A small carving scorp (A) is sharpened very much like an inshave. Begin by working the inside curve. Use a marker to check your progress (B), and round slipstones, if necessary, to smooth the surface. You can also use 180-and 220-grit abrasive paper wrapped around a dowel. For a very nice finish, a fast (red) or medium (green) cutting diamond paste on a dowel (C) works very well.
You can prepare the outside with a 1-in. belt sander using 100- or 150-grit belts or 220-grit abrasive paper mounted on a flat wooden board.
If you don’t have a belt sander or Tormek, use waterstones, oilstones, or slipstones to finish the outside. But if the scorp is in good enough condi-tion, you can move directly to finish honing by using diamond paste (D) and a small stick.
An alternative is a leather strop on a Tormek sharpener, which produces a nice finish when used with honing compound (E). Holding the scorp firmly against the strop, rotate it gently to hone the full curve (F). This will produce a fin-ished edge (G) that is ready to use (H).
Gauges and Knives 76
A
C
E
G H
F D B
See “Inshaves” on p. 78.
➤
Travisher
A chairmaker’s travisher (A) also has a curved blade. Start by working the inside of the blade with 180-grit abrasive paper on a large dowel or piece of PVC pipe (B). Follow this up with coarse (C) and fine (D) slipstones, taking care to keep the surface flat. Do not curve or back-bevel the edge. Use a marker to make it easier to see what you are doing, and lay the stones flat on the bevel to get good registration.
Proceed to the outside curve by clamping the blade firmly in a vise and using slipstones (E, F).
Some travisher blades have a hollow on the back face of the blade, which makes honing go quickly.
In any case, keep the stone flat on the blade.
Deburr the inside edge, and you’re ready (G, H) to use the tool.
A
C
E
G H
D
F B
Inshave
New inshaves usually need a lot of work before they can be used because the factory edge is so rough. Begin by cleaning up the inside of the curve to make sure it is as flat and smooth as you can get it. Clamp the inshave in a vise (A).
A 2-in. drum sander works well for the heavy work (B). Start with 50-grit abrasive if the edge is very rough, and finish with 80 or 100 grit. You are looking for a smooth, flat curve (C). Next, grind the outside bevel. An easy way to do this is with a 1-in. belt sander. Work above the platen, so that the belt will flex with the curve of the shave (D). A 100-grit belt used with a light touch will provide an edge smooth enough to finish off
Gauges and Knives 78
A
C
D B
easily with waterstones or oilstones (E). If you don’t have access to a belt sander, you can do all this work using 180- or 220-grit abrasive paper mounted with spray adhesive on a thin board or entirely using a 180-grit oilstone.
Next, go back to the inside edge. Use a black felt-tip marker along the edge (F) so your progress will be easier to gauge. Wrapping 180-grit sand-paper around a dowel or a piece of 2-in. PVC pipe (G) makes a nice tool for the intermediate honing. Move along the edge of the shave as you stroke the abrasive forward. Follow up with 220-grit sandpaper or fine-gouge slipstone (H) checking the edge frequently (I) until you are satisfied with the result (J).
E
G H
I J
F
Scissors
Scissors (A) can be kept sharp with a belt sander, files, or diamond files. They are easier to sharpen if you can disassemble them first (B).
Position the scissors in a vise and, maintaining the existing bevel, use several strokes of a fine file, such as an 8-in. mill file (C). Check the bevel to make sure that you’ve cleaned it right up to the edge.
Following up with a fine diamond file (D) will give you a great edge.
A belt sander with a 150-grit or 180-grit belt will do a nice job as well. Set the table to the bevel angle of the scissors (E). Lay the scissors on the table, and take very light strokes across the sur-face of the belt until the bevel is clean (F). It’s a good idea to follow up with a good fine diamond file or a piece of 220-grit abrasive paper on a wooden stick. Whatever method you use, deburr the back when you are done using a fine whet-stone (G).
Gauges and Knives 80
A
C
E
G
F D B
Planes
➤Preparing the Back of the new Blade (p. 91)
➤Preparing Chip Breakers (p. 92)
➤Grinding a Primary Bevel with a FastTrak Jig (p. 93)
➤Honing the Bevel with FastTrak (p. 94)
➤Honing without a Jig (p. 95)
➤Honing Japanese Plane Blades (p. 96)
➤Cross-Grain Nickers and Slitters (p. 97)
➤Scrub Plane Blade (p. 98) Veritas Jig (p. 100)
➤Beading Cutter for Wood Molding Plane (p. 101)
➤Molding Cutter (p. 102)
Chip Breakers Straight Blades Curved and Angled
frequently once it is sharp to keep it in top shape.
Often when people talk about plane per-formance, they focus on how thin a shaving a plane will make. Japanese craftsmen com-pete against each other with exquisitely sharp planes, producing perfectly uniform, gossamer-thin shavings. This may be inter-esting, and, in fact, a thin shaving is a good sign the blade really is sharp. But the real point of planing is to make a smooth sur-face, not produce thin shavings. When we sharpen planes, we should concentrate on what kind of surface the blade leaves. That’s what really counts.
U
sing a handplane with a sharp blade is a satisfying experience, not a chore. The blade cuts wood easily and quickly, making a distinct slicing sound and leaving behind a surface that’s smooth to the touch. Few things are as aggravating as working with a plane that tears wood fibers and leaves behind a rough, mottled surface. Although a variety of problems can make a handplane difficult to use, honing the blade razor sharp is always a first step toward getting good results. Plane blades, especially straight blades, are not difficult to sharpen, and the process need not takeA sharp handplane slices wood effortlessly, leaving behind a glassy surface that needs