Academy Notes and Tips
JULY/AUG
2003
Volume 46/Issue 4
IN
THIS ISSUE
Project
Articles
•
Knock-Down & Store-Away Table
• Home Shop Workbench
• Rolling Pin & Dried Flower Vase
DEPARTMENTS
•
Ask Smitty
• Owner’s Gallery
• Letters from Owners
Academy Notes
Clean
Cuts - Pt. 1
Service Pointers
Bandsaw
Service Pointers
Safety Tips
Horizontal
Boring Safety
What's
New
Shopsmith
and Lowe's Team Up
EDUCATION
• Find
A Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Near You
• National
Woodworking Academy in Dayton, OH
ONLINE
CATALOGS
• Online Accessory Catalog
• Request
Printed Accessory Catalog
• Online
Replacement Parts Catalog
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V INFORMATION
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A Shopsmith
MARK V Demo Near You
• Request
MARK V Information Package
LINKS
•
Links Worth Visiting
•
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Contacting
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Copyright
2003.
Shopsmith, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
From
the Shopsmith Woodworking Academy
Clean Cuts
-- Part 1
Printer
friendly PDF copy of article
Benchstone Basics
Sharp tools not only make cleaner cuts that dull tools, they're also safer
and easier to use, as well. So, how do you keep your tools sharp - I mean
Really Sharp? Believe it or not, it really isn't that complicated.
So, relax! You'll find lots of useful information in this column...with
loads more to come in the next four issues of Hands-On.
When I was a carpenter's apprentice, I always felt that sharpening my tools was a lot like eating healthy food - I knew it was supposed to be good for me, but I just didn't like the taste of it! To this day, I still don't like everything that's labeled as “healthy food”, but I have discovered that I actually enjoy sharpening my tools. Why? Because I finally learned the basics of how to go about getting the sharpest edges with the least amount of work.
Why have sharp
tools?
Sharp tools will save you a lot of time and effort - besides being a source
of pride as they peel off those long, paper-thin shavings. Plus, they're
a heck of a lot safer to use, as well. That's because you're not having
to apply excessive amounts of pressure to make your cuts - a practice
that can easily lead to slips that will invariably result in serious
damage to both your project...and your self!
My
brother, the engineer, explained it best. “The anatomy of a cutting
edge is simple,” he said. “A sharp, thin edge of steel offers
less bulk as it enters the wood and requires far less pressure to work
it into the cut. The less pressure it takes, the more control you have.
As a result, a sharp tool is safer because you're not tiring your muscles,
so you're less likely to lose control, jamming it out of the wood and
into your body somewhere. It's just more likely to shave the wood
cleanly, rather than split it like a wedge and jump out at you.”
Getting started
To sharpen your tools, you'll need sharpening tools. Duh! Pretty
obvious, right? But which sharpening tools should you buy? A grinding
wheel? A Strip Sander? A set of files? One of several Benchstones? They
all sharpen - that is, they all “cut” steel -
but which of these is basic to every shop tool kit?
Most will agree that the common benchstone is probably your best buy. They can be used to sharpen many different kinds of tools, they're relatively inexpensive and they're very safe to use. When I set out to buy one, I found myself intimidated by what seemed like a vast array of benchstone types. But aside from a whole lot of shapes and sizes, there are really only a few basic benchstones.
Silicon-Carbide: Classified as man-made oil stones - “oil” because that's what's used to keep them clean. They're also often called “carborundum”, are usually gray in color and are most often sold in double-grit (coarse/fine - 100/280-grit) configurations. The Norton Company sells this kind of stone under the trade name “Crystolon”.
