Oil, water and whetstones.

[cliveskelton]

Can someone please tell me where I can buy a 8in x 3in oil,water or whetstone without having to pay the ridiculous prices that are being asked for on most of the online websites, I am on a budget and will not pay more than £20.00 Am I hoping for too much? or are there products out there that I can`t find, I actually seen one whetstone priced at nearly £400.00 and others are mostly priced anywhere between £50-£200, Yeah right; like I`m going to pay that. Anyone help me please.

 

[bugbear]

Can someone please tell me where I can buy a 8in x 3in oil,water or whetstone without having to pay the ridiculous prices that are being asked for on most of the online websites, I am on a budget and will not pay more than £20.00 Am I hoping for too much? or are there products out there that I can`t find, I actually seen one whetstone priced at nearly £400.00 and others are mostly priced anywhere between £50-£200, Yeah right; like I`m going to pay that. Anyone help me please.

If you want an 8x2 stone, the world is your reasonably priced oyster.

If you insist on a specialist size, you get to pay specialist prices.

The only way to get a cheap 8x3 is SiC (or similar) abrasive sheets.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

Yes 8x3' is an expensive size. Most people manage with 8x2". It doesn't have to be wider than your blade.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Norton 8x3" india oilstones are about £20. Rutlands, Classic hand tools etc stock them. They are not a combination stone though, only one grit.

 

[morfa]

Norton 8x3" india oilstones are about £20. Rutlands, Classic hand tools etc stock them. They are not a combination stone though, only one grit.

Here's a handy link:

http://classichandtools.co.uk/acatalog/ ... tones.html

You can get all three for £50 from Classic Hand Tools. Coincidentally it's what I'm asking the missus to get me for christmas.

 

[AndyT]

+1 for Norton from Classic Hand Tools. I have a medium one to complement my old hard Arkansas stone and it is excellent. And CHT are a very good supplier - they only sell decent stuff, at sensible prices and deliver it quickly.

 

[Fromey]

I have the three Norton stones but didn't find them very flat. At the risk of derailing the thread, what is a good way of flattening oil stones? I've tried a concrete slab, but to little avail.

 

[cliveskelton]

My thanks to each of you for your replies, I haven`t worked out how to say thanks individually yet but I`m grateful to you all.
I do have a 8x2 but I`ve just acquired a size 5 1/2 record plane which has a 60mm cutter, I can`t use the 8x2 to sharpen that can I ?????? I`ve also looked on the C H T and Rutlands websites and the Norton ones look like my best bet.

One other thing, Has anyone had any experience with the RIDER range of block planes that Axminster have on their website and in their catalogue?.

 

[Jacob]

My thanks to each of you for your replies, I haven`t worked out how to say thanks individually yet but I`m grateful to you all.
I do have a 8x2 but I`ve just acquired a size 5 1/2 record plane which has a 60mm cutter, I can`t use the 8x2 to sharpen that can I ?....

Yes you can. That's normal - it's what almost everybody always does (or used to do).
That's why 8x2 stones are so common second hand.
Some used to manage with a 1" wide stone (usually square section so 4 sided).

 

[Jacob]

I have the three Norton stones but didn't find them very flat. At the risk of derailing the thread, what is a good way of flattening oil stones? I've tried a concrete slab, but to little avail.

Just use them, but spread the load as you go so that the whole surface gets taken down. If you get it right you never need to flatten them ever.
NB a hollow along the length is no problem. A hollow across the width is useful for plane blades as they all need a slight camber.

 

[bugbear]

My thanks to each of you for your replies, I haven`t worked out how to say thanks individually yet but I`m grateful to you all.

Just click the little "thumbs up" sign by the post you wish to thank for.

I do have a 8x2 but I`ve just acquired a size 5 1/2 record plane which has a 60mm cutter, I can`t use the 8x2 to sharpen that can I ??????

(fairly) easily. Either put the blade on a twist, so that it is (indeed) all on the stone, or (more conventionally) just move the blade side-to-side as you move it back and forth.

In the "old days" plane blades were a good deal wider, with 2 1/2" being common, yet old stone were often narrower then 2". These techniques were normal.

Walter, in "The Village Carpenter", set in the 1900s rose speaks of preferring a narrow stone, since it was pretty much impossible for a narrow stone to become hollow in its width when used as described.

I've just saved you 50 quid!

BugBear

 

[Sheffield Tony]

NB a hollow along the length is no problem. A hollow across the width is useful for plane blades as they all need a slight camber.

This is why I bought a 3" Norton stone - I have an old Norton 2" combination stone, which is slightly dished. It is tolerable for chisels, great for the jack plane, but I wanted my #4 and #6 to have no camber, so needed a flatter stone - which I only use for those blades in the hope that it stays flat.

 

[cliveskelton]

My thanks to everyone, As you can probably tell I am quite new to all this, I am in the process of converting my shed into a small workshop and buying my tools second hand so any advice anyone can give me on anything relative would be gratefully appreciated.