RJsumthn Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 I'm new to woodworking and am looking to build my tool collection (who isn't). Right now I am focusing on getting chisels and hand planes. While I was trying to decide where to spend the little money I have, I made a realization. I was looking at a WoodRiver Jack Plane and I almost bought it, which would have been all the money I could spare. Then I started thinking about the maintenance and the initial tuning of the plane. I realized that my cheap $10 wavy sharpening stone will only make the plane worse and what is the point to spending all that money on a plane that I can't keep tuned up. So I made the decision that I need to invest in a good sharpening system before I start getting the good planes and chisels. I went online to Woodcraft and ordered a 8" x 3" DMT Dia-Sharp extra course diamond stone and a 6" x 2" DMT Dia-Sharp extra fine/fine combination diamond stone. I hope that theses stones work well for me. I got the bigger stone to also use as a flattening stone for when I decide to get some higher grit waterstones in the future. I just want to see if anyone else see's the logic as I do. I hope i'm not crazy by getting the sharpening stuff before I get the tools. I also orded the 4-piece WoodRiver chisel set from woodcraft since it was half off. These half to be better than the chisels I got from Harbor Freight. I found a black and decker chisel and the steel in that made the Harbor Freight ones look like marshmellows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wm_crash Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 A DMT extra fine is only 1200 grit. In most cases, that's not good enough for a finisher. The simple solution is to buy more stones. If you're looking for the cheapest solution to improve on what you have, I would say a strop may work for you. You would still have to avoid hard woods. cheers, wm_crash, the friendly hooligan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grain Guy Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 It all stats with a sharp edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Hi RJ - like everything related to tool selection, if it makes sense for you then it is usually right for you. I went through the same process - sort of - but ended up going with a scary sharp system just for starters. I had a junk set of chisels on which I practiced and got them more than good enough to use. They truly are scary sharp. After a while I invested in a good set of chisels and felt very comfortable sharpening them. I have since moved to water stones but still resort to the sandpaper method on occasion. On your cheap sharpening stone....what grit is it? You can also easily flatten that with some drywall sandpaper on a flat surface (glass, granite, cast iron top, etc) to make it usable again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJsumthn Posted November 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 I have no idea what grit my cheap stone is, all is said was course and fine. I will probably get a norton waterstone in a higher grit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJsumthn Posted November 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 I picked up a King water stone today. It is a combo 1000/6000 stone. So with the DMT's and this I hope to be able to get a really sharp edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wm_crash Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 Sounds like you got yourself a working set together. Don't be afraid to use the DMT extra coarse to flatten the water stones. Use the ruler of a square to check for flatness of stones (the pencil lines trick never works for me). Let us know how it all works out. cheers, wm_crash, the friendly hooligan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJsumthn Posted November 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 I sure hope so wm_crash. I picked the DMT's especially for that reason. I'll keep you posted on how it all works out. They should be here on wednesday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax” -Abe Lincoln Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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