Inexpensive plane sharpening jig?

[Joe Shinall]

I'm looking for an inexpensive sharpening system for my plane blades and maybe my chisels also. They are not expensive tools to begin with and I'm just starting out in the hand plane area so I just need something to practice with that can get me a good result. Can anyone recommend a good jig and stone setup or what not that's not an arm and a leg? Maybe just a fingernail or a pinky?

[Andrew Hughes]

The side clamp honing jig the lie neilson sells is pretty inexpensive, combined with sand paper on glass or granite.You could be well on your way.
Just don't be too frugal or you may not get results that keep you pushing on.Keep at it soon your jigs will be colleting dust and your hands will trained.
I use the side sharpening technique mostly.Good luck

[Joe Shinall]

I was just looking at that one and the Robert Larson one. Trust me, I don't want to be too frugal, but I also don't have a lot of cash and I have completely dull planes at the moment. :o

[Greg Hines, MD]

Woodcraft has one that works reasonably well, though I get better results from a Veritas Mark II and have never had any troubles with it. I use waterstones, but glass or even MDF and sandpaper should serve you well. Consistency is the name of this particular game, and you should get what you need to get consistent results.

[paul cottingham]

Eclipse style guide from Lee Valley a great value. Use it with a good combination stone 1000/4000 and you are set. Add an 8000 when you can afford it.

[Myk Rian]

I know you want "inexpensive", and I hedged at the price for quite a while before buying, but the Worksharp is a Godsend.
I tried the paper on glass with Veritas jig, and several other ways. All of them were a PITA, and required set-up every time.

[Frederick Skelly]

Joe, I started where you are about 15 mos ago and the guys are right - you can definitely make due with an inexpensive jig like woodcraft (and many others) sells, using sandpaper. Thats the cheapest solution. Go to a Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, etc and buy 2-3 granite floor tiles and some spray glue. Get some Aluminum Oxide sandpaper from there or an auto parts store. Then youre set for a while.

But be warned :) I got to get to a point where I plateaued and couldnt get any sharper. I dont really understand why. So start saving Christmas and birthday gift cards now because you may need a set of stones or a worksharp downstream. (I bought the stones and Ive learned to use them, but I still have my eye on that worksharp.)

Best of luck!
Fred

[Jim Matthews]

If you want to work on the super-cheap, carbide powder for grinding automobile engine valves on the bottom of an old plane (with the blade removed, of course)
will get you started. I went through the same sequence most of us do, and finally settled on the Atoma diamond plates, honing by hand.

Were I to do it again, I would save my money and go straight to the plate.

You can get sharper edges than I do, with other methods but probably not faster.

*******

I flatten steel with sandpaper glued down to a granite base, which was cut out of a kitchen countertop.
Some larger tiles at home centers are flat enough to serve for this purpose.

FYI - I prefer honing with oil, as there's less mess and little risk of rust if I'm not careful with cleanup.
There's no running water in my shop, and I don't like having buckets laying around - I'm clumsy.

I think the biggest bang for the buck is a good set of oil stones, followed by waterstones (which can be inexpensive to outrageously expensive) and lastly the diamond plates.
Diamond plates are VERY expensive, but they work fast and stay flat enough for my needs.

I hone freehand, and don't use any guides.

[David Hawxhurst]

at first i thought you needed a jig, but it turns out that learning to do it freehand is faster and easier. i learned by first doing wider blades because you can feel the proper angle. sharpening by hand is all about feeling the angle and not rushing. you could get a 1000/4000 combo stone and granite tile and be on your way to sharping. the granite tile with some 400 grit paper is for flatten and maintain the stone(s).

[Terry Beadle]

For inexpensive sharpening system check out Brent Beach's website.

http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/index.html

On his site he has a link to a youtube demo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8TNuXSuYGM

In it you can see the simple jig that he uses. Made from scrap.

He really has done his home work over the years. Worth reading and study even if you go another way.

Enjoy the shavings !

[Art Mann]

Google "scarry sharp" and read up on that method. It has already been mentioned but I don't think that name was mentioned. It involves sticking successive grits of sand paper on to a piece of plate glass or other stiff flat surface and then using a jig of some sort to hold the knife/blade at the correct angle for optimal results. I use a "Deulen" jig (available at Rockler and similar stores) to sharpen jointer knives and it works well.

[Dave Cullen]

I have a home made grinder setup and a jig I made from aluminum scraps. I'll post some pics when I get home.

[Stan Mitchell]

I know you want "inexpensive", and I hedged at the price for quite a while before buying, but the Worksharp is a Godsend.
I tried the paper on glass with Veritas jig, and several other ways. All of them were a PITA, and required set-up every time.

Myk describes my experience to a tee.

[glenn bradley]

Like Greg I found the generic guide poor but, usable if you have the patience to compensate for the mistakes it tends to cause. They are about $1 (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=60311&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1)0 and only a smidgin better than my uncoordinated free hand. Also like Greg, I found the Lee Valley MK-II (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1) was a godsend as a next step and I still use it with my scary sharp system. I also have the Worksharp 3000 which is the way to go for power sharpening in my shop. My dad is 88 and also has one and gets his El Cheap-o chisels so sharp I have trouble getting him to use his better chisels.

I also have stones and slips and honing strips and compounds and all that stuff. There is no one do-it-all system and all of mine get used at one point or another. For general sharpening of general tools, the WS3K really can't be beat. You will forget all about the $200 sting the third of fourth time you use it and you realize that you have freed up an entire weekend's worth of time by virtue of the time it saves you. I keep mine right near by when I am doing a lot of chisel work. As soon as the chisel starts to even think about losing its edge, I hit the WS3K for about 3 seconds and go right back to work.

