A better way to regrind primary bevels?

[Michael Peet]

Using 80 grit sandpaper on glass, it takes forever for me to regrind the primary bevel on my #7 blade. There must be a faster way, right? What's your favorite?

Mike

[David Weaver]

If there is a lot to grind, either a very coarse belt sander or a very coarse dry grinder.

Blunt the edge first back to where you wanted to grind to on a dry grinder and keep a dip cup around. It only takes a couple of minutes to grind off quite a bit and re-establish a bevel, and if you're making good time, the dip cup water will probably be warm when you're done, but you will not have drawn the temper on the iron. (you'll never make the dip cup warm just on maintaining a hollow grind, though, only on heavier grinding).

A sander with 60 grit paper will burn the iron a lot less easily than a wheel, but on most low-cost sanders, it will also put some camber on the iron.

Sandpaper does not survive well hand grinding, none of it does - aluminum oxide, ceramic alumina, silicon carbide - they all work FAR better on a high speed belt with less pressure and crush way too easily with high pressure and low speed.

[Jim Koepke]

I use adhesive backed sandpaper. A four foot section of this on my granite stone and a blade holder makes quick work of establishing a new bevel when necessary.

jtk

[Johnny Kleso]

Been there and done that..
My first year woodworking I kkilled a set a oil stones..

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOOD WAY.
a Grinder, foot, hand or electric..
Belt sanders also work..

I would say buy a cheap HF or Grizzly grinder for starters, if you buy old hand pllanes and they blades have not been used for years they often take a lot of work to get back in shape..

I my long experience refinishing hammd plane blades I not think it is best to buy a new replacement blade..
Stanley sells blade and cap iron set for $17.50 plus shipping..

http://www.stanleytoolparts.com/beplcu.html

[Tim Put]

I tried to avoid a grinder for as long as I could, but really nothing else works any where near as well for significant metal removal.

Buy a cheap grinder, make a reasonable tool rest, get a stone dresser (the coarse grey stones are fine if dressed), read up on balancing (just by turning) and truing your wheels; and you're done!

It can be done for under $100 and will save incredible amounts of time and sandpaper.

[Mike Brady]

1" X 42" belt grinder with 60 grit cool running belt. Takes a couple of minutes to regrind a bevel. I hand hone with an Eclipse jig after that amd use a tiney microbevel. This rig costs about $175 from Lee Valley. I have not used my wheel grinder since getting the belt grinder. Do not confuse this with a belt sander. It is not built for wood working.

[Jonathan McCullough]

How do you learn about balancing the grinder stone? Is there a specific resource that comes to mind?

[Tri Hoang]

A coarse grinder stone (40/60 grit) is probably the fastest. If you just regrind the original bevel, there is no need to blunt the edge first. I never do. I just don't grind to the very edge of the tool. FWIW, if you have to dip the tool in water because it got too hot, you are probably using too much pressure.

[Tri Hoang]

Oneway balancing kit.


How do you learn about balancing the grinder stone? Is there a specific resource that comes to mind?

[Leigh Betsch]

Tormek. I also have a 8" pedestal grinder but I like the Tormek because I can't overheat the edge. A Tormek is over kill, but that's just me!

[David Weaver]

There are two issues with stone, one is wobble and the other is, for lack of a better way to say it, uneven density.

Basically what you do is put a stone on the grinder, tighten it down, and then spin it by hand (or turn it on if you want). Watch it, and if it's not smooth, then loosen it on the arbor and spin it relative to the arbor a fraction of the circumference, like an eighth or a quarter. Keep doing that and settle with the position relative to the arbor that makes the grinder run smoothly.

Dress the wheel with wheel dressing tool before doing it.

After screwing around with six different wheels over the last month, I think there is a lot of merit to getting a one inch wheel and getting a precise spacer that fits over the arbor and tightly into the wheel. the wheels with arbor sized holes (1/2 or 5/8th) stink because that hole is not that accurate or true, and the ones with bigger holes and plastic adapters stink because the plastic adapters have slop in them.

The oneway kit adapters are a piston fit on the arbor of the grinder and in the wheel, but that kit costs more than a lot of import grinders. It is a really nice little trick kit, but if you are wary about spending money, I would get the "premium" wheels from mcmaster carr and get some precise bushings that fit the wheel and grinder. The "premium" wheels that mcmaster has aren't too expensive, and they are fairly friable, but not so much so that they seem to slough off. I like them a lot. they're just norton wheels that are a bit brown in tint, maybe they could be found cheaper elsewhere, I don't know.

At least if wheels and good bushings do the trick, you would be able to put the stock covers back on the grinder. I can't put the cast outside cover back on the wheel of my grinder with the oneway kit on it, but i'll trade the smoothness for the covers.

[Tim Put]

+1 To David Weaver

I was too lazy...

[Russell Sansom]

I did it all over the years and wouldn't consider anything but a Tormek ( etc. ). For grinding lathe cutters in hss, etc, I still have to go with the pedestal grinder, but for chisels and plane irons the Tormek is very, very fast very accurate, and leaves you with a bevel that's ready to go after a minute of further honing.
Of course, it depends on your budget.

[Stephen Pereira]

I kind of like Derek's belt sander set up . Easy to make, inexpensive and versatile. For final honing I use sandpaper on a granite surface plate. The surface plate comes in handy for all sorts of things..lapping planes, sharpening, reference base when you want to check FLAT.





http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/BeltSanderGrinderMkI.html

[Don Dorn]

Going to try again - the below link shows how the Kirby grinding system works. Since I had the grinder, total cost was an 18" piece of 1/2" iron bar.

http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/djdorn/?action=view&current=Grindingplaneiron.mp4 (http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/djdorn/?action=view&current=Grindingplaneiron.mp4)

[lowell holmes]

I have a variable speed PC 6" bench grinder. I use it to grind a chisel. It leaves a hollow grind. Frank Klauz covers this subject in his DVD "Hand Tools"

The PC grinder has a white wheel and a gray wheel.

I made one of the tool rests larger by gluing a piece of 5.5 mm plywood to one of the tool rests.

It really is easy to do.

On plan irons, I mostly free hand, but I use the Veritas Mk II honing guide on either water stones or a diamond hone.

You can speed up the process by turning a belt sander upside down in a vice and use the Veritas MK II on the belts.

[Michael Peet]

Thanks for all the info. I like the idea of a 4" belt grinder the best, but finding an inexpensive one is going to be a little challenging. I have a 6" bench grinder but I am not comfortable using it for this.

Mike