Life is good when one can manage to get a laugh. It's even better when
the laughter leads to progress. Well, if you want a laugh, and you want
to learn how to get the sole (bottom) of a plane flat, or a plane iron or
chisel blade sharp, read the
The D&S Scary Sharp ™ System.
You can get them sharp... Scary Sharp!
Below, you'll find a jig that I made to implement the Scary Sharp ™ system. It's a pretty safe bet that yours won't come out exactly like mine. The problem is the plate glass. I was able to pick up a couple of " pieces of plate glass at an auction. Never know what you'll find at one of those things. Anyway, it was sort of odd that they were both the "same size," but one of them wasn't square... that will be important a little later. All I can say is that if you have yours cut, make sure that it's both, flat and square.
There were several goals for this jig. It had to:
There are options for the flat piece; granite or marble, and if you can find a couple of pieces cheap, it's decadent, but nice. Plate glass is another option. The way glass is made today, it's reasonably flat, at least it's flat enough for sharpening. I went with glass because I got a deal on it before I figured out a way to be decadent. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go to a monument or trophy shop and get a piece of polished marble.
Following is a cut list of materials for the jig that I built. It's real straight forward and very easy to build.
| Item | Qty | Component | Material | Notes | Dimensions (L, W, H) |
| A | 1 | base | plywood | 24" x 17" x " | |
| B | 2 | honing plates | glass | *1 | 16" x 11" x " |
** Notes **
*1. - Glass, granite, marble, or some other "very flat" surface for holding the sandpaper.
In addition to the wood components and major materials above, you will also need the following consumable supplies:
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Cut your materials...Using some good quality " Baltic birch ply, cut the base (A) for the jig. While you're at the tablesaw, cut some scrap ply about 1" wide. You'll be using them as "keepers" for the plate glass. You'll want to cut enough to wrap your plates on three sides. Measure the thickness of your plates. Over at the router table, chuck a rabbeting bit and cut a rabbet about " over the that thickness. Inset the rabbet " to " from the edge. If the thickness of your plate material will accommodate it, turn it over, and along the same edge, cut another rabbet just like the first one. If you're going to band the edges, this is a good time do it. I saw no need for it on this jig, but do whatever makes you happy. |
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Frame the glass...Miter or square the corners as you see fit to frame the glass. Ultimately, you'll want the glass framed in such a manner that the edge of the glass is captured under the rabbets you made in the 1" strips you made earlier. Also, you'll want a pretty tight fit to keep the glass from shifting once you begin scrubbing metal pieces back and forth across it. That " extra clearance you gave the rabbet when you cut it keeps it from putting any lateral pressure on the glass when you clamp the base down to your bench. Now, just wrap a new, uncut frame on top of that one and both pieces of glass should slip into the rabbets that were built for them. Note in the picture that the frames are set back from the edge of the glass. That way, the frames don't get in the way when I lay sandpaper on the glass and start sharpening. Also, I framed mine such that the glass sits back about an inch from the edge of the base. Storage recesses the glass just a bit to keep the edge of the glass from getting nicked. A 1" spacer brings it to the edge when I want to use it. |
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Add the hacksaw blade...Finally, just screw in a hacksaw blade about 4" from the edge of the base to trim the sandpaper to size. An old one will work as well as a new one for this application. I cut a couple of "spacers" out of an index card and put one under each screw. It gives it just a little clearance to slip the sandpaper under it. |
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Use the jig...As you can see from the cutting tools laying on the jig, it can sharpen lots of tools. It's great for the flats and bevel edges of chisels or plane irons. It works for honing my mortise chisels, and it's even good for truing up a plane sole if you happen to pick one up. Believe me, Stanly's ain't flat out of the box anymore! Also in the photo, you may note the need several grits of sandpaper. Although you can't see them, I keep grits up to 2000 (available in auto finishing stores) around for polishing my cutting tools. As much as dull tools are a pain to use, and potentially dangerous, sharp ones are a such a pleasure. Cut some sandpaper, a light spray of your 3M-77, and you're in business. Just start coarse and work your way through each grit. Don't skip any, as the time you save will be your own. |
If you aren't familiar with 3M-77, USE CAUTION and BE CAREFUL! It's full of acetone and is flammable. Also, it can make you a little woozy. It's full of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and can be dangerous to breathe. Get, read, and pay attention to the MSDS. If at all possible, use it outside. Keep some acetone around for cleaning the glue residue off.
Truth is, you don't need two, but it comes in handy. First, with two plates, you can load up the coarse grits and get busy, and then clean it all at one time. Load the next series of grits, so forth and so on. It just cuts down on the number of sandpaper glue-on/cleaning cycles one must endure. Second, it's a great, flat reference surface for setting the angle of your blades in a honing jig.
