David C sharpening course

[royclarke]

davyowen said:

You can block images from loading from certain websites with firefox but that will effect any image. An easier solution is to just not look at the left hand side of the screen ;D

That would only be possible if you have tunnel vision, otherwise we are given the benefit of nearly 180 degree field of view.

[heavyweek]

There's not much discussion to be had here really. Dan if your on £50K PA on the strength of your work as is then why do you want to do the course? If you want to do it out of interest then on £50K PA who cares. Just wait till summer take a tent up to Hartland and you'll have a lovely time.

As for blocking images and avatars I blocked Andys avatar while leaving all other avatars and images alone. Get the adblock plugin for Firefox and specify the image url as one to block.

[kaaskop]

andy said:

Much can be done by practicing and probably a good DVD

please no dvd, but MrJacob on YOUTUBE ! Just his hands, an oilstone and a chisel.

[mailee]

Hmm, Does he run courses on sharpening router cutters? ;D

[modernist]

We're getting back into a 10 pager on sharpening again. It really is not that complicated and you can choose between Tormek, oil, water or diamond as you please. The technique is much the same.

Smooth back

Grind 25 deg without losing the temper (cool)

Hone to 30 deg

Micro bevel if you wish using a guide

Remove burr

Strop on jeans top remove any remaining burr.


Job Done

Personally I find the Tormec good for grinding and use waterstones for the rest.

Don't be tempted to use the diamond lap on the tormek for finishing as a rounded edge is inevitable.

I have just produced a mirror finish on some cross grained cherry with a LN 4.5 sharpened as above and the mouth closed up. Final shavings less than 1 thou. Yes I did measure them but only for interest - not obsession. As someone above said this is only necessary for cabinet work not joinery so it depends on your needs. A grand and a half seems out of proportion to me but that is not just how to sharpen a plane.

[mrgrimsdale]

modernist said:

We're getting back into a 10 pager on sharpening again. It really is not that complicated and you can choose between Tormek, oil, water or diamond as you please. The technique is much the same.
snip

Agree. I summarised my stuff here if anybody really wants to read it all again
Briefly - I struggled with jigs etc for many years like so many others - then I went back to basics by chance and found it much more effective.
cheers
Jacob

[kaaskop]

mrgrimsdale said:

modernist said:

We're getting back into a 10 pager on sharpening again. It really is not that complicated and you can choose between Tormek, oil, water or diamond as you please. The technique is much the same.
snip

Agree. I summarised my stuff here if anybody really wants to read it all again
Briefly - I struggled with jigs etc for many years like so many others - then I went back to basics by chance and found it much more effective.
cheers
Jacob

too theoretical; I want moving pictures, loads of it. Not DC but JB ;D
Show me/us you can do it. If not you don't have the right to despise DC

[mrgrimsdale]

I don't despise anyone! It's about sharpening, not people. It's possible to disagree with people without taking it personally, in the grown-up world, or life would get really difficult.
Trouble with doing a DVD is: a. I haven't got the kit: b. how do you hold a camera when you are sharpening a chisel in one hand and holding a cigarette in the other? ;D
My son offered to do it but he started muttering about the real cost being £500 per minute of finished footage

cheers
Jacob

[paulchapman]

mrgrimsdale said:

how do you hold a camera when you are sharpening a chisel in one hand and holding a cigarette in the other? ;D

Hold the fag in your mouth (shades optional)

Cheers

Paul

[dantovey]

mrgrimsdale said:

senior said:

when I was alad one of my old bosses once took me aside and spent 15minutes showing me how to sharpen a pencil.

Yes I suppose a pencil does take longer than a chisel come to think, if you do it properly that is. ;D

cheers
Jacob

I always sharpen my pencil with a chisel!

That's why I need to learn how to sharpen chisels...

[heavyweek]

I tried sharpening my pencil on sandpaper but couldn't get on with it so I went back to the knife, sad but its always in my pocket just in case a pencil needs sharpening or a bit of twine needs seeing to.

[kaaskop]

mrgrimsdale said:

I don't despise anyone! It's about sharpening, not people. It's possible to disagree with people without taking it personally, in the grown-up world, or life would get really difficult.
Trouble with doing a DVD is: a. I haven't got the kit: b. how do you hold a camera when you are sharpening a chisel in one hand and holding a cigarette in the other? ;D
My son offered to do it but he started muttering about the real cost being £500 per minute of finished footage

cheers
Jacob

Jester can tell you "how to" www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8CPbZg8PGo don't think it did cost that amount.

