 If I am to fettle my planes, I reckon I should take the opportunity to upgrade from my old-and-a-bit-curvy oilstone to a diamond stone or two. Do these vary in quality? Does anyone have any recommendations, bearing in mind that I want to use it for my plane blades as well? (And bearing in mind that I can be a bit tight fisted!!!). Axminster have some on offer at the moment, but they look too small, being only 40mm wide. Mike
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 Hi Mike
Yes there is a variation in quality, same as everything really. I bought some cheap ones from a market stall a few months ago, purely for flattening the backs of my chisels, and for what they cost me, a pack of 3 150mm by 50mm, a fiver, they work really well. How well they would last in everyday use I wouldn't like to guess, but if you could find some at that price just to try them to see how you get on with diamond you wouldn't lose too much if they weren't for you.
Al
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 Mike, if you're fettling then you'll need a large-ish piece of 12mm float glass and some wet and dry paper. The float glass provides you with a flat surface to work your planes soles against. You can use a spray adhesive to attache the w&d paper, or better still just use water to create a vacuum between paper and glass, this works fine for smaller planes.
Make sure the glass isn't toughened because this has a tendency to curve during the tempering process.
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Ben, we're getting the two processes mixed up. I am fettling with wet & dry on glass, but at the same time, I have checked my oilstone and realised it is hollowed probably beyond redemption so need to replace it with something flat. No point having a flat sole to my planes for the first time ever, then having a curved blade! Mike
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Sorry Mike, my mistake.
Have you considered japanese water stones? I have a diamond stone which cost a small fortune but I still prefer to use my two King water stones which cost a fraction of the price. Water stones
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Having used wet & dry on glass all evening, and having flattened and sharpened the plane blades this way, I can't actually see what is wrong with sharpening like this all the time. I have seen some American sites where this seems to be called "scary sharp".......and I have to say that I don't think my plane blades have ever been so sharp. I'll write more about my fettling another time, but all I'll say now is that I had to take so much off one of the planes that I used 100 grit paper! I even had to resort to the belt sander........!!!! - -I can hear the hissing from here, fellas!
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 Nothing wrong with careful use of the belt sander for grinding a wonky plane iron Mike, as long as you are not too greedy and keep dipping it in water to keep the temperature within sensible tolerances. Isn't that what belt sanders are for? (whoa - only joking!) Don't dispair on your oilstones just yet, an oilstone that cannot be rescued is a rare thing indeed, although it may take some work. They can be filed if needed and then flattened using your coarse wet and dry and your glass plate. In fact, with all the rounded and clogged particles gone you will probably find that they work rather well for a while. I have a £50 diamond stone that I hate because it tends to grab steel from the blade, resulting in a lump and a big groove in the surface you are trying to sharpen. Also I have yet to find a diamond stone that is fine enough for proper honing, they are OK for grinding and flattening other media, but as a sharpening tool they are far from the be all and end all. In all honesty you are probably on a more fruitful path sticking with scary sharpening. Cheers, Matthew www.workshopheaven.com
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Matthew, many thanks for that advice. More than anything, I wanted to hear from someone with experience of a diamond stone, and that has certainly helped make my mind up. I think I will stick to "Scary Sharpening". I did try flattening my oilstone, but went through so much sand-paper that it seemed fruitless. I think filing it would mean sacrificing a file....so I might try using a big angle grinder (held down on the bench somehow, then offer the stone up to the flat of the spinning disc). If they have an internet connection, I'll let you know fron the Accident and Emergency Department how I got on! The belt sander was called for when I examined the lever cap of my block plane, and found that the bulging braze was so thick that I could fit 2 layers of cereal packet cardboard between the cap and the blade. It did a nice job, and finished off on the glass plate the 2 pieces of steel sit nicely together now. Mike
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 Mike, The D.M.T.stone that I was thinking of buying at the show if they had been there is probably he best, a little over £100:00 also Trend do one similar, they are fairly large 100 x250 or therabouts, you should also get the extra fine to get the best edge from one. Derek.
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Mike, Let us know how you get on fettling old tools, I tried it on my planes that had been in constant use for many years and nothing happened, I can understand wanting to do it to a new plane sole or iron, but one that has been giving good service for thirty or more years will have worn itself in and would be as flat as can be, and so cannot be improved on. Derek.
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Mike if you take up the scary sharp thing full time let us know how you get on with it. My feelings on it having tried oilstones and using waterstones full time is that the scary sharp thing is the most effective means I have ever found of getting a fantastically sharp edge on a blade. It's the easiest, fastest and most effective. Having said that it is way too expensive to be used full time, or perhaps its just me sharpening too often but Im going through packs of paper in no time. I do still use it though when I have chipped edges as a means of repair before going to the waterstones. Unfortunately it has left me a bit disappointed with waterstones. Haven't tried diamond and given the cost of sharpening media (ie too expensive to experiment) I'm not likely to alas.
Cheers Mike
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| Edited: 09/05/08 20:59 |
Interesting Mike....I hadn't thought of the cost. I was impressed with the wear of the wet & dry that I fettled with, and imagined that it would last quite a while tiffling up the odd plane blade and chisel. I'll let you know. You might be interested to know that I managed quite successfully to flatten my oilstone using a 9" angle grinder. I simply put one of the thick stone blades in, taped the trigger in place, and held the machine in a vice. Once spinning I offered the oilstone up to the flat of the blade, and it ground it down quite nicely. I did have to wire-brush the debris away a couple of times, but I now have a nice flat oil-stone for the first time in years. Something to fall back on if scary sharpening proves unsuccessful. I have never even seen a water stone (except yesterday on an internet video), and like you, I haven't tried diamonds because it seemed like an expensive gamble. Mike
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| Edited: 09/05/08 22:53 |
Am I the only one cringing at the thought of it? Blimey Mike I thought you were kidding - I'd have given you a file for nowt if I'd known you were serious!
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No, you won't be...wait 'til Olly reads about it! Once he becomes a Health and Safety man, I reckon he'll be straight up to Essex to shut me down! Mike PS........I'll have that free file though.......!!!!!!
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Derek, sorry, I'm not ignoring you......I just missed this post. I'm sure you will have seen the long story of my fettling here It certainly helped my little block plane, but for the plane I've had for years it made little difference. Mike
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I wonder whether dry wall screen would work for flattening an oilstone? It's what I use for flattening the waterstones. Quick run over the dry wall screen before each blade to make sure they're flat and you're away - takes seconds but I imagine waterstones are more easily dealt with this way than oilstones. I don't have enough experience of oilstones to say.
Cheers Mike
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.jpg) Mike (Garnham), I'm speachless  - but at the same, time glad you're somehow okay! 
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You really do worry too much Olly!
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That'll be the day when anyone on here is speechless!!!!! Derek.
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 Mike I take it you used a stone cutting disc in your angle grinder, sounds a bit scary hope you put on your safety glasses. At least to please the safety rep. George
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