[Joe Shinall]

Wow I just logged on and see a ton of great ideas to look through. I really want a worksharp and plan on upgrading to that when I can afford it. I think I'm going to lean towards the cheaper jig and I already have some waterstones that my grandad gave me. Have to see how good they are and what grits they are.

Thank you kindly for all the great ideas.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I started with a simple jig from Lie Nielsen and sandpaper on a granite block. It worked fine until I had a bunch of really messed up chisels to fix. So, I tried a WorkSharp. It worked, but I strongly prefer the Tormek. The guy I gave the WorkSharp to likes it a lot.

These days, having tried them all, my preference is to put a hollow grind on the blade using my Tormek. You get a "hollow grind" when you use a wheel so the edge is not totally flat. After I do this, I find it pretty easy to touch up the blade without any jig at all. The advantage is that it is very fast to drop it onto the stone or sand paper to polish it up and get back to work. I understand that with practice you can do this without a hollow grind (something to aspire to). If you want a micro-bevel on the blade, I am not sure how to do that if you free hand, but, the nice Lee Valley jigs make it trivial.

The Lee Valley jig has a measure bar thing that you can buy with it that helps you easily set the angle. I have seen people "cheat" this by creating their own measure system (so they know how far out a chisel or plane blade must stick out of their jig to achieve the angle that they desire). One example is to simply draw a line a certain distance from the edge of a board and that is your device. Another method is to place a stop block (made of wood) along the line.

If you look at the stuff that Rob Cosman has, he sells an angle jig that looks like a piece of wood (I don't remember the material) cut at the correct angle. You then place your blade on that jig and it is held at the correct angle for sharpening.

If you opt to "free hand" things, the biggest issues in my mind are:



getting the angle you want,
consistency, and
not rounding over the edge


Especially if you start with a reasonably sharp blade (not damaged, etc), you can probably keep them sharp and working without expensive stuff.

[Prashun Patel]

Joe, in fact, I would suggest that you START with a Worksharp, and then upgrade to good stones later. There's a smaller learning curve with the WS. Nowadays, I use my WS for the rough grinding (there are excellent and cheap diamond lapidary plates that fit the WS), and then my stones for honing.

The downside of a WS is that it will not give you a hollowgrind as a Tormek or bench grinder will. This makes it trickier to free-hand hone. However, I can tell you that it's still possible to freehand hone a flat grind; it just takes more practice.

If you go with your grandfather's stones, I'd make sure they're flat by investing in a lapping plate. Also, what are the grits of those? If the 'fine' stone isn't north of 4000, you might consider supplementing.

[phil harold]

Am I missing something?

I have been using those cheap generic Honing Guide for over 20 years
also
been using the same King water stones for 25 plus years
rarely flatten them
always use the sides for chisels
faces for plane blades
use all the surfaces concentrate on using the corners
I do hollow grind on my old G1036 or beltsander (usually on the job site)

so what am I missing on all this lapping plates, nagru stones, sharptons, ceramic, worksharp?

I mean if it is the right angle the and mirror finish on each side of the edge, it should work (unless the steel folds over just looking at wood)

now with the scary sharp method you can buy up to 3000 sand paper at walmart it should be very easy and inexpensive to get a decent edge

[Harold Burrell]

always use the sides for chisels


Really? I never even thought of doing that.

[Richard Shaefer]

Am I missing something?

I have been using those cheap generic Honing Guide for over 20 years
also
been using the same King water stones for 25 plus years
rarely flatten them
always use the sides for chisels
faces for plane blades
use all the surfaces concentrate on using the corners
I do hollow grind on my old G1036 or beltsander (usually on the job site)

so what am I missing on all this lapping plates, nagru stones, sharptons, ceramic, worksharp?

I mean if it is the right angle the and mirror finish on each side of the edge, it should work (unless the steel folds over just looking at wood)

now with the scary sharp method you can buy up to 3000 sand paper at walmart it should be very easy and inexpensive to get a decent edge

same here.
I've been using sand paper and micromesh on glass for years with the same $11 eclipse style jig.
my blades shine and cut through tissue paper, so to each their own style.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sounds to me like youre not missing anything Phil. Youve taken fundamental sharpening tools and made 'em work well for you! Man, I hope you bought cool planes, chisels or saws with the money you saved!

Good for you!
Fred

[Metod Alif]

Phil,
"so what am I missing on all this lapping plates, nagru stones, sharptons, ceramic, worksharp?"
The problem seems to be not with what you are missing but with what you have: competence/skill. :)
Best wishes,
Metod

[Harold Burrell]

Am I missing something?

I have been using those cheap generic Honing Guide for over 20 years
also
been using the same King water stones for 25 plus years
rarely flatten them
always use the sides for chisels
faces for plane blades
use all the surfaces concentrate on using the corners
I do hollow grind on my old G1036 or beltsander (usually on the job site)

so what am I missing on all this lapping plates, nagru stones, sharptons, ceramic, worksharp?

I mean if it is the right angle the and mirror finish on each side of the edge, it should work (unless the steel folds over just looking at wood)

now with the scary sharp method you can buy up to 3000 sand paper at walmart it should be very easy and inexpensive to get a decent edge

OK...please forgive me if this is obvious to everyone else, but it is eating my lunch and I have to ask...

Are you saying that you have been using the very same stones for 25 yrs...or the same type of stones???

[phil harold]

OK...please forgive me if this is obvious to everyone else, but it is eating my lunch and I have to ask...

Are you saying that you have been using the very same stones for 25 yrs...or the same type of stones???
my king 1000 is from 80's

[Harold Burrell]

my king 1000 is from 80's

Wow...nice...I am truly impressed. :D