[mikew]

I always sharpen my pencil with a chisel!

That's why I need to learn how to sharpen chisels...

Hah, now that's a good reason <g>.

For myself, I use two methods to sharpen my pencils. The difference is whether I am doing site work or I am in the shop. Site work always gets the chisel or knife method.

But I am afraid that in the shop, I use a jig. It's accurate and repeatable. Best thing is, and regardless of what others may say, it is the fastest means to a sharp point.

Oh, the thread was about courses that teach sharpening. I have taught many a 4 hour class on sharpening. Albeit for less cost, but then nobody knows who I am!

4 hours and a class size of 8 people simply isn't enough time. Oh, if it were only chisels and a single sharpening medium, perhaps. I doubt it though. Often times I have pondered why someone would pay me to teach them this fundemental task. It bothered me enough that I actually placed a couple questions on the class evaluation form. What I learned from conversation and the form questions mostly revolved around a lack of confidence and or knowledge.

A thing (sharpening) that I took for granted having grown up sharpening isn't a universal skill. Further, most people assumed they did not know what sharp even was. And they didn't. Some in the classes gained the skill readily and understood what sharp is sometime during the class. For those people, simply practicing what they then knew the mechanics of was truly sufficient. But for many, the 4 hours was not long enough. Many of those people have visited me post class at my shop.

Now, it could be that my instruction is at fault. Possibly. But perhaps for some people, marrying the knowledge and the mechanical isn't automatic.

Which is why I usually use my jig to sharpen a common pencil.

Take care, Mike

[paulchapman]

mikew said:

But perhaps for some people, marrying the knowledge and the mechanical isn't automatic.

I think that's very true - not just with woodworking, but with many other skills as well. Which is why there will always be a demand for courses.

Cheers

Paul

[Scrit]

What I find amazing is that here we have a professional who's supposedly earning £50k and yet admits freely to not knowing how to sharpen a chisel, something a 16 year old first year trainee learns (or for that matter even a first year student doing a degree in cabinetmaking). Priceless.

Scrit

[dantovey]

Well guys, thanks for setting me straight.

It looks like I'll take the money, pretend to book the course, and then spend a couple of days with the Grimms in the Rising Sun!

Followed by a trip dahn sarf to see Senior and show him how to sharpen his pencil with my new-found skills!

Seriously though, I do want to get back to using some of the hand skills I learned as a youth. At 17 I was happily cutting secret mitred dovetails in English elm for a college project without a problem. Now those chisels were sharp - the thing is I didn't sharpen them! I vaguely remember being taught the basics of sharpening but as soon as I entered the workplace machinery and power tools took over.

The sad thing is that the nearest my chisels have got to a joint in the last 20 years is scraping the excess glue off!

Maybe its a mid-life thing but I kind of hanker now after a better way of doing things. My cabinetmaking gives me a good living but I don't want to spend the next 20 years being deafened by power tools and dust extraction every time I do a bit of work.

I'll maybe give the course a miss. I can't help feeling I might be a bit of a fish out of water, anyway. But I'll go to the library and get the book!

Dan

[dom]

Flat for me, both sides, less chance of the point snapping when marking out.

[engineerone]

stands back and gasps with amazement,
both dom and senior admitting to using a hand tool ;D ;D

a pencil

paul

hat coat

[dirtydeeds]

round and hex................you havent covered all the bases

what about oval and rectangle

[dom]

Both sides of the lead

[andy]

this is my preferred method




I did try the Tormek





but it was a bit messy with the water and didn't want to try it dry in case I caused a fire with the sparks ;D

[dunbarhamlin]

Andy - couple of questions arise:

what primary bevel angle do you prefer?
And do you follow current thinking on the microbevel?
Do you use different bevels for marking hard and soft woods?
In spite of the fire hazard, did you find the hollow grind beneficial?

Thanks
Steve

[9fingers]

royclarke said:

Is there any way to stop these animated avatars? They are fairly naff anyway IMO, and Andy's is positively dreadful.

Why not just turn off the the avatar display in your profile if you don't like them?

Bob

[andy]

dunbarhamlin said:

Andy - couple of questions arise:

what primary bevel angle do you prefer?
And do you follow current thinking on the microbevel?
Do you use different bevels for marking hard and soft woods?
In spite of the fire hazard, did you find the hollow grind beneficial?

Thanks
Steve

Sorry mate not a clue

think I need to go on a course ;D

[TonyW]

Andy, looks like you are gettng a much better result than me. I think I will have to trade in the eclipse jig for the Veritas. ;D