Steve B Anderson Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 I’ve finally obtained authorization from my CFO to upgrade my sharpening system from sand paper to diamond stones. I use the MKII honing guide and I’m not sure what size plate to buy. My largest plane iron is 2.0” wide and my smallest chisel is 1/8” wide. I’ve been looking at the DMT plates and there are 6, 8, 10 and 11-1/2” lengths and 2-1/2”, 3” and 4” widths. Any suggestions on plate size would be greatly appreciated. Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Thumbs up to the CFO approval. For irons, 2.5” seems plenty. For plane soles or other use, wider might be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 13 minutes ago, Tpt life said: Thumbs up to the CFO approval. For irons, 2.5” seems plenty. For plane soles or other use, wider might be nice. Thanks Tpt - I didn’t consider the plane sole width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Steve B Anderson said: Thanks Tpt - I didn’t consider the plane sole width. What length would you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, Steve B Anderson said: What length would you recommend? Open the cat bag... Theoretically, like saw strokes, I like a longer plate. Practically, there is a limit to the length of stroke I can control with precision. I tend to use my diamond plate to dress water stones, so I like a long plate for that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 For me, longer is always better. I can sharpen faster if I can take fewer, longer strokes. My control is not very good & with a shorter stone I find myself frequently overshooting the ends of the stone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 ^^Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 So...Is the 11 x 2.5 a good choice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 I’m using 11.5” paper now and 3.5” of that is taken up by the guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 In the absence of any further info, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 I'd say yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, Tpt life said: In the absence of any further info, yes. I’ll be more than happy to provide you with more information. Just let me know what you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 6 minutes ago, drzaius said: I'd say yes. Thanks dzaius - but is wearing a channel in the plate any issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 I use the same system you do. I've found that DMT's stones are best for planes and chisels to be the 8" x 3". Ask Coop if my tools are sharp. He says I need sharper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 4 minutes ago, Steve B Anderson said: I’ll be more than happy to provide you with more information. Just let me know what you need. Not accusing or asking, just don’t want any further readers to find this thinking it comprehensive in any way. Happy honing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 7 minutes ago, RichardA said: I use the same system you do. I've found that DMT's stones are best for planes and chisels to be the 8" x 3". Ask Coop if my tools are sharp. He says I need sharper. 15 minutes ago, Tpt life said: Not accusing or asking, just don’t want any further readers to find this thinking it comprehensive in any way. Happy honing! Understandable - Thanks for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 18 minutes ago, RichardA said: I use the same system you do. I've found that DMT's stones are best for planes and chisels to be the 8" x 3". Ask Coop if my tools are sharp. He says I need sharper. Richard - Coop is pretty good and I love the guy but your opinion is still noteworthy. So you are saying that an 8” stone is sufficient using the MKII? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 That's what I've been using for about 4 years. That line about Coop was just bad humor. I get a damn good edge with the 8 x 3's and the only thing I'd add is an extra fine. I use coarse, medium and fine, and can slice end grain with no problem. Coop's complaint, when he came up here to help me with an important project was that my chisels were to sharp, and caused him to leave DNA on the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 So I have a question. I roll my honing guide on my waterstones. Doesn't the diamond tend to wear down the roller on the honing guide?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 45 minutes ago, Ronn W said: So I have a question. I roll my honing guide on my waterstones. Doesn't the diamond tend to wear down the roller on the honing guide?? Since it rolls, it probably doesn't wear out any faster than on any other stone. If the roller slammed on the brakes, there would be wear. I'm just guessing. In four years of sharpening on them when I set the angle, it's still the same as the time before. Just a thought... On waterstones don't you have to resurface them now and then? Diamond stones don't need resurfacing. You might get wear on the roller if you've concaved your stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 48 minutes ago, Ronn W said: So I have a question. I roll my honing guide on my waterstones. Doesn't the diamond tend to wear down the roller on the honing guide?? I swear the roller guide wore the abrasive of the center of my diamond plate but ghee roller would take for ever to wear down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 I don’t put much down force on the roller. It is only there to guide my down force angle on the iron. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 I get full stroke on shorter diamond plates by placing the in-use plate agaist a stop, and placing another plate face down behind it (closer to me). The guide roller can glide right onto the second plate, because they are the same thickness. Doesn't work if you mount your plates to a board, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 18 hours ago, Steve B Anderson said: Thanks dzaius - but is wearing a channel in the plate any issue? Just be sure use a stroke pattern that will cover the whole plate. I use waterstones for sharpening & have 1 big coarse DMT plate for flattening the stones & for removing lots of material from a chipped edge. I have noticed that the diamond plate will fairly quickly lose some of the sharp surface texture, but that it will continue to cut well in spite of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Sawdust Posted December 17, 2018 Report Share Posted December 17, 2018 I use diamonds for coarse work to get a blade fully "started over," and water stones for tune-up. For plane soles I stick sandpaper to a granite surface plate because I don't have to do that often. I flatten the water stones on sandpaper/plate as well, even though I have to do that fairly regularly. It works, but the amount of work you do and speed of production. Requirements may guide your decision on that. I don't have to produce anything as it's totally a hobby for me, so speed isn't much of a factor. Once I get going, I kind of enjoy sharpening stuff (I'm probably in a tiny minority there). My diamonds are 300 and 600, with a 1200 Arkansas stone in the middle, while the water stones go 3000/8000 and my stuff seems sharp; I can get "galoot" shavings on my arm hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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