LV weekend purchases

[matt]

Due to the success of a project I've been working on, my employer told me to go out and spend about $100 on a gift for myself. Needless to say it all went to LV. It took a while to decide what to get. Part of me wanted to pick up a bit of a toy and part of me wanted to get some practical stuff to build on what I've got. Well the practical won out. I picked up the king 8000 grit waterstone the new Camber Roller for my MkII and with the leftover couple of bucks I got a copy of "Wooden Planes and How to Make Them". I've been enjoying my copy of "Making & Mastering Wood Planes" and frankly the book got my to the $100 mark.
What would have been my toy selection? Well it probably would have been a veritas spokeshave or a Pax tenon saw. I went with the sharpening gear because I figure I've got a better chance of picking up a good spokeshave and saw used over the summer. I also hate using that micro abrasive paper. Don't get me wrong, it does a good job. I just like the waterstones better.

Here is a couple of points on the purchase
8000 king stone
Note much to say here other than it would be nice if it had something on it to distinguish it from my king 4000. I just scratched an "x" on because I had on marker around.

Camber Roller
This thing is really nice. I wasn't sure how much I'd appreciate this one, but I have to say its a big improvement. Its much easier to get a camber on my iron. As a matter of fact, I was surprised to realize how much I was fighting the old roller when trying to do this.

"Wooden Planes and How to Make Them"
Haven't really gotten into this one too much yet. So far I've enjoyed the Finck book more..

Speaking of the Finck book, for me the chapter on sharpening was worth the money alone. As a beginnner sharpener his details on how to polish the back of the blade and how to test the cutting edge with your thumbnail where invaluable.

[Brent in Montreal]

Hi Matt,

Good score!! I've been thinking about the cambered roller myself. I have to make an order from Lv next week and think I'll add it on. I'm going to check if the MarkII can be bought with the roller installed, that way I won't have to switch back and forth. If You're reading this Rob, maybe you can give me the answer.

[matt]

Hi Matt,

Good score!! I've been thinking about the cambered roller myself. I have to make an order from Lv next week and think I'll add it on. I'm going to check if the MarkII can be bought with the roller installed, that way I won't have to switch back and forth. If You're reading this Rob, maybe you can give me the answer.

I'd thought about storing the original roller someplace, but its really quick to change and it makes sharpening chisles pretty much idiot proof... so I decided to keep it out... :)

[Chris in Pickering]

I also have the MKII and the camber roller assembly and it is a fantastic tool, but I have been doing more free hand sharpening lately. With a little practice you can do a real nice job.

[Brent in Montreal]

Hi Pickering,

I agree, free hand is the way to go. I sharpen most of my chisels, Japanese and Western, that way. Plane blades are a different story though. All my blades are A2 steel. It takes a bit longer to sharpen so I appreciate the constant angle of a jig.

[Kerry in Fort Sask, AB]

Matt,

You must be made of something tougher than your plane blades if you can go into a LV store with a hundred bucks and come out with only a hundred bucks worth of stuff!! :lol:

Cheers,
Kerry

[Chris in Pickering]

Brent in Montreal,

My plane blades are also A2.. I use norton waterstones 1000,4000,8000 and I find that I am able to get my edge quicker free hand over using the jig.....I thing that is due to more control over downward pressure. Also, I find I get a higher polish doing a circular motion, which cannot be done with the jig.
Will my edge be exactly @ 25 degrees? Probably not, but does the plane care if it goes 1/2 or 1 degree either way?
I do however love the jig for creating the camber on my smoothing irons. Once the camber is created I will free hand a few times using the edge created on the jig as a guide.

[Brent in Montreal]

Hi Pickering,

I use the same stones as you. My comment was about keeping a constant angle, not a specific angle. I find that I can get the blades just as sharp either way, but it takes me longer to get a consistent angle on A2 freehand than with a jig. Maybe it's just me getting lazy, before A2 all my sharpening was done free hand. I finally bought the older version LV jig a few years back and found it quicker to use on plane blades than free hand. The Mark II just makes it easier to set up. I do however camber my blades freehand, but am interested in trying the cambered roller. And as I said, all chisels are done freehand. Just my opinion and experiences.

[Paul O'H Ingersoll]

Matt
The Finck Book on making & using wooden planes is excellent. My local library found a copy for me. I am not finished reading it yet. LV stocks the book.
Paul

[matt]

Matt,

You must be made of something tougher than your plane blades if you can go into a LV store with a hundred bucks and come out with only a hundred bucks worth of stuff!! :lol:

Cheers,
Kerry
Haha Kerry,
I live about 10 minutes away, so my addiction comes in frequent small doses... :)

[matt]

Matt
The Finck Book on making & using wooden planes is excellent. My local library found a copy for me. I am not finished reading it yet. LV stocks the book.
Paul

Yup, thats where I bought my copy. I'll note that they also charge less than the price marked on the book....