Veritas MK 11

[jim in Halifax]

I took a workshop this past Friday at LV, Halifax using the Veritas MK11 power system. It is a lot of cash to outlay but I was impressed with its QUALITY!!!!!

I was wondering how many of you out there own one of these?????
AND how often you use it????? AND your comments are welcome......AND is there an alternative machine?

Maybe I am too tight to part with $500.00...J

Searched for a previous thread on subject ...no luck!!!!

[Andrew_K99]

Might be worth including what you want to use it for ... there are lots of sharpening options and I am sure this suits a number of applications.

AK

[Ryan Shervill]

I have one, love it and use it all the time. I use it for everything from plane blades to chisels to lapping smaller planes. That combined with a custom built reverse spinning grinder/tool rest with felt wheels and honing compound let me take a rusted/gouged/chipped/abused garage sale plane blade and have it popping hairs in an honest 10 minutes.

[pcottingham]

Have one, and love it. I was a good hand sharpener, but the mkii is a whole other world. Nice sharp blades, no hand pain.

[jim in Halifax]

Might be worth including what you want to use it for ... there are lots of sharpening options and I am sure this suits a number of applications.

AK

Chisles/turning tools first priority then plane blades once in a blue moon......Could sharpen tools for "friends" and "bil's"
Certainly a tool that I would not use daily!!!!....I am too lasy to sharpen on stones....keep putting it off until all chisels are VERY dull!!!!

[Steve in Ayr]

Ironically, I'm too lazy to sharpen using a power option. I have the Veritas, and the Tormek, but I use a couple of Shaptons for 95% of my sharpening. Just leave the stones sitting beside the bench with a spray bottle, and in the time it would take me to jig up the chisel or blade, I can have it sharpened on the Shaptons. The Veristas does work great for flattening the backs of plane blades. Watch the temperature though, because you can heat it up pretty quickly

[jim in Halifax]

I took a workshop this past Friday at LV, Halifax using the Veritas MK11 power system. It is a lot of cash to outlay but I was impressed with its QUALITY!!!!!

I was wondering how many of you out there own one of these?????
AND how often you use it????? AND your comments are welcome......AND is there an alternative machine?

Maybe I am too tight to part with $500.00...J

Searched for a previous thread on subject ...no luck!!!!

Did some further surfing today and found the "Work Sharp WS3000" for $185.00 at BB...what are your thoughts on this unit..no one mentioned this previously....J

[Brian @ Muir]

I have the Mark II. I find the adjustment on the parallel slide rather finicky and this has a great effect on keeping the blade sqaure on the wheel. It is quick but not something I use a lot.

Brian

[Ron in Ottawa]

I had one for several years. It certainly works as advertised. The only area where I was not entirely satisfied was in lapping the back of plane blades but I suspect that was more a function of my technique than any fault of the machine. I have gotten more into the neanderthal side of woodworking and decided to sell the unit on EBay, along with numerous discs and a couple of extra platters. The $400 went a long way towards paying for a LV BU Smoother and a Small BUS. Both are wonderful additions to my little collection of shaving makers!

Bottom line for me is that the MKII works as advertised. It's built like a tank, it's quiet with little vibration and it works remarkably quickly. If you do a lot of sharpening it will save you a ton of time.

Best regards,

Ron

[Bidule]

I am looking to buy a sharpening machine soon. Can a MKII owner tell me if the highest grit, 1200, is high enough for final honing or we have to finish the job on a stone or something to get a mirror finish ?
I am comparing the specs between machines and for exemple, the Worksharp 3000 come with 3600 grit disk, plus you can buy leather Hone kit & Felt polishing wheel which are not available on the MKII.

Thanks

[Buster2000]

Ironically, I'm too lazy to sharpen using a power option. I have the Veritas, and the Tormek, but I use a couple of Shaptons for 95% of my sharpening. Just leave the stones sitting beside the bench with a spray bottle, and in the time it would take me to jig up the chisel or blade, I can have it sharpened on the Shaptons. The Veristas does work great for flattening the backs of plane blades. Watch the temperature though, because you can heat it up pretty quickly

Steve,

May I ask what you're using to flatten the Shaptons with? I picked one up a few months ago, but haven't really used it as I'm unsure what to flatten it with. Do you know if their is another option than the $400 flattening stone?

[michaely]

The basic sharpening machine is a two wheel 6" or 8" grinder...... they are cheap even when a 'cool' white or blue honing wheel and a tool rest from Lee Valley is added, probably an all in cost of under $200.
Apart from basic shaping of of chisel/plane blades - and many household items like lawnmover blades - if you think you have a light/accurate touch to avoid rounding over the cutting edge, I've seen people add an uber honing wheel of cloth/leather/even paper, coated with honing compound, to get a super sharp edge.

