For a few years I’ve actually loved tuning up classic instruments—primarily handplanes and chisels. Not too long ago I used to be flattening and sprucing the again of a brand new blade for a low-angle jack airplane I’m restoring (a Stanley No. 62). I do that on a flat granite slab, utilizing adhesive-backed sandpaper, and following up on waterstones.
As ordinary through the preliminary flattening, which takes fairly some time in some instances, my fingers received actually sore. This time I even received a blister. I believed I’d higher lay off the blade-lapping for a number of days, after which I received the straightforward thought of attaching a small block of wooden to the highest of the blade to assist me management the method. I hooked up the block with double-sided tape, went again to work, and the end result was glorious! The blade honed a lot quicker as a result of I may apply much more downward stress with no restricted grip. The stress was additionally extra even and simpler to manage.
I want I had considered this years in the past. It could have saved a lot effort, and made tuning up all these chisels and airplane blades way more pleasurable.
—EVAN MILLER, Sequim, Wash.
Illustrations by Dan Thornton
From Superb Woodworking difficulty #291
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