Sharpening router plane irons
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31 May 2018 at 4:16 am #548310
I took my brand new Lee Valley iron out of the package and promptly dropped it on the step of my workmate. Of course, it landed edge down and I had to re-lapp the back, hone the bevel… My question is this: The iron is tiny. How do you folks hold it to sharpen it? I wore through the skin on my finger trying to fix my blade but there has to be a better way. I was using Paul’s diamond plate/sandpaper then leather strop method.
Thanks everyone. Cheers,
Daniel31 May 2018 at 8:34 am #548311I’ll admit to sanding through my skin once or twice with the diamond stones myself. Easy to do with small irons.
Paul shows an alternative for router irons. He sharpens with the little diamond paddles and rests the end of it on the bench to register the correct angle. It works with router irons and marking knives.
https://paulsellers.com/2017/01/sharpening-router-cutters-hand-simple-works-best/
For small plane irons, typically router and plough blades that are too small to hold in the fingers and to maintain an accurate angle on your sharpening medium, try one of these or a similar hand vice.
http://www.marks-miniatures.com/en/4502588.html@SAILOR Is this the regular (large) router plane? Mine came with a finger-sized metal bar that you can use for sharpening. Unscrew the blade from the normal post and attach it to the sharpening bar, which then serves as a handle.
Alternatively, you can use the old fashioned method of keeping the blade on the regular post, flipping the thing upside down, and hanging the post over the edge of your stone so that the bevel can rest on the stone. That’s what I usually do. I suppose if you had a lot to grind off, yes, that would take some fingerprints away, but for normal sharpening it’s quick and easy.
I haven’t had to sharpen any of my router plane blades much (but I really should). That said, I bought the little set of EZE Lap diamond paddles (available at Highland Woodworking among others) and they are really handy to have in the shop for a number of reasons. And they are quite affordable at $6 a piece.
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/eze-lapdiamondpaddlecoarse.aspx
Small irons are hard to hold, that’s not going to change. Either you go Paul’s route or you mitigate the problem presented by gripping small router plane irons.
For me, the best answer is Derek Cohen’s trick for hollow grinds on router plane irons. Vic Tesolin does a video on it — https://youtu.be/cuNu-GlgH88
Once the hollow grind is established, it’s very quick and easy to sharpen the edge each time. It’s just a handful of strokes on the stones, and it’s not too difficult to grip even my 1/8″ router plane iron for a stroke or 2 on the 2k, 1 or 2 on the 6k, and a couple on the 10k. I generally don’t worry about the burr, the first time you use the blade, the burr will come off. If you’re going directly into something that will be seen, for example the last passes at depth for a groove which is a show surface (the groove is just for a shadow line, for example), then I would remove the burr.
31 May 2018 at 8:51 pm #548329I had to lap the back because I stupidly dropped it on metal. I got it mostly back, there’s still a hair that needs work so I’ll lap it again next time I have it on the plates. For now, I’ll just see how it goes. It’s the 1/2″ Lee Valley iron and it’s in a plane I’m building myself. I’ll include a picture of the plane as it stands to date.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.3 June 2018 at 2:15 am #548345I didn’t get that bar with mine. I’ll have to check and see if it’s in their inventory. Maybe it only comes if you buy the router plane as well? I only purchased the iron since I was building my own plane. Thanks for the tips guys.
Daniel3 June 2018 at 6:56 am #548347I just turn the cutter upside down on the post and sharpen it that way. Not as good as the little jig I guess, but it works.
3 June 2018 at 5:52 pm #548348Edmund, I’m trying to find that bar and can’t find it anywhere on the LV site. Anybody seen the bar in the image above somewhere on the LV site? I’m looking in the sharpening section so maybe I need to look elsewhere.
3 June 2018 at 5:57 pm #548349It was under rabbet planes, with the router plane proper. Guess I’m off to LV tomorrow on the way home. 🙂
Guess I’m off to LV tomorrow on the way home
I should look at mine for you. I’d think you could make one in five minutes from a stick of hardwood. The recipe is probably, “screw the blade to a stick, maybe with a small rabbet to keep the blade from rotating.” The dimensions don’t matter, as long as the stick doesn’t hit the stone.
4 June 2018 at 12:03 am #548357Ed,
I’m feeling quite daft at this point. Of course, I cam make one with a stick. I have a stack of Black Locust that will serve very well for this little part that requires much strength for the pressure it will endure and I can’t do much with pieces that small anyway. A perfect use for some of my scraps. I’ll be able to make it a little longer than the LV one as well so I can hold it even better. Plus, I can use my newly built router plane to cut the little rabbet for it. Thanks for the pointer. I’ll do that tomorrow instead.
Cheers,
Daniel -
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