Loading…
4
Took me 6 months to realize I was sharpening my chisels backwards
I kept wondering why my dovetails looked like a beaver chewed them. Finally stopped by an old furniture restorer's shop in Lancaster last month and he watched me for maybe 20 seconds before he laughed and showed me I was grinding the bevel on the wrong side. Felt pretty dumb but now my joints actually fit together. Anyone else have a basic technique they did wrong for way too long?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
milacraig3mo ago
Flip the stone around and try sharpening with the other side up next time.
4
taylor.sean3mo ago
Did you ever try just running the chisel across your thumb to check which side you were on? I spent a whole summer using a bastard file to try to fix my grandfather's old hand plane, only to find out I had been filing the sole flat instead of the sides. Turns out the thing was fine to start with, I just needed to clean the rust off and set the blade right.
-1
robinf513mo ago
I ended up just tapping the chisel against the side of my workbench to feel for a burr after I took it off the stone. That did the trick for me, saved a lot of guessing.
7