Use a combination square to determine whether the cutting edge of the plane blade is square to the sides. If it is not, square the cutting edge on a bench grinder, making sure to adjust the grinder’s tool rest at 90″ to the wheel.

2.Creating a hollow-ground bevel

Sharpening a plane blade involves three steps: creating a bevel on the blade’s cutting edge, honing a microbevel on the first bevel, and removing the burr that results from the honing process. To create the first bevel, clamp the blade bevel-down in a commercial grinding jig and adjust the tool rest to create a 30′ bevel. Holding the jig on the tool rest, advance it toward the wheel until the cutting edge makes contact. Slide the blade side-to-side across the wheel, pressing lightly. Check the cutting edge periodically and stop grinding when the bevel forms.

3.Honing the microbevel

Once you sharpen the plane blade’s cutting edge on a grinder, as in step 2, the result will be a hollow-ground bevel.If you did the job by hand on a sharpening stone, you will obtain a flat bevel.In either case, you need to hone a microbevel on the first bevel. Place a combination sharpening stone fine side up on a work surface. Screw cleats to the table against the stone to keep it from moving. For a hollow-ground bevel, clamp the blade in a commercial angle-setting honing guide with the bevel touching the stone. Saturate the stone with the appropriate lubricant and then, holding the honing guide, slide the blade back and forth from end to end along the sharpening surface. Apply moderate pressure until a microbevel forms. If you are starting with a flat bevel, clamp the blade in a commercial angle-setting honing guide with the bevel touching the stone. Then raise the angle of the blade a few degrees and complete the operation as for a hollow-ground bevel.

4. Lapping the burr

The honing process will create a thin ridge of metal, or burr, on the flat face of the blade. To remove the burr, saturate the fine side of the stone again. Holding the blade perfectly flat on the stone, bevel side up, move it in a circular pattern until the flat side of the cutting edge is smooth.

5. Testing the blade for sharpness

Clamp a softwood board to a work surface and, holding the blade bevel-side up in your hands, cut across the grain of the surface. A sharp blade will cleanly slice a sliver of wood from the board without tearing the wood fibers.

6. Honing the end of the cap iron

Secure a benchstone to your work surface; in the illustration at left. a diamond stone, which should be lubricated with water, is shown in its own box. Set the front portion of the cap iron that contacts the blade flat on the stone and slide it in a circular pattern on the surface. Continue until the tip of the cap iron is perfectly flat. This will guarantee that wood chips will not become trapped between the iron and the blade once the two pieces are reassembled.

The screw chuck is easy to use, but it is not strong enough to hold large blanks or secure end grain. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for limitations on the size of blanks you can use. For the model shown below, a maximum diameter-to-length ratio of 3:1 is recommended. Additional support can be provided for large blanks by sliding the tailstock against the work as you turn the bowl. To prepare your blank for the screw chuck. plane the contacting face of the blank so the chuck’s collar will f it f lush against it. Bore a pilot hole into the center of the blank to accommodate the chuck screw – in this case, a 1/4-inch hole to a depth of 1 inch.

screw chuck

Mounting the blank

Screw the chuck to the headstock spindle of the lathe, then attach the blank to the chuck. Screw on the blank until it sits firmly against the screw collar.

Once you have shaped the outside of your blank, a collet chuck will enable you to attach the bottom to the headstock of the lathe for hollowing out the inside. This chuck is similar in operation to the contracting-jaw scroll chuck. To prepare a blank for the chuck, turn a dovetailed tenon on the bottom. (Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the appropriate size of the tenon.) For the model shown, the tenon should be slightly smaller in diameter than the chuck’s collet when it is opened. (You may remove the tenon once the inside of the bowl is turned.) Next, install the chuck on the headstock spindle, insert the tenon in the collet and tighten the threaded collar first by hand, then using the wrenches supplied with the chuck.

Mounting the workpiece

The collar chuck allows you to secure goblets and other long blanks on the lathe’s headstock without using the tail’ stock. Prepare your stock and assemble the chuck following the manufacturer’s instructions. For the model shown, start by mounting it between centers, then turn it into a cylinder with a diameter of 2.5 inches, with a 1/2-inch-long sloping flange. or collar, at the headstock end of the workpiece. The diameter of the flange should be at least 2-3/4 inches. Once the blank is ready, remove it from the lathe and slide the threaded collar onto it, making certain that the sloping face of the flange faces the collar. Finally, tighten the collar on the chuck body using the wrenches provided with the chuck.

The pin chuck allows you to mount a bowl blank on the lathe headstock quickly at the cost of drilling a relatively large hole in your workpiece. The chuck consists of two parts: a shaft with a flat wedge milled out of it and a roller pin that fits into the wedge. As shown in the illustration at left, when the pin is positioned in the middle of the wedge it is f lush with the circumference of the shaft. This enables you to slip your blank over the chuck. Then, when you rotate the blank by hand, the pin rolls over to one side and protrudes slightly above the top of the shaft, wedging the blank to the headstock. To set up the chuck. simply thread it on the headstock, rotate it so the wedge is facing up and place the roller pin in the middle of the wedge.

Preparing and mounting the blank

Prepare your stock for the pin chuck following the manufacturer’s instructions, For the model shown, bore a 1-inch-diameter hole into the blank deep enough so the full length of the pin can penetrate the piece. As you will be using the pin chuck to turn the outside of the bowl, be sure to drill the hole into the part that will be hollowed out later. Slide the blank on the chuck,then turn the blank by hand against the direction of headstock rotation until the roller pin locks the workpiece in place.

Sharpening a handsaw is a three-step  operation. The process begins with jointing, or filing the tips of the teeth so that they are all the same height. This is followed by setting the teeth to the correct angle. This ensures that the blade cuts straight and does not stick in the kerf. Setting involves bending the teeth alternately to each side of the blade’s center line. The final step in the process is sharpening itself, typically with a file.

Not all handsaws are identical. The shape, spacing, and set of the teeth vary according to the type of cutting the saw will perform. The spacing between teeth is usually expressed in TPI, or teeth per inch. The following pages describe how to sharpen rip saws, combination saws, and both Japanese and Western-style crosscut saws. Because of their very fine teeth, dovetail and tenon saws should be sent out to a professional for sharpening.
4 Types of Saw Blades And Filing Angles

Filing ripsaw teeth

Ripsaws have widely spaced teeth with from five to seven teeth per inch (TPI). They also have a more pronounced set than other saws. Both features enable them to cut quickly along the grain. As shown above, the leading edges of rip teeth are almost vertical. To sharpen the teeth, use a triangular mill file, drawing it straight across each tooth at a 90″ angel to the blade axis.

Filing combination teeth

Combination saws are dual-purpose saws that can be used for both rip cuts and crosscuts, although they rip more slowly than a rip saw and cut more roughly than a crosscut saw. Combination teeth slope forward and backward at the same angle (about 60′) and both edges are beveled. Sharpen both edges using a triangular mill file (above), tilting the handle of the file down slightly.

Sharpening crosscut teeth

The teeth of a crosscut saw are closely spaced-eight to 12 TPI is typical-and they have very little set. Crosscut teeth feature sloped leading edges with bevels, which enable them to cut cleanly across the grain. As with rip saws, the teeth are sharpened with a triangular mill file, Hold the file at the same angle as the bevel, which is typically 65″ (above).

Sharpening Japanese crosscut teeth

Japanese saws, which cut on the pull stroke, have tall, narrow teeth with very little set. Also, the teeth are beveled on leading and trailing edges, and on the tips. All edges should be sharpened with a feather file held at about a 60′angle to the blade (above).