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paulc

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Hello, I've been using a stanley bench plane now on and off for about a year , honing it with a japanese water stone but have not given it a new bevel which i think is long overdue as the bevel and cutting angle have kind of merged , Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced tool/grinder to make new bevels on my plane & chisel blades and tell me if the fact that most grinders have two wheels mean that you hone the cutting angle on the grinder as well as the bevel? Also is a separate angle guide necessary when buying a grinder. Thanks for your help, paul.
 
paulc":3fgrz9pu said:
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced tool/grinder to make new bevels on my plane & chisel blades
As you will only use it for the primary bevel, I suggest you get the cheapest version you can find (mine was about €25 (Netherlands)).

I installed an angle guide by cutting of a piece of angle iron and screwing it to the grinder at 25 degrees (to the wheel). I only use the coarse wheel for the primary bevel and then use scary sharp for the secondary bevel (waterstones, oilstones are just as good of course).

Jasper
 
as the bevel and cutting angle have kind of merged

In that case your requirment is a honing guide, not a grinder...

BugBear
 
I have the cheapest bench grinder I could find (£12 from Makro Cash and Carry) but I recently bought a Veritas Tool rest and grinding jig http://www.axminster.co.uk/name/ver...-Veritas-Tool-Rest-and-Grinding-Jig-22615.htm.
The grinder and tool rest are bolted to a square of 18 mm ply which I can clamp to the bench as needed. The jig comes with a handy little angle setter so you can select the bevel you want from 20 - 35 degrees. I've just used this set-up to regrind an old plane blade that had been badly ground and over-heated https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8751.
I found that making lots of light passes did the job with very little heat generated in the blade. I ground the bevel to within about 1 mm of the edge and then like Jasper I used the "Scary Sharp" method to hone the edge. If you don't know about scary sharp it basically uses wet and dry abrasive stuck to a glass plate or similar flat surface...lots of references to it on the net. There are also cheaper tool rest/grinding jigs about or home made solutions but so far I'm impressed with the Veritas one. I also used the 60g wheel on my grinder but a recent thread made a reference to a site that recommended using a coarser wheel because it cuts quicker and therefore generates less heat...can't find it at the moment but if I do I'll post the link.

cheers

George
 
If you only want to use it for a few plane and chisel blades, why not simply use a very coarse sharpening stone for the primary bevel (water stone, diamond stone, oil stone - they all work well)? If you do it regularly, and use a honing guide, it is quick, easy and you don't run the risk of burning the blades (which will ruin them :shock: ) which is so easy to do with high speed, non-water cooled grinders.

Paul
 
I found the link I mentioned in my previous post...It is to the Clark and Williams web site http://www.planemaker.com/articles/grinding2.html.
They recommend grinding with a 36g Aluminium oxide wheels, which is probably the coarsest wheel on a cheap bench grinder, because it cuts fast and reduces the time the blade needs to be in contact with the wheel.

cheers

George
 
bugbear":1dq7v5dy said:
as the bevel and cutting angle have kind of merged

In that case your requirment is a honing guide, not a grinder...

BugBear
Not necessarily, BB.
If you use a secondary bevel then over time this will be honed wider and wider until the primary and secondary bevel merge.
Philly :D
 
part of your question asks about two wheels.

well most grinders were originally designed for metalwork
and they have two different grade wheels.

the other thing is that most grinders use a kind of direct drive, and
to offer more, have something at each end of the central shaft..

other than those of us who use the tormek, suggest that the cruesen system works quite well and is not too expensive. however if you have only one blade to do, spring for a really coarse diamond or water stone,
and a veritas mk11 guide.

hope this offers another view
paul :wink:
 
Paul Chapman":3o9x1muj said:
it is quick, easy and you don't run the risk of burning the blades (which will ruin them :shock: ) which is so easy to do with high speed, non-water cooled grinders.

Just wondering, has anyone tried modifying one of these to slow them down a bit?
Maybe one of those plug in controllers that people used to use to slow down fixed speed routers.

I just thought that if you could slow a cheap grinder down, it would be easier to control the temperature.
 
j":1m0cn9fh said:
Just wondering, has anyone tried modifying one of these to slow them down a bit?
Maybe one of those plug in controllers that people used to use to slow down fixed speed routers.

I just thought that if you could slow a cheap grinder down, it would be easier to control the temperature.

Will not work. Slow speed grinders are made differently, (more poles).

Bench Grinders are induction motors, the speed is dependant on the number of fixed poles and winding coils, the type of controller you are referring to only works with universal motors (they have brushes)

Slowing it down does not reduce the heat significantly, Same energy needs to be dispersed, improving the cutting action to remove metal as opposed to rubbing is the answer without coolant. wheels need to be dressed regularly to remove the glazing and keep a sharp cutting surface.

If you read round the advertising blurb there is a good description of cutting mechanics HERE.
 
How exactly do you "dress" a wheel.
I'm suddenly interested in grinding, as I went to the local Aldi on Sunday to buy some mushrooms. They had some bench grinders there for £12

On impulse, I thought i'd give them a whirl :eek:
 
j":ljmb05n3 said:
How exactly do you "dress" a wheel.
I'm suddenly interested in grinding, as I went to the local Aldi on Sunday to buy some mushrooms. They had some bench grinders there for £12

On impulse, I thought i'd give them a whirl :eek:

A whole raft of differing devices but some are shown here and here

You hold the device gently against the stone or 'dress it' across the cutting surface to remove the blunt cutting particles.
 
Not necessarily, BB.
If you use a secondary bevel then over time this will be honed wider and wider until the primary and secondary bevel merge.
Philly

Er. No. The primary bevel merely reduces to zero as the secondary bevel becomes the entire bevel.

The 2 bevels never merge. That sounds like the ever popular rounded bevel.

BugBear
 
Bugbear wrote:

The 2 bevels never merge. That sounds like the ever popular rounded bevel.

... which is quickly and easily dealt with on a bench grinder (cheapo or Tormek equally useful), some water, and half an ounce of nouse?.

Then restoring a nice secondary bevel with or without a honing guide depending on your degree of handskill.

How difficult or complex is it really?

Ike
 
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced tool/grinder to make new bevels on my plane & chisel blades

I'm coming into this discussion late but want to point out that serious consideration should be given to a belt sander. MUCH less likely to burn an edge than a grinder, EASIER to use and FAR more versatile.

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
I took a belt sander that I wasn't using and made my own grinder.

sander3.jpg


I added a tool rest from Lee Valley. I'll take a pic once I get installed.
 

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