Got my shaptons...

Brent Dowell

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My Buddy Brown stopped by again today... :D

My excuse for dull plane blades and chisels has left the building... :thumb:

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So after seeing you driveway AND going up it in a 35' RV, does brown drive up your drive or walk, or honk their horn for you to come and fetch your goodies:huh::dunno::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Looks great, but for me, you need a stone between your 220 and 1000, a 400 would save a LOT of work on your 1000 getting the 220 scratches out :wave:
 
So after seeing you driveway AND going up it in a 35' RV, does brown drive up your drive or walk, or honk their horn for you to come and fetch your goodies:huh::dunno::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Brown drives right on up!

Looks great, but for me, you need a stone between your 220 and 1000, a 400 would save a LOT of work on your 1000 getting the 220 scratches out :wave:

Now you tell me! I kind of got the 220 just to have something a little faster. Was planning on doing most of the work from 1-4-8-16. I know Rob cosman goes directly from 1000 - 30000, but I think I'll just work with this for now. I did get some 1 micron diamond paste just in case I need to go the extra mile.

Great now would you share the cha-ching & where you purchased them? Are these used with water or oil.

Water, and SharpeningSupplies.com. Actually I did get a little something unexpected extra from work, so decided to treat myself. Should be the last sharpening stones I'll ever need to buy if I take good care of them.

Oh, and one more of them showed up today, the 16000...

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These are the thinner Shaptons on glass, right?

Don't worry about it, but expect to replace the 220, 400 and 1000 down the road, as you bring all of your tools up to being really sharp, these three will be the ones that will get the most work, your 4000,8000, and 16,000 will not get heavy work and should last a very long time (don't drop one :eek: ) the lower grit number stones will be used/flattened/used/flattened/used a lot more and will wear out. The good news is the lower grit stones are a lot cheaper, the top three stones you have there are the expensive ones, but like I said, with proper care and feeding should last a very long time.

BTW, I now wear a tight cotton glove that is dipped in the nitrile (sp) rubber stuff, this is a very thin tight fitting glove, but it really protects my fingers, as they get chewed up by all the sharpening, and the long exposure to the water is hard on the hands too.

Just a thought.

Cheers!
 
These are the thinner Shaptons on glass, right?

Don't worry about it, but expect to replace the 220, 400 and 1000 down the road, as you bring all of your tools up to being really sharp, these three will be the ones that will get the most work, your 4000,8000, and 16,000 will not get heavy work and should last a very long time (don't drop one :eek: )

Yeah, but with the amount I sharpen, the lower grits should still last a very long time. If I was a pro shop sharpening everyday, I'd probably have gone for the professional series (thicker).

OK, I'll show my ignorance about sharpening. Whats in the tube :dunno:

I believe it is the 1 micron diamond paste.
But I could be wrong...

Richard got it right. Basically, you put a bit of the diamond past on either smoothly jointed maple or MDF and use that for the final honing. As long as you keep the piece of wood nice and clean, the diamond past on it is reusable and will last a while.
 
Well, I got out there and spent some time playing with planes.

I can honestly say the shaptons work as advertised. They cut quickly and leave a nicely polished surface (I'll get some pics tomorrow, Gotta get back to work work).

Even a sharpening fool like me could get a razor sharp edge using the shaptons and my Veritas MkII guide. Took very little time to see a lot of metal coming off the plane blades.

I'm very happy with them.

Now I have to work on my planing techniques.

Whether I'm using a wooden plane, or a metal one, I'm able to either take thin shavings, or full width shavings. Just can't quite seem to get to the point where I'm taking a full width, thin, even shaving... But I did turn about an inch and a half of a poplar board into shavings on the floor... :rofl:
 
Whether I'm using a wooden plane, or a metal one, I'm able to either take thin shavings, or full width shavings. Just can't quite seem to get to the point where I'm taking a full width, thin, even shaving...QUOTE]


Brent, have you noticed that there is a lever behind the blade on metal planes that controls the parallelism of the blade edge VS the body?:rofl::rofl:

Sorry Brent, I was just picking on you.

Seriously, taking a full width thin even shaving will not happen until the whole length of the board is completely flat. Moreover, sometimes whe can't get them because we do not put the plane flat against the board and it takes more on one side than from the other. That provided that the blade is portruding evenly from the sole.
 
Seriously, taking a full width thin even shaving will not happen until the whole length of the board is completely flat. Moreover, sometimes whe can't get them because we do not put the plane flat against the board and it takes more on one side than from the other. That provided that the blade is portruding evenly from the sole.

Yeah, I think my problem is just a matter of practice. Learning not only how to get he plane blade protruding evenly, but also how to hold and move the plane so it's level. Pretty easy on a 3/4 inch board to get off on an angle...
 
I would use at least a 1" wide board or 1.5" then gradually use narrow ones.

Use the thumb from your left hand on the top front end of the plane to exert downward pressure and your index and middle finger nails below the plane as a fence against the board, tha will help to maintain an even pressure and a horizontal position.
 
Thanks for sharing Brent and thanks for the planing tips Toni.

Bill if you following i think you have it right about the lessons bit. Speaking personally i think one gets to a point where tuition is well worth it if you have in mind to increase your abilities with tools. Makes a world of difference.

Lets not fortget most craftsman of old all went through an apprentice process to become a journeyman. And they did not do it with books or internet.

I look at what many have posted that have had an expert show them the way and they see a new light in their abilities when they implement the lessons.
 
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