I snapped up a #5 plane on Ebay, and it arrived today. I had no problems touching up the blade, but I could tell before I put it back in the plane that the bevel had been ground crooked. Whoever did it created an edge that was at an angle to the sides of the blade. I figured I could straighten it using the lever, but it was so far out of whack it didn't really work.
I created new bevel using a belt grinder and stones, and now it's fine, but it took approximately a century. Okay; 90 minutes. I am wondering what's the best way to do the rough work on a bevel that's at an angle. The bench grinder seems to bite the snot out of it every time I touch it. The belt grinder is a lot better, but still has the potential to create problems pretty quickly.
Should I just go out and get a big carborundum whetstone? Maybe a coarser DMT diamond stone is the answer.
06 18 15 stanley 5 plane with corrected bevel making shavings.jpg