I have an Makita horizontal wet sharpener that uses Japanese waterstone but only use it, because of the set up hassle, to sharpen jointer and planer knives....
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-9820-2-.../dp/B0000223JC

....getting a 'mirror finish' on cutting edges...... while it's true that with most honing media the bevel surface of the tool goes from dull/matte to a shiney/mirror appearance with finer grit, that's not universally true (eg. natural Japanese " polishing"water stones leave a 'hazy/matte' and a very sharp edge)...... the very cutting edge of a blade, when viewed directly, should NOT reflect light; if it does, the edge is likely rounded over.....

... flattening waterstones: I used to use sandpaper on granite or marble scraps and found that the fastest sandpaper was the wet n dry open weave black paper typically sold sand down drywall compound.... I've since moved on to a cheap (and probably no longer generally available) cheap Norton #325 grit diamond benchstone; works very fast (and I won't wear it out by using it on steel!)....
http://www.amazon.com/Norton-87515-D...6153749&sr=1-2


good luck

michael

[Bidule]

Steve,

May I ask what you're using to flatten the Shaptons with? I picked one up a few months ago, but haven't really used it as I'm unsure what to flatten it with. Do you know if their is another option than the $400 flattening stone?

I use Shapton stones too and flatten mine with a 10 inch DuoSharp diamond bench stone, part number is W250CXNB for Coarse/Extra Coarse.
I am very happy with it, it take less than a minute per stone. I tried the sandpaper method but those stones are so hard, took too much time & paper and i wasn't happy with the result.
FYI, if you are not in a hurry, i bought mine from LV (special order) and it took about 1 month to get it. Thank you Lee Valley

[Ron in Ottawa]

I am looking to buy a sharpening machine soon. Can a MKII owner tell me if the highest grit, 1200, is high enough for final honing or we have to finish the job on a stone or something to get a mirror finish ?
I am comparing the specs between machines and for exemple, the Worksharp 3000 come with 3600 grit disk, plus you can buy leather Hone kit & Felt polishing wheel which are not available on the MKII.

Thanks

I suggest that if you want a finer edge than you get with the 1200 grit you get an extra platter, use 3M spray adhesive to mount a piece of leather and then charge it with green oxide compound. You will get a strop that is the equivalent of 10,000+ grit and it will do it's work is just a few seconds. For around $20 you've got something that will put a surgical edge on steel in a NY minute!

Ron

[jim in Halifax]

I am looking to buy a sharpening machine soon. Can a MKII owner tell me if the highest grit, 1200, is high enough for final honing or we have to finish the job on a stone or something to get a mirror finish ?
I am comparing the specs between machines and for exemple, the Worksharp 3000 come with 3600 grit disk, plus you can buy leather Hone kit & Felt polishing wheel which are not available on the MKII.

Thanks

MK11 and Worksharp 3000...Which is the better......$400 vs $185????????

[pcottingham]

I glued a piece of cardboard to a platter and charged it with the green rouge. Makes a great strop. I would use leather, but worry that it will change the geometry of the edge. I also strop on a belt grinder (the Viel LV sells) using a leather belt, charged with green rouge. That works great as well.

I had a worksharp, but returned it. I definitely prefer the MKII. It feels better built, and seems more versatile. After you add the rig to the worksharp that allows you to sharpen larger blades, the difference in price wasn't enough to go with the lower priced unit. Of course you could build a jig, but I would rather sharpen than screw around making jigs for sharpening. The MKII just seemed to be a higher quality rig, but that is a highly subjective opinion to be sure.
YMMV.

[Allegrus]

I took the plunge on this unit a few weeks ago. Previously I was using waterstones and the Veritas sharpening jig but the water in my shop and the abuse on my hands was more than I bargained for. I will just re-iterate what I like about this unit.

It's stable and quiet. It sharpens fast. The plates are easy to change. There is minimal cleanup. It has very reproducible results (Important just for touching up an edge in a single stage.)

I do have some observations after using it.

1. I find that the jig that holds the blades involves a little bit of guesswork to make sure each screw is tightened equally. If they aren't, your blade isn't being contacted 100% by the bar that clamps it to the jig.
2. Admittedly, I was nervous the first time using it because of the speed it's spinning, especially for lapping the back of a blade. I'm over that now but it could be beneficial to think of a way to incorporate a lapping jig for this device.
3. I put a bit of oil on the rest bar so the jig slides smoothly and to get rid of the sound the jig makes when it rubs against the rest bar. Like nails on a chalkboard for me.
4. The different radial speed across the plate as it spins must give a different wear profile on the mounted sanding discs. Can't help but think this affects the sharpness of the blade over it's length. I convinced myself it's good practice to try to even the wear on the disc by sharpening narrow blades on the outer perimeter and wider blades closer to the center.

I purchased an extra plate with the intention to dedicate it for final honing and I am interested in other options outside of gluing and charging a linen/leather/cardboard with honing compound. Would charging the plate directly with diamond paste be a option or would the aluminum plate be too soft and be ruined by the paste, the steel blades and the sharpening debris?