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These $20-30 Chinese polishing stones must vary quite a bit.

I used one for a few years with excellent results. It was smoother than 8000 grit. It polished beautifully on plane blades, chisels,...

Sometimes what Jeff and George said. Sometimes what Jim said. I'll try a reason for the difference.

Experience says a thin carbon steel edge responds to heat. It works the same way with straight...

You can do it with rosin, as many old timers do/did.

Cheap, reliable, renewable, reversible.

I have owned both new and old Stanley 92. The old one was fine, as Bob says.

The new plane felt good in the hand. The blade was great, square, easy to sharpen and adjust. But -- it just didn't...

An insert is a lot less trouble. Cut the hole, cut the insert to fit, glue it in place, trim it flat with the sole, and then trim the mouth so it's tight. Two sessions because you have to wait for...

Brian,

I, too, had a new Stanley #4. It had a flat sole and took shavings right out of the box. Over time I learned how to fettle each component, but it never did anything wrong and it did an...

I have to add a 50-degree Steve Knight-made infill. ;)


Hard to believe it works so well on "confusing maple" (my description of the stuff). Best I have ever used.

Yes, that is nice work. I bet it gave you a good feeling to bring it back to life.

These little guys are great once you learn to rehab them. Minimal investment, they always seem to be available...

By all means start filing a saw -- today. It will go through the wood even if you miss by a few degrees here or there. Many a dull saw can be put to work just by filing the teeth:D.

And it's a...

You should indeed be lost and confused because the methods are constantly evolving. So are the tools and the work required of the tools.

The more I think about this, the more I think the #1...

Add another voice to the chorus.... I had the same experience with a 608 from the big auction, solved it completely with a Hock blade and chipbreaker.

I expect you'll love the results with your...

Yes, you are likely to find non-parallel sides.

In many cases, you don't need parallel even if you want to sharpen perpendicular. For bench planes, no matter whether the sides are parallel, just...

Clever idea, that little rig. I'd be concerned about white latex rubbing off and interfering with the joint. Unless it's a photo taken in very bright light and I am seeing it wrong.

As for...

That's a good point -- the coarse 220 grit waterstone practically melts in my hand when it meets the alloys. Cuts well, but I replace it more frequently than others.

Mine is down below 1/4 inch...

That bench really turned my head. Probably even more economical than mine (about $75 + vise hardware). Now you can buy more tools.

If you are still considering a substitute for the end vise,...

Great idea, Harry. I, too, have a dead 78 which is going to come back to life as a chisel plane.

Happy to contribute. I found the area of sharpening to be a jungle. Most prescriptions are true under certain conditions, but different conditions lead to lots of contradictory wisdom. The...

The mirror helps, but the underlying issue is seeing what you are doing.

I found that good lighting makes a big difference, especially when working darker woods. I set the lighting to come from...

Here is what I wish I had known when I was starting out in sharpening.

There is a contest among sharpeners and methods for the best edge. The answer varies with the task at hand. And there is...

Would I be wrong if I concluded from all of the posts here that a "good" saw is one with a comfortable handle, and good steel, with a user who has solid know-how to properly sharpen and set teeth?...

I'd urge you to try it. You won't ruin the saw and you will gain a useful skill.

I, too, had a Crown DT saw that would not perform. I read a few posts on filing saws, thought I understood them,...