# plane iron not square after sharpening



## Lupus

Hey and a big thanks to all who help! So I got My first hand plane and have been trying to get a good edge on it using a jig I bought and sandpaper. I marked along the edge with a marker then filed away on a 25 degree angle. Finally a couple hrs later on the 220 grit I got the mark scrubbed all the way off across the blade. When I toolkit out of the jig and looked at the edge I noticed it looked like it wasn't square so I put it all together and had to push the adjustment bar all the way over and it still is sticking up higher alittle on one side. I'm not sure what the problem is so please help! I really like this by hand idea and wow is it smooth! Oh, it's a stanley no5 old school model, thanks!


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## firemedic

No worries!

Remove the lever cap and iron/chip breaker. Center the Lateral adjuster, replace the iron with it skewed a bit to straighten the cutting edge to the mouth. Install the lever cap and try again. 

The bevel doesn't have to be perfectly square to the iron and it's easy to forget to center the lateral adjuster before installing the iron.

Good luck and have fun!


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## Lupus

Life saver, thanks!


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## firemedic

Lupus said:


> Life saver, thanks!


I take it that it worked out for ya? Good deal.


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## Lupus

Actually,I just hadn't checked that so after checking it still is off slightly. I think it must be I wasn't holding even pressure. Here's a pic, I'm not sure you can see it but I'll post one of the edge.that's the jig I used in the background.


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## Lupus

Here's one that shows it better.


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## tim407

Thats way off square I'd look at investing in a different jig if I were u. I don't think human error will throw you that far off. Veritas sells a very nice one that i use mkii I think? Anyway completely dummy proof set up and even has a micro bevel adjuster making touch ups a snap.


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## firemedic

Good gracious! How on earth did you manage that?

Nothing wrong with the jig... you just stink at using it! :laughing: don't take that seriously, I'm laughing with you.

Do you have or know anyone with a bench top belt sander?


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## Lupus

No I don't have access to a grinder. I wonder what I did wrong, it seemed foolproof. Great now I'm not sure what to do. I went through about 6 whole sheets of 220 sandpaper messing it up too! My arms are jello!


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## tim407

I don't know firemedic.... The only way I see him getting a result like that using a jig is if he seated the blade in the jig off square. I've got that jig he's using (from lie Nielsen I think) and I honestly don't see it happening. If it was him using uneven pressure the result would be rounded not a clean straight edge like he got. 

I really think u need to scrap that jig and try another. Somethings wrong here. 

Lesson learned though.... Plane irons or chisels stop frequently to check your work when sharpening. Nows the perfect time to pick up a cheap hand crank grinder on eBay I got mine for 15 bucks and will rehab a chipped blade or fix something like that in minutes.


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## Chris Curl

that looks like the robert larson honing guide. i have that one. i think it can rock, and if you don't have even pressure on both sides to keep it from leaning, i can see how it could end up like that. dang bro, looks like you're gonna need a few more pieces of paper ...

also, if i remember correctly, one side of the clamping mechanism is slightly rounded and other side is flat. i wonder if maybe you somehow didn't have it flush against the flat side or something... ?


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## tim407

Looking at your picture again it seems as if the blade was contacting the sand paper lower on one side than the other. It would explain how u ended up with a thicker bevel on one side and a skewed result rather than a straight square edge. I can see a few things causing this. 

1 something was lodged under the blade when u seated it into and tightened it into the jig. 

2 u attached the sandpaper down to an uneven surface. Most people use a piece of glass or marble or some even use mdf

3 ur jig is bent. 

I would put a chisel or another plane iron u know is square and look at your setup to see if u can figure out what went wrong.


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## woodnthings

*consider a different jig*

What you want is a jig with a wider wheel, so it has more bearing surface and can't tilt. I am not familar with this one, but it looks like it may be better.... I donno? Stanley 16-050 Sharpening System - Amazon.com
This one comes with a stone as well and is very reasonable.

The Robert Larson jig is also picture down below and that looks like the one you have. The single wheel in the center doesn't give much bearing surface and if you have the blade tilted in the jig, even more chance to get a skewed result. If there is a burr on the dovetail "V" inside the jig that will cause your result. Inspect it carefully and see if the iron sits square in the jig. 

If you have spray marking dye like machinists use or a wide black marker, I would use that and start over and inspect the results often. I use my 6" X 48" vertical sander for sharpening most tools that I have. A light touch and a fine grit belt works for me.... :yes:


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## cabinetman

I have a few jigs for honing/sharpening. The one below gives a good view of the orientation of the blade, and the angle adjustment is easy.
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## Maylar

Every woodworker needs a grinder with a good tool rest. Even a hand operated one is better than none.


