The feature article in this month’s FWW is on sharpening with sandpaper.
I figured I’d give it a try. I did a few things differently, however
1) Rather than use glass I used a 12″x24″ polished porcelain tile. Very flat, very strong, and cheap. I also have a few boxes left over from a bathroom reno.
2) Although the author is Canadian, the source for microabrasives is a NYC based company, whose website noted they are out of stock on the fine grit abrasives. UPS generally screws us poor canucks for ‘brokerage’ (i.e. because they can), often for as much or more money as whatever we buy, so I hate buying low cost things in the US. Lee Valley has microabrasive sheets, so I got 5 of each grit of the ‘non-PSA’ variety (they don’t sell PSA in the finest grit).
3) I cut each sheet into 6 pieces and sprayed the backs of my 3 grits with Elmer’s spray adhesive. Before applying the sheets, I cleaned the tile with tack cloth. The sheets peel off real easy for replacement, and the glue removes instantly with paint thinner (‘varsol’)
The system worked real well. Because the sheets are much wider than my water stones, sharpening my LN skew block plane with my Veritas Mark II jig was much more controllable. Sharpening a smoother blade (I put a very large radius on them) will be easier for the same reason. I did all 5 blades for my bevel up planes, the LN, and block planes very quickly once the set up was done.
The only drawback is the mineral oil. Too gooey. I’ll probably try water next time.
Replies
I use glass and 3M WDSC abrasives up to 2000 grit. I do it dry and use compressed air to clean the abrasive. I questioned the mineral oil for the same reason. Does the oil or water actually extend the life of the abrasive or improve the results? My instinct is not.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
P.L robertson, the mfgr of them thar square head screws from yer home town woulda slapped yer butt for yer perspective while he was rolling over in his grave.
All you had do do was contact yer local automotive finsihing supply house and you coulda had all the fine grit abrasives you ever needed, sans any import duties. Heck chances are they were on the shelf at yer local CDN tire store even.
Use yer tiles, but when they run out, use any engineered flat surface, beit plate glass, old granite sink cut outs, the odd slab of MDF, or even apiece of smooth HPL countertop.
Yer perspective simply points out the beauty of the scarey sharp system...
It can work anywhere with only a modicum of ingenuity.
Eric in Calgary..
Home of yer Prime Minister...
"UPS generally screws us poor canucks for 'brokerage' "
All the courier companies do the same unless they are running a flat shipping fee deal. If your willing to wait for a week or two, request the package be sent by parcel post. When the package arrives Canada Customs only charges $5.00 as a brokering fee plus the applicable taxes and you get a notice in the mail. Take it to the indicated postal outlet, pay the fee and take your goodies home. You can decide if the savings are worth the extra time and mileage, but keep in mind that the $5.00 stays the same no matter how much the items cost.
We now return to our regularly scheduled discussion. ;-)
What I have found is that many (most) US web retailers ship only UPS - there are a few exceptions. The best ones are folks like Cabelas which ship to Canada and then ship from Canada internally.
In the olden days, prior to the laughably named 'Free Trade Agreement' 'brokerage' had some meaning, because of duties and the fact that, over and above sales taxes, things had to be classified according to the the various bureacratic categories. 'Brokerage' now consists of remitting taxes, and if a $40 surcharge for collecting $2 in tax is being screwed, I don't know what it is. UPS charges it whether you like it or not.
I have ordered things from the US and insisted on other shipment, and then had it delivered UPS in any event.
The message is clear: wherever possible I avoid buying stuff to be shipped from the US unless UPS' thievery is going to be immaterial to the transaction ...
An alternative, of course, is to have it shipped to a US friend, and have it then shipped to you as a personal shipment. No brokerage except on commercial shipments, right?My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
Absolutely - for those with firends :)
Or, try source the stuff in the snowy north.
Of course, 'rip offs' work both ways. I have my eye on a Oneway lathe (made not far from me) but the last time I looked their effective exchange rate was such that Canucks were being charged about 45% more than those south of the border.
Eventually I'll order one FOB Buffalo and go pick it up, but still ....
I thought about buying some wood there in Canada and bringing it down, but I'm not sure how that works legally.
I heard about one guy who wanted to bring in a buttload of wood. He took a trailer with a wooden bottom into Canada, scrapped the wood deck, and laid in a new deck of his fancy wood.
Seems like a lot of work, so I don't know if it's true, but sometimes tariffs and duties can be awfully steep.My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
I've got a friend who regularly buys wood from the US, and, beside the aforementioned UPS issue, he reports no 'legal' problems.
Unless there are specific issues about insects or somesuch, I would be surprised if there are restrictions on bringing wood either way across the border. Of course there has been this lingering 'softwood lumber' tariff imposed by the US, but I'm hoping you aren't interested in buying 2x4s!
My only challenge with bringing stuff across (i.e. up here) is the silly 'brokerage' fee for doing nothing. The only problem I've hade crossing into the US is with firearms: I hunt deer in Michigan with blackpowder rifle, and every time I cross into the US I get a different interpretation of what I need to bring my rifle in, even though I could leave it behind and buy a new one in less time than it takes to get the issue resolved. Ironically, it is apparently quite easy for US hunters to come to Canada if they register their guns first.
God love the government.
<<UPS generally screws us poor canucks for 'brokerage' (i.e. because they can), often for as much or more money as whatever we buy...>>
I feel your pain...
Just gotta love United Parcel "Service" -- in my experience, the term "customer service" is an alien concept for those folks; they even make the post office look good (in all fairness, the post office here in town does a pretty good job, and we're lucky enough to have a really good letter carrier doing our route)!! I absolutely refuse to use UPS for anything, even if it costs more to ship by another carrier. As one acquaintance put it: "I wouldn't trust them to ship a rock..."
Cheers!
James
2)
We will have stock in about 3 weeks. We ship toCanada every day.
We always ship USPS (post office) - UPS is way too expensive.
3) Spray mount works fine with coarser grits but for 5 micron and below the spray isn't very even compared to a factory applied PSA and what happens is that the iron only contacts the high spots on the paper so PSA costs more but the paper life is much longer.
the purpose of the mineral oil is to float away the metal particles. Water doesn't have the viscoity of oil. Water works but not as well. Again the tradeoff is paper life - escpecially on the very fine grits.
Joel
Tools for Working Wood
Well - I'll have to buy something off you to make up for it then!
With respect to flatness, I'm sure there is more variability with a spray on, but I suspect that depends to some extend on how you flaten it afterwards. In my first try, I evidently had a bubble, because I sliced clean through the finest grit paper with the blade.
Live and learn. It still works real good.
Besides I figure my major contribution was using the polished porcelain substrate.
Getting ready to try this in the week or so. I had picked up some 12x12 polished granit tile awhile back and had it cut to 6x12 so I could mount differant grits to differant plates.
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