Guest Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Been holding off for a couple of years now on building a dedicated sharpening station, until a good design idea came along. Well, then I watched the William Ng video on sharpening yesterday and wow...his station is exactly what I've been looking for! Being solely a waterstone user the thick bordered pond would meet the needs of my shop. Link to the WW video here: William Ng Sharpening A couple of initial design questions come to mind however: -Difficult to tell in the video what William has used as a pond...I would guess just a tupperware or rubbermaid container of some type, also dimensions are difficult to judge from the video but I'm guessing at around 12"x12"? -Frame support/attachment? I could see the pond being attached to the underside of the frame with a couple of rabbet'd rails for the lip of the container to slide into however supporting the frame/border itself, it is not readily apparent how William has accomplished this, thoughts? -Stone Support. I have several commercial stone supports but I would certainly like to construct my own for this project...in this clip William Ng struggles a couple of times with is stone remaining stationary. Looking at his design I cannot see what he has in place to prevent lateral movement...maybe a nonskid matting on his base? -Fountain/Spigot Head. It appears william has used some kind of small fountain pump or somenting similar to feed through the spigot (Bamboo) arrangement. I may opt for something a bit more modern...maybe one of those inexpensive faucets from IKEA fed with an inexpensive 110v fountain pump. Anyone with other thoughts? Welcome to any thoughts and ideas. I'll post some details once I've fleshed out my own take on this sharpening station. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 My experience with inexpensive fountain pumps is that they burn out pretty quickly. I've used the ones that have a 110v adapter that supplies DC to the pump, but the two I got both burned out. If you do use one, turn the pump on and off to control the water flow. Don't leave the pump pushing against a closed faucet. And put the pump motor somewhere with good airflow. To keep the water from getting stagnant and scummy, you either need to empty it after use, or keep a pump running all the time so that the water circulates. Maybe throw a filter in there. If it were me, I'd look into some way that I could plumb so I could easily fill the pond with fresh water and empty out the stale water, and skip the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 I've seen the pond in person a number of times and but I never really dissected its construction. From what I recall, he's using one of those tubs you often see bus boys use at restaurants. Its more of a rectangle than a square. Its a pretty sweet looking setup, but I think it could use some tweaks for practicality. I know for me, the whole thing is a little impractical. Then again, I use Shapton stones and don't require nearly as much water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 I've seen the pond in person a number of times and but I never really dissected its construction. From what I recall, he's using one of those tubs you often see bus boys use at restaurants. Its more of a rectangle than a square. Its a pretty sweet looking setup, but I think it could use some tweaks for practicality. I know for me, the whole thing is a little impractical. Then again, I use Shapton stones and don't require nearly as much water. Marc, Thanks for the feedback! Now that I've watched the video a couple of more times, I can certainly see the more rectangular shape. I blew all my play $$ this year on a new Domino Jointer and upgrading to a CT36E, so no Shapton stones for me just yet. I'm quite happy with my Lee Valley stones though, if they do take a bit more water...who knows maybe the pond will lend some Feng Shui to my shop! I'll keep you abreast once I start firing up the tools. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 First off welcome to the forum!! As for a pump, if you have an air compressor you may want to consider an air powered liquid pump, they are commonly used in mechanics shops for draining gas/fuel tanks as there is no spark. They will last a lot longer than the little 110 ones and running less than clean water will be just fine. I have one that I picked up at an auction several yrs ago but you can fine them at many places like Northern Tool. Good luck and keep us posted. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 So, couldn't help myself had to crank it out today. I used some waterfall Bubinga for the frame, with a basic mitered joint held with Dominos. There just happened to be some bamboo at my local hardware store where I stopped for the sub-pump so that turned into the fountain head. I used the Domino to join some Birch ply and few Oak scraps for the base the tub is a rubbermaid container approximately 10x14"... I still need to craft a stone holder, and apply some finish (thoughts on those?). Hope you like the photos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 So, couldn't help myself had to crank it out today. I used some waterfall Bubinga for the frame, with a basic mitered joint held with Dominos. There just happened to be some bamboo at my local hardware store where I stopped for the sub-pump so that turned into the fountain head. I used the Domino to join some Birch ply and few Oak scraps for the base the tub is a rubbermaid container approximately 10x14"... I still need to craft a stone holder, and apply some finish (thoughts on those?). Hope you like the photos... LOL..it'll be tranquil, if nothing else!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthearted Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Nice work Chris Thanks for the photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneslinger Posted May 5, 2011 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 I actually did this about 9 months ago. I had reclaimed a kitchen cabinet from the curb. Put casters on it and put 16x16 ceramic tile on top with that poured epoxy finish. Gravity made it dead flat for scary sharpening. I started with the kitchen tub idea with a homemade stone holder jig on top. Worked alright but tub way too tall to be on top of cabinet. Sharpening was at chest level. I could have sunk it into countertop like a kitchen sink but didn't wanna tear out the tile epoxy counter. I considered installing a Small kitchen sink and plumbed with water hose but it would have bit into my storage and sharpening surface. I finally just bought. 18" square drywall mud pan. They are about 4" wide and 4" tall. Perfect for soaking most water stones and if you drop it you don't have to get ur arm soaked to the elbow in water to fish it out. The pan also has a rubber wiper in edges that is good for dragging stone over to squeegee off slurry and metal slag. I built a open topped cedar box for it out of some 6" pickets and it hooks on the side of my cab via a French cleat. Makes easy to pull off and store if needed. The drywall pan lift right out for filling inside in sink or whatever. I got a couple of those wire holder things for soap and shampoo you put in shower from dollar store. They hang off side to put stones to dry before storing or holding a blade etc Circulating the water through a filter DOES help a lot pulling slurry out of water especially if spending a Saturday sharpening everything. I looked at those fountain pump things but too expensive. I just bought a simple water circulator at walmart used for small fishtanks. It sits right next to the drywall pan and circulates. If you like the waterfall idea it does that for $10. I've been using it for like 6 months with no issues but I don't run it 24x7. I can post pics if anybody is interested. Drywall mud pan $5 Cedar picket $2.00 Fish tank water pump $10 Two wire soap holders $2 Whe thing, under $20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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