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## BZawat

It's really not that difficult to hone a plane iron or chisel by hand without the use of a jig. Took me only a little practice to get the technique down. I use a piece of 1/2" tempered glass which I stick sandpaper to. Start at 220 and go up to 1000, then strop. 
It would be nearly impossible to produce a result like that by hand because you have a better feel for what's going on, and thus more control. JMO


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## SeniorSitizen

Maylar said:


> Every woodworker needs a grinder with a good tool rest. Even a hand operated one is better than none.


I'm beginning to wonder if anyone has an eye for anything anymore and need a jig for everything. I'm an old man, stood in the garage door opening so sparks would go outdoors, and sharpened this mower blade with a right angle grinder in one hand and blade in the other. If needed to shave wood another 5 minutes with a file at most and 5 possibly with a stone. I don't need no stinkin jig to sharpen stuff.:laughing:


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## Greg in Maryland

firemedic said:


> Good gracious! How on earth did you manage that?


That was my thought as well. 

I bet he doesn't make that particular mistake again :no:

Greg


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## rb61

*I experienced the same thing*



Lupus said:


> Hey and a big thanks to all who help! So I got My first hand plane and have been trying to get a good edge on it using a jig I bought and sandpaper. I marked along the edge with a marker then filed away on a 25 degree angle. Finally a couple hrs later on the 220 grit I got the mark scrubbed all the way off across the blade. When I toolkit out of the jig and looked at the edge I noticed it looked like it wasn't square so I put it all together and had to push the adjustment bar all the way over and it still is sticking up higher alittle on one side. I'm not sure what the problem is so please help! I really like this by hand idea and wow is it smooth! Oh, it's a stanley no5 old school model, thanks!


I almost threw the jig in the trash. First check to make sure the blade is sitting flat on the surfaces of the jig. Hold it up to the light. If you can see light between the blade and the jig surface, you either inserted the blade incorrectly or the jig needs a little work- This Lie Nielsen video worked for me.





I use the jig along side both of my Kell honing guides and find that all work fine for different applications.


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## Gilgaron

+1 for Bwazat. I had a jig like yours but found it took forever. I much prefer to sharpen by hand after reading some things Paul Sellers wrote about convex bevels instead of straight and micro bevel.


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## amckenzie4

Yup. I'm with Gilgaron. I find it much easier to sharpen freehand than with a jig. Better control, and a better feel for what's happening. With a jig it's easy to just give up control and let the jig do the work... and not realize until later that the jig did it wrong. Here's a video of Paul Sellers showing how to sharpen a handplane.


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## Chris Curl

Maybe I just needed more practice at it, but when I was sharpening my irons and chisels by hand, they never got nearly as sharp as they do now with the honing guide. I think my problem is that I don't hold the iron at the correct angle consistently enough and I end up rounding the edge off. With the guide, it is the same every time, and I end up with a much sharper tool.


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## amckenzie4

Yeah, I rounded off a few irons at the beginning. But at least they were square! (And sharp is much less important, right? Um.)

Anyway, it takes some practice, but I'm getting a much better edge than I used to with the guide.


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## Dave Paine

Some folks prefer hand sharpening, some folks prefer using a jig.

I feel what is important is to become proficient with whatever method is chosen.

I prefer a jig. Not all jigs are the same. I have the Veritas Mk II honing guide. I feel it is one of the best on the market. Allows me to get a sharp bevel, flat and square with the side of the blade. Most important like Chris mentions is that it allows me to get consistent results.

I am comfortable honing by hand to refresh the edge, plane blades, chisels and my turning tools. For a plane restoration where there is typically a really bad prior sharpening job, I use the Veritas jig.

Sharpening is like so much in woodworking, many ways to get a result.

For my mower blades, I use a belt sander and no jig. This is not a critical edge application.


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## Gilgaron

I'm not sure if I get a better edge or not, but there's less fussing and it is so much faster if it is a vintage tool and I've got to power through some knicks or if I've been abusing my chisels.


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## Lupus

We'll I'm hoping to get it down one way or the other because I have planer, jointer , iron and chisels that will all need it soon. Funny how I very rarely make something yet I'm always buying, sharpening, planning and reading things.


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## Noek

I'm with Dave. I use the MKII by Veritas, in fact it he probably recommended me getting it :smile:

I use it with 800, 1k, and 4k waterstones and a nagura and even as inexperienced as I am, my plane blade and chisels are incredible. I even did our knife set, on my wife's request. The MK has kind of trained me to keep the angle. Last sharpening was by hand and I managed to do alright.


