# sharpen plane iron w/ wet or dry sandpaper



## staysharp (Nov 16, 2009)

I have a bench plane, Stanley #4. I want to sharpen the iron. I tried using my 1" belt sander with the iron vertically on edge. It worked, but was very iffy. I put blue tape on the little table at the angle I thought was right, then used a short piece of 2x2 to hold the blade on edge and ground away. I stopped grinding after a few seconds and cooled the iron with a spray bottle of water. many times. Then discovered the angle was WRONG. After watching some videos I decided to use wet or dry sandpaper on a flat ceramic tile and honing jig. (one wheel type.) The setup, with the right angle, seemed alright. My problem is that the sandpaper grit (120) wears out after just a few strokes. I used 409 cleaner as a lube. Did I harden the iron by repeated heating and cooling on the belt sander? If so, can I anneal it by heating and air cooling? Could the sandpaper be old? It seemed ok to start with. I have a fine diamond stone, but it would take too long to grind a new bevel. I'm pretty old, but I never sharpened my own iron. No I don't have a bench grinding wheel.
Hmmmm! Thanks for suggestions.


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## cms1983 (Apr 25, 2012)

While sharpen the blade with the grinder And your blade changed color blue at the edge then you changed the hardness of the steel making it brittle. Wet paper I think would wash the slurry away. Sandpaper get clogged with the steel you could keep it clean with those wax sticks gator makes they work well. I use dry paper and keep it clean


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## cms1983 (Apr 25, 2012)

If you have any blueing it will be brittle the whole edge doesn't have to change color. But you keep it cooler and grind past that spot


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

I seriously doubt that you affected the heat treatment of the iron with a belt sander, especially since you cooled it with a mist of water. 

I have used sandpaper for sharpening for over 5 years, and have found that the coarser grits do dull very rapidly. I decided that in the long run, a coarse diamond plate would be a cheaper alternative.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

The bevel angle for my Stanley #5 is 30 degrees, all my spokeshaves came with a factory 28 and I've left it that way. I use 3M W&D papers, dry. Most of the time, I begin witn no more than 6-8 passes on 800, then 1500 for 10X and I'm done.

I would not think that you would have to use coarser than 600 to start with.

Paint the bevel with black felt marker so you can see where the metal is coming off.
The water is just a vehicle to carry away the swarf of metal particles and smashed abrasive particles. That keeps the sheet cutting cleanly.

Paint and varnishes are softer than steel so they gum up the abrasive faster. Water is a really big help.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

I've had the best luck using a little WD40 as a sharpening lubricant. I cambered a Buck Bros plane iron for my jack plane using a belt sander and was surprised at how easy it was to keep the blade cool, given the warnings about this everywhere, so I agree it is unlikely you altered the temper with yours.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

If you're set on sandpaper, I recommend using wet/dry sandpaper with WD40 or other light oil as a lubricant. Expect the coarsest grits to wear out fast, but it shouldn't be anywhere near "a few strokes" -- it should be 30 or 40, maybe. If it seems to stop cutting, you may have a problem with the paper "clogging" (getting caked with debris so it doesn't cut anymore) or you may be using cheap paper that doesn't work well. Lubricant will help with the first, not so much with the second.

To be honest, though, especially at the low grits (sub-100), a coarse diamond plate will last longer, stay flatter, and cost less in the long run. In the short term, sandpaper is cheaper: no question. But if you're buying reasonable quality paper, and sharpening a lot, it'll only take a year or two to make the difference.


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

Any recommendations on a good quality course diamond plate? 

I don't need one often, but would like to have a good one available when needed for old chisel and planes when I find them.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

I have a set of three DMT plates (I think they consider them medium, fine, and extra fine), and they're good. I'd still use a grinder or something similar for really coarse grinding, but they do make an extra-coarse stone that might work well. I'd probably still go to a grinder if the edge had big nicks in it, but the extra coarse ought to do for anything else.


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

trc65 said:


> Any recommendations on a good quality course diamond plate? I don't need one often, but would like to have a good one available when needed for old chisel and planes when I find them.


I bought a DMT plate from Woodcraft, and a finer one from LeeValley. They work fine, but I don't have anything to compare them to.


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