastering Wood Planes.

My piece is made of some really interesting looking soft maple. The cradle for the stone is of redwood.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_UAR4SmgcfM8/TAMDmWy863I/AAAAAAAAAx4/xeTPk5jBoQU/s400/DSC05360.JPG

The stone sits between two stops, with one being cut at an angle to accept a wedge.

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The cradle sits on the box via dadoes on either end.

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I have yet to use the piece; it will probably get very messy, so I wanted to get pics of it beforehand. As long as it makes my sharpening life easier, I'm happy.

[john brenton]

sure looks better than my "rag under the stone on top of a chunk of marble" technique. Awesome. That looks like the kind of thing that makes a joy out of a chore.

[John-Paul Volkenant]

sure looks better than my "rag under the stone on top of a chunk of marble" technique. Awesome. That looks like the kind of thing that makes a joy out of a chore.

I'm too familiar with that. Then I moved on to a piece of rubber on the bench top, but it would inevitably run off. Hopefully, the mess with my new setup will just run down the sides of the cradle and into the bath tub.

[john brenton]

well, even if the box and tupper thing doesn't work you can always use the stone holder to sit on top of a bucket...or a rag on top of a stone. Beautiful work by the way. You really let the wood speak for itself, which is something I always aim for.

[John-Paul Volkenant]

well, even if the box and tupper thing doesn't work you can always use the stone holder to sit on top of a bucket...or a rag on top of a stone. Beautiful work by the way. You really let the wood speak for itself, which is something I always aim for.

Thanks. "Letting the wood speak for itself" was not something that even crossed my mind. This project started by being a practice subject for thicknessing boards by hand and dovetails. It just kinda snowballed from there.

[Mark Wyatt]

Elegent solution. "Imitation is the best form of flattery," so please feel flatered that I'll likely copy your design.

[John-Paul Volkenant]

Elegent solution. "Imitation is the best form of flattery," so please feel flatered that I'll likely copy your design.

Pro sit.

Latin for "May it be of benefit."