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## tim407

Yep I've got the mkii also. It has several features that make sharpening way easier than doing it just by hand. It's got a bracketing system that keeps the blade centered, a jig that let's u easily set what bevel angle you're going for, and an adjuster that let's u get a micro bevel with the turn if the knob and a different wheel the system rides on u can buy separately to sharpen your blade with a camber. Def worth checking out if ur interested in picking up a sharpening jig.

Heres a link http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1


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## solo1001

I got some narex chisels yesterday and started using sandpaper and sharpening by hand. When I finished (first time really trying it), the edge of the chisel was not square. One corner was slightly lower than the other. If I were to get a guide like the MKii and use it correctly, would that eventually even out the chisel or are they only effective if the edge is already straight across? I do not own a grinder. Just curious.


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## Dave Paine

solo1001 said:


> I got some narex chisels yesterday and started using sandpaper and sharpening by hand. When I finished (first time really trying it), the edge of the chisel was not square. One corner was slightly lower than the other. If I were to get a guide like the MKii and use it correctly, would that eventually even out the chisel or are they only effective if the edge is already straight across?


The chisel edge can be re-sharpened to be right angle to the edge by either skilled hand sharpening, or the use of a jig like the Veritas Mk II.

I have used my Veritas Mk II to fix the edges of a number of hand plane blades which had all sorts of issues, curved bevel, curved side to side, dings, and generally butchered edges.

It just takes longer to remove the metal needed to get back to square so start with e.g., 80 or 100 grit to remove the metal back to being square, then go up through the grits as normal.


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## firemedic

Dang - them some nice Gossamer shavings... Wonder what made them???...


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## Chris Curl

Lupus said:


> ... Funny how I very rarely make something yet I'm always buying, sharpening, planning and reading things.


lol ... you and i are the same in this regard!


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## Lupus

Looks like somebody knows how to put an edge on it!Man that's what im talkin bout!


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## firemedic

Lupus,

The iron is done, this you know, I will try to get it in the mail tomorrow along with 42 hand saws.

Here is what I found with your iron. It was crooked, duh, but in more ways than one. I know exactly how you managed to arrive at the skew you did. 

The slot is crooked in the iron making it appear as though the bevel was square because it was square to the slot! Also the iron is considerably thicker on on side meaning it assisted in arriving at a skew as well because there was more surface area on that side which encouraged the iron to form a skew even with even pressure.

So don't beat yourself up - I was a bit puzzled at first with the slot thing - it confused my brain a bit because it looked square when holding it to the grinder. I free handed the sharpening and brought both bevel and back (front) to 5000x. Then stropped it.

Next one you do spend more time on the back. It took me about 15 min to fix the iron and 10 of that was on the back. It has a light coating of machine oil on it, so wipe it down before you put it to work.

Regards,

Jean


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## Lupus

Great! Sounds like you've been on the "grind" with 42 saws! Thanks again for helping me (and the iron). I checked out your sinker log pics, man i wish they would let Georgia get them out. I live about a mile from the ocmulgee river and I would think it holds some in it somewhere.


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## firemedic

Lupus said:


> Great! Sounds like you've been on the "grind" with 42 saws! Thanks again for helping me (and the iron). I checked out your sinker log pics, man i wish they would let Georgia get them out. I live about a mile from the ocmulgee river and I would think it holds some in it somewhere.


You are required to have a permit and to record GPS bearing for every log pulled here. I find it very hard to believe that it's not allowed up there...?


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## Lupus

Yeah I did a little research and it was allowed I think 5 or 6 years ago but nobody bout permits because they cost too much then they banned it and won't bring it back saying it disturbs too much silt and mud and screws up the habitat or something. I just wanna pull one and check out the old axe cuts and think about how old those jokers are. Lots of history in there, especially the huge red woods!


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## firemedic

Did you get your iron back yet?


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## Lupus

I did! I finally had time to put it back in the plane and it's cutting great! I wanted to thank you on the site but can't find where the thank button is. Pulled any logs lately?


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## firemedic

Lupus said:


> I did! I finally had time to put it back in the plane and it's cutting great! I wanted to thank you on the site but can't find where the thank button is. Pulled any logs lately?


No worries, glad it's working for ya. 

Was that you that sent an envelope with $15 bucks cash in it? lol


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## woodnthings

Lupus 
Senior Member

Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 143 
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*I wanted to thank you on the site but can't find where the thank button is.*


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## Lupus

Yeah it was me, you had to pay to pick it up and all so I just wanted to pay you back. Hey woodnthings , what you posted looks like it didn't come through or something.


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