Questions for the Forum

[Mike Hill]

I wanted to ask a couple of questions of the Group:

1. How sharp do chisels have to be? I have several sharpening stones, but it seems like getting them to 8000 grit is a bit much. At 1000 grit they seem OK to me, but I just started sharpening and know very little about it.

2. I am getting ready to by my first 2 or 3 plans for the shop. I want to be able to smooth table tops and take off a little wood if needed. Also something to joint. So a smoothing plane, jointing and what else? Would also appreciate a recommendation on a couple of the good brands.

Thanks
Mike

[Mark Singer]

Mike,
How sharp depends on the wood and the task at hand... I like to be able to just push to pare the wood that is a good test... Just on the face of a scrap piece...push and the chisel should poduce a wedged shaving... This is a basic operation and tells you a lot. I think you need to go to 5000 grit for harder woods...there is a risk if the chisel is not sharp the grain will decide where the chips and chisel will go....path of least resistance...

Planes,
Certainly a #4 or 4 1/2 is a must
A good block plane is another.
A jointer is a third for large surfaces and edge jointing
A jack is the forth

The skills required to use scrapers are quite important.
I often try to complete a project not using a scarper...just pretending I haven't discovered scrapers yet and I can't do it.....I use them on every project...I can do amazing things with them that planes are not capable of..

[Mike Hill]

Mark: Thanks for a great answer, as always. I have several scrapers and hate to admit it, but I am having trouble sharpening them. I bought a Sharpener from Woodcraft that has the file and small burnisher, but after sharpening I usually make sawdust rather than shavings :) Any thoughts on a good sharpener for scrapers?

BTW, the more woodworking I do, the more I gravitate to hand tools for finishing. Makes a big difference in their look.

Mike

[Dave Anderson NH]

Mike, Using just a file and a burnisher to joint and prepare a card scraper for use is not adequate preparation and you will always get poor results. One of the last 2 issues of Popular Woodworking had an absolutely outstanding article by Chris Schwarz on how to sharpen a scraper quickly and efficiently. It is a "must read" for hand tool woodworkers and even for those folks over on the noisy side of Sawmill Creek.

[Mark Singer]

I jont with a file and a couple of stones...I draw the burr out flat and then roll it over....if it is in good shape you can just burnish

[Mike K Wenzloff]

...I have several scrapers and hate to admit it, but I am having trouble sharpening them. ...
Hi Mike,

Taunton [FWW] has an article by Phil Lowe on sharpening scrapers.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00007.asp

Take care, Mike

[Bob Smalser]

I have several scrapers and hate to admit it, but I am having trouble sharpening them. I bought a Sharpener from Woodcraft that has the file and small burnisher, but after sharpening I usually make sawdust rather than shavings :) Any thoughts on a good sharpener for scrapers?



Most problems with card scrapers stem from not getting the edge dead flat....make a filing jig and don't try to freehand....

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4029777/49867172.jpg

...not polishing the edge after filing...again, a jig is required....

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4029777/49867149.jpg

...and not burnishing the edges inward before turning them outward:

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4029777/49867130.jpg

And you don't have to either buy any magazines or pay fees to the Taunton site to obtain this kind of basic woodworking instruction...it's available right here for free:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=8352

[Mike Hill]

Good references, thanks a lot, I am reading them in a few minutes.
Mike

[Mike K Wenzloff]

...And you don't have to either buy any magazines or pay fees to the Taunton site to obtain this kind of basic woodworking instruction...it's available right here for free...
Thanks, Bob.

It is available free at the link above to Taunton's site as well. But then if you had clicked the link you woulda known that and coulda skipped the inuendo.

I don't link to articles one has to pay for. Which is easy seeing how I don't have a paid subscription to any sites and so cannot see them myself.

Here's another free one:
http://www.woodzone.com/articles/scrapers/

Well, and another free one:
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/I-3416.html


Your buddy, Mike

[Randy Acton]

IMHO chisel sharpening seems to be a labor of love for most. And my labor is better spent cutting wood than it is sharpening chisels.

I have tried about everything and spent way too much money on gizmos and stones only to realize that it just takes too long to sharpen by most methods.

Once I learned the following technique from Marc Adams, I have never looked back.

1. Make certain that you flatten your chisels backs. Even a brand new, high quality chisel will need to be flattened. Use a progression of 220, 400, 600 grit paper on a surface plate. You go go higher but not necessary in most cases.

2. Put a used 320 grit belt on your belt sander and mount it upside down. With the sander off, place the chisel on the sander and find the bevel angle. Bump the sander on and off until you can feel a burr across the entire blade.

3. Use a muslim buffing wheel and compound on your bench grinder (for safety sake turn the grinder facing away from you). Alternate buffing both sides of the chisel (applying more pressure on the chisel back) until the burr is gone.

Maintain your edge by buffing every once in awhile and you won't need to resharpen very often.

It takes a little practice, but when you get the hang of it, it will net a chisel as sharp as any I have seen. And you can sharpen your entire set in about 15 minutes.

[Don Naples]

Mike: How sharp a chisel should be can be limited by the quality of the steel. An inexpensive chisel will most likely not have the ability to hold a 1 micron edge. Hard steel as in good Japanese chisels and other hard steel chisels can hold a fine edge. For those, it is worth the time to hone to a fine grit.

For scraper sharpening, I have a white paper on sharpening scrapers in the shop notes section of my website and a short video on my website at the center of the page http://www.woodartistry.com/Products-LapSharp200.htm
that shows the sharpening technique (on a Lap-Sharp, though many other methods can be used) and rolling the burr. One suggestion in developing a proper burr is to first burnish the side of the scraper flat (not at an angle), to push out a bit of a burr. You then roll the burr to 90 degrees with one pass and with one more pass, roll it an additional 5 to 15 degrees depending on how you like to hold the scraper. When properly done, you should not have to bend the scraper in a curve to get great shavings.