Bill Satko
Member
- Messages
- 3,223
- Location
- Methow Valley
I thought I would share my new sharpening pond and stone holders. For a long time I would sharpen by laying my waterstones directly on a flat surface without any type of pond. I would usually set them on a paper towel to at least soak up some of the overflow. I finally got tired of trying to corral the water from flowing everywhere and was determined to create a pond type system to minimize the mess. I built this first prototype about 6 months ago with a plastic tray I found in a local store. It worked fine for a while despite being too small, but eventually the water worked its way into the plywood stone holder causing it to be no longer flat. It is really hard to sharpen a bevel with the stone teeter-tottering back and forth.
Even when I built that first pond, I had a vision of something else. This next pond still is not what I am eventually going to go with, but the stone holders are. Here is my new pond and stone holders.
The pond is a photo developer’s tray that I bought off the internet. The stone holders are made from 1” thick solid PVC that I also bought from an internet site. Wood and water just does not mix well, so I decided to eliminate any wood from my stone holders.
The PVC shaped easily with power tools, but I also used sandpaper on a granite block to true up all the surfaces. I shaped the feet using a router and then glued them to the bed with PVC glue. Worked great! I cut the grooves for the stops with the table saw. The stops are not glued and can be removed. The stone holders are very heavy. I had planned on putting glass between the feet and the bed in order to stiffen it up, but I quickly realized that it was not needed with 1” thick PVC.
I eventually plan to build a custom pond using sheet PVC (this one is still not the right size) that will be self draining into a bucket via tubing.
The sketch-up photo shows a few other options I was considering for the stone holders.
Even when I built that first pond, I had a vision of something else. This next pond still is not what I am eventually going to go with, but the stone holders are. Here is my new pond and stone holders.
The pond is a photo developer’s tray that I bought off the internet. The stone holders are made from 1” thick solid PVC that I also bought from an internet site. Wood and water just does not mix well, so I decided to eliminate any wood from my stone holders.
The PVC shaped easily with power tools, but I also used sandpaper on a granite block to true up all the surfaces. I shaped the feet using a router and then glued them to the bed with PVC glue. Worked great! I cut the grooves for the stops with the table saw. The stops are not glued and can be removed. The stone holders are very heavy. I had planned on putting glass between the feet and the bed in order to stiffen it up, but I quickly realized that it was not needed with 1” thick PVC.
I eventually plan to build a custom pond using sheet PVC (this one is still not the right size) that will be self draining into a bucket via tubing.
The sketch-up photo shows a few other options I was considering for the stone holders.
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