Reply To: Stanley No. 4 – what am I doing wrong?
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@kirsty , thanks for the video. You’re making good progress, but there are a few things I’d change. The most important one is that, when you take the burr off the back, you want the blade to be dead flat on the abrasive. At a little after 4 minutes in the video, you take the burr off with the blade lifted up off of the paper, just the tip in contact. This puts a back bevel on the blade, which can be useful for a plane iron at times, but isn’t something you want on a chisel. I’d not put it on your plane irons either at this point.
When using a jig, I think the easiest way to get the burr off is to put the paper on the tile with the long edge parallel to the edge of the tile and right at the very edge of the tile. This lets you put the blade dead flat on the paper and either move in and out with short motions or move side to side in long motions. If you are happy with the short motions (and they would be fine), then you can keep the paper crosswise, like you have it, but make sure the paper comes right up to the edge so that you can reach it. Note that the eclipse jig stays on the blade and just hangs over the edge.
I think you’ll see that the tape is getting in your way, so the spray adhesive would be better. As someone else pointed out, you can see the paper billowing up ahead of the blade because it isn’t glued. This is what quickly causes the edge to round over. It’s not a problem when working the bevel, usually, but it is a problem when working the back. So, I’d get this ironed out before flattening your backs. You can keep sharpening, but my suggestion is to only do drawing motions when removing the burr, never pushing motions, until you get the paper dead flat and stable on the tile.
The next thing I’d suggest is that I can see a lot of stress on your fingers. Rather than working with one hand, try working with two. I curl my fingers under the blade up above the Eclipse jig and put my two thumbs down safely near the edge. Now, the work is shared by two thumbs. I also like to have the jig right in front of me rather than off to the side. Finally, rather than making short strokes, I make long strokes, as long as I can fit on the paper. If you lengthen the strokes, I think you’ll find it goes faster. When you find it goes faster, I think you’ll also find you don’t need as much pressure. This will add up to happier hands. (As an aside, when I work freehand, the tool is more off to the side, like you’re doing here, but with a jig, it’s right in front. Everyone finds their favorite style).
To work two handed, you need to find a way to immobilize your tile. A bit of shelf liner will do it. Or, tape it to a board and clamp the board to the counter. By the way, that nice, white counter top is in real danger of scratching from the tile and turning black from the swarf. You can decide if you care. If so, you can figure out a way to guard against it, I’m sure.
If you have a scrap of wood an inch or two wide and a few inches long, get your blade set up in the jig, then hold the scrap under the blade and pushed up against the jig. Now trace a pencil line across your blade onto the scrap. Now, you don’t need to measure any more. Just use that scrap and pencil line.
Regarding the chisels, the manufacturer’s lapping / grinding marks are quite visible, so they ought to be flattened. Nevertheless, I stay with my earlier suggestion, which is to get more sharpening experience before you flatten them. If you try to do it with the billowing sandpaper, I think you’ll have some issues. You’ll be able to get sharp enough anyway for making a workbench, especially since so much is mortising at this point, so keep going. Get some spray adhesive. (-:
Dean has a nice photo, but be aware that you can’t always see a burr like that. Often, you can only feel them. I try to make the smallest burr I can feel. It’s less work. That’s for another day…for now just do anything that makes a burr.
Keep going. You’re doing well!
Oh yeah, when you take the chip breaker off or put it on, do it in a way that it doesn’t touch the edge. Watch Paul…you’ll see him but it on sideways, drawn all the way back. He then rotates the cap iron onto the back of the blade. It’s still a good cm or so back from the edge. He then slides it up to the edge. If you push it straight off the edge or onto the edge, you can dull what you just sharpened. To take it off, loosen the screw, pull the cap iron straight back (not forward) and rotate it to the side, then remove.