Constant-Angle Honing
M
OSTOFUSKNOWan old-timer who has demonstrated a
method of work so effective and simple you wonder why it
never occurred to you before. This happened to me recently while
honing my plane iron. I was struggling to maintain a constant angle
against the stone, lamenting that I did not have one of those fancy
roller tools that locks the plane iron at a constant angle while rolling it
across the abrasive. Here’s a simple solution:
Slide the chip breaker back from the cutting edge about^3 ⁄ 4 in.
Then lock the double iron in the plane with the blade extending
through the throat about^1 ⁄ 2 in. With the heel on the bench top and
the plane iron on the stone, slide the plane back and forth. The setup
holds the iron at a constant angle to the stone to grind a perfect
secondary bevel.
You may have to adjust the setup slightly to fit different-size plane
bodies, stones, and bevel angles, but the basic idea seems to work with
any plane.
—JAMESVASI,Cheektowaga, N.Y.
CHAPTER FOURStonePlane iron