Jointer/planer knive sharpening jigs

[Paul Simmel]

My jointer knives are 8” and my planer knives are 15”… HSS.

Other than something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-G2017-Blade-Sharpener/dp/B0000E6TE6

How do you sharpen jointer and planer knives? I have no problem honing a sharp enough edge by hand with stones, but I can not get nicks out that way.

I ordered this:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=33025&cat=1,43072,43071&ap=1

Anyone do anything like this? (scroll down to the jig pictures)

http://www.woodworkslive.com/index.php?topic=2658.0

Or this?

From:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.woodworking/browse_thread/thread/fc97aa71f6966f24/c4dcde89739f71a0?lnk=st&q=planer+knife+sharpening+jigs&rnum=2&hl=en#c4dcde89739f71a0

…I install a grinding wheel in place of a blade... I cut a slot in a
piece of plywood to match the width of the wheel (I usually use 1/2"
thick plywood) cut to the size of the tablesaw top... with the wheel
raised up through the saw slot I clamp the ply in place... I then take
a wooden straight edge and fasten it perpendicular to the grinding
wheel (I usually tack the straight edge to the plywood with 4d nails
and leave them grinning) and space it so the planer/jointer knife just
touches the wheel... two adjustments come into play at this point: the
height of the wheel and the position of the straight edge.. working
the two together you can match the angle of the bevel on the knife
edge... by using a light touch and continually moving the knife back
and forth across the wheel you can successfully manage a hollow ground
shape on the cutting edge of the planer/jointer knife... Dont get in a
hurry... I always keep a coffe can full of cold water to cool the
knife that I am griding so as not to burn the metal... If you feel the
knife starting to get warm dunk it in the water... a burn mark will
change the temper of the metal (which is something you dont want)...
go through all the knives that you have for a particular machine
before moving to another set of knives .. they will all be the same
width and parallel... once I have finished grinding them I use
sharpening stones to sharpen them before reinstalling... hope this
helps... ablegable…

[Bruce Wrenn]

For me time is MONEY! Global Tooling sells quality replacement knives at a decent price (Almost the same as sharpening) And sharpening at $0.50 per inch means I can't justify even trying to sharpen my own. Dynamic saw and others do too good of a job for me to even consider making a mess of my knives.

[Tom Jones III]

I'm with Bruce, except I can't get sharpening at $0.50 without either paying for shipping or driving a long way. I bought several sets of knives from Global Tooling and bought the Makita you reference. I'll set out an hour and sharpen everything at once, then I have enough sharp blades to change out often. Even for my hobby level work the Makita pays for itself in 2 years, not to mention that I use sharp blades far more often.

[David Weaver]

ditto with the last guys. There just isn't enough to get a hold of on the jointer and planer knives, and the amount of screwing around you'd have to do to do it by hand with a good straight edge and a strong light - not worth it. I get replacement sets when they show up cheap on ebay, and when I get tooling marks on stock that gets out of control, I get rid of it.

It would be nice if someone would create something like JB Weld for blades - something where you could put a blob of the stuff on a nick and the file it off and sharpen it. That's probably asking a little too much something that would adhere cold and have to wear the same as HSS - but if you could come up with it, you could sell it to me!

[Joe Chritz]

It would be nice if someone would create something like JB Weld for blades - something where you could put a blob of the stuff on a nick and the file it off and sharpen it. That's probably asking a little too much something that would adhere cold and have to wear the same as HSS - but if you could come up with it, you could sell it to me!

If you could come up with that you could sell it to everybody. :D

I see me in the basement with a flickering light in my mad scientist outfit.

I have access to a surface grinder so I sharpen the blades that way but without that I would buy a couple sets and send out the dull ones when I was on my last change.

Joe

[Paul Simmel]

The question is what jigs/methods used for hand sharpening, not whether or not one should or shouldn’t, please… thank you.

[Keith Outten]

I bought the Makita slow speed sharpener a dozen years ago from Highland Hardware based on a recommendation from a friend. The Makita is the best machine in its class, will save you money and provide razor sharp knives.

.

[CPeter James]

One thing to add. Get the green wheel from Highland. It speeds up the process. Also download the instructions from their web site.

CPeter

[Paul Simmel]

>>> I bought the Makita slow speed sharpener a dozen years ago from Highland Hardware based on a recommendation from a friend. The Makita is the best machine in its class, will save you money and provide razor sharp knives.

I went ahead and ordered one… just too many positive reviews.