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Minor(?) disruption

Posted by bedhead on March 22, 2012 with 2 Commentsas , , , , , , ,

I just wanted to post a quick note for those following my blog. I unfortunately had an acute back situation, that required hospitalization, and that was unrecoverable without immediate surgery.

I’m just getting back home, and hope to have some new content available in the coming days.  I felt compelled to share, so no one thought I’d stopped the blog, nor decided to no longer write.

Cheers,

Lee Laird

The Wood Whisperer needs a little help

Posted by bedhead on March 3, 2012 with No Comments
in Uncategorized
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Here is a link to Ron Hock’s blog, relating to the DDoS attack on The Wood Whisperer, Marc Spagnulo:

http://hocktools.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/the-wood-whisperer-needs-a-little-help/

For those that don’t already know, Marc has been sharing enjoyable and informative woodworking information via the web for a number of years. He’s a great guy and could use some assistance. It’s unconscionable the unwarranted grief someone is causing Marc and his wife Nicole!

Sharpening – Do I need to go to 30,000 grit?

Posted by bedhead on March 2, 2012 with No Commentsas , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Like many of you, I sharpen on a very regular basis. I’ve tried most of the different sharpening media that is presently available, along with some that are not so readily found any longer. I’ll share some of the results, and hopefully answer the title question.

When I first got into woodworking, I purchased three King water stones in grits up to 6000. I had decent results, but the lower grit stones dished so quickly that it seemed like I was spending too much time trying to keep them flat. At that point, I didn’t have any diamond stones, with which to quickly flatten the water stones.

Later on, I bought a WorkSharp 3000, thinking it would not only sharpen, but provide rapid repeatable results. Another of the major selling points for me, was the ability to flatten the backs of old chisels, without spending hours at a stone. The highest grit was again 6000. One thing I noticed that seemed to be even more important for the finest grit sheet, was laying the sheet completely flat. Since the grit size is so small, on the fine sheets, a small bubble or leftover residue on the plate can cause uneven honing. One accessory they added, after I “parked” my WorkSharp, is the leather honing wheel. I have not tried this option, but it may offer some of what I perceive as the missing precision, at the final honing process. One caveat to know, is leather will compress, which may not sound like a problem. Depending on the thickness of the leather, the amount of compression can vary, and cause some unwanted results. One such negative result would be a slight rounding over of the tool edge. This may not show itself, until your next sharpening. Put some black marker on the surface you wish to check, out to the very edge. Work the tool in the normal manner, at the grit at which you normally start. After a quick touch to the media, check to see if any of the marker remains, at the very edge. If it does, this indicates the very edge has at minimum, a slight rounding. Since I haven’t personally played with their leather honing wheel, I can’t advise as to its compression factor, but a light touch is suggested. The WorkSharp, in my configuration, provided decent results.

The next sharpening system I purchased was a Tormek T-7. One of the selling points for this system, is it has a large number of accessories that make it possible to sharpen almost anything. For my needs, that part was overkill, since I primarily wanted to quickly and easily sharpen my chisels and plane irons. The T-7’s sharpening wheel has a grit size of 220, which using the provided stone grader, can be modified to act as a 1000 grit. It works well, but as you might imagine, even after going to it’s leather stropping wheel, the tool sharpened was no where near a 6000 grit sharpness. On tools such as turning gouges and the like, the level of sharpness from the T-7 was certainly adequate. Tormek has additional sharpening wheels, of which, one is a 4000 grit Japanese stone. I have not tried this stone, but it is still an option, for those wishing a finer edge, while still using the Tormek. For optimal results, chisels and plane irons still needed, at minimum, some light attention on an 8000 grit stone.

I own both Norton 220/1000 & 4000/8000 water stones, as well as Shapton Glass stones in 1000 & 16000 grits. The Norton stones have a medium matrix, so they both provide new abrasive regularly, but it’s strong enough that they don’t dish as quickly as the King stones. Even with this said, I flatten these stones either between each tool, or after a minute or two of use. This may sound compulsive, but it’s what is required to know you are not unintentionally adding shape to an edge. The Shapton Glass stone series is a ceramic matrix that is quite a bit stronger than the Norton’s matrix. With this, they dish much less quickly, while still sharpening quite rapidly. I still flatten these regularly, but I can probably work a bit longer, before it’s needed. Since they sharpen quickly, it’s unusual to spend more time on a stone, than it can stay flat, other than potentially the 1000 stone. While I don’t use the Shapton stones as regularly, I keep them for sharpening non-flat items such as carving tools. The harder matrix helps them hold up to the tough contact of this type of tool, much better than a softer stone. Both Norton and Shapton water stones, at these grits, provide an extremely sharp tool that I can trust to be razor sharp.

Ok, ok, I haven’t mentioned anything in my kit that is close to a 30000 grit. How can I try to compare tools sharpened via these stones/devices to a tool at 30000 grit, if I don’t actually have a 30000 grit stone? Yeah, that wouldn’t be cool. As it happens, I do actually have a couple of natural Japanese water stones, that are each in the 25000 – 35000 grit range. I have tested both American and German made tool steels as well as Japanese tool steels on these stones. Can I tell the difference? Hmmm, that’s a good question. I really don’t think I can tell much difference in the non-Japanese tools. Once something is razor sharp (e.g. reaching the 8000 grit range), it’s exceedingly hard to feel much difference in the way it interacts with wood, at higher grits. On my best Japanese chisels, I can tell the sharpness is enhanced, even though it isn’t hugely different, as you might find moving from 6000 to 8000 grits. Beyond the sharpening aspect, the natural Japanese water stones leave a different finish on the tools. This is most noticeable on the laminated Japanese tools, although still viewable on almost all tools. With the laminated tools, these water stones leave a different finish on the hardened steel compared to the soft iron. The hardened steel looks almost like a cold mirror, that someone has breathed on, leaving the foggy myst. This is much more pronounced than when sharpening these laminated tools on other stones. Other tools will also take on this non-shiny texture, and strangely, it is still amazingly sharp.

Many people look at a tool’s edge, and if sharp, expect to see a mirrored type of reflection. Just a reminder that shiny does not always equal sharp, especially if the sharpener did not hone at an angle sufficient to reach the very edge. When you sharpen, make sure you raise a burr on the opposite side, so you know you’ve actually reached the edge. Otherwise you may just make something shiny.

Is it necessary to sharpen a tool to 30000 grit? For me, no, but this seems like a more personal question. I think as long as you sharpen to 8000 grit, as a minimum, you’ll have tools that make woodworking what it’s suppose to be. FUN! Go make some shavings.