OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

44945 C.MCBRIDE@l... 1998‑06‑17 Scary Sharp & Bio
First, my question: I was following the recent 'in praise of Scary Sharp (tm)'
thread, and I have to admit that I too have some (lots) difficulty in getting
that 25 degree bevel, although once I've got it there the results are indeed
amazing. I say this even though the finest sc paper I can get my hands on is
1200 grit! Would it make sense to invest in a coarse diamond stone just to
produce the basic bevel? Ideally I'd like to get my hands on a hand grinder,
but
these don't seem to be cheap. My planes are OK, but Ive jsut acquired an old
Sorby firmer chisel which has been ground to an angle of 20 degrees  or so (as
well as having a slight dip in the centre!) and the prosepct of getting this
into shape with sc paper alone is not a happy one. Incidentally, although I've
gone down to 60 grit, this seems to clog very quickly, and I seem to get better

results starting off with 100.

OK, now for the bio. I thought I'd introduced myself sufficiently a month or
two
ago when I signed on, but a recent reference to 'shameless lurkers' has stirred

my conscience. Ahem...

I'm relatively new to the sawdust and shavings game: while I learned the
rudiments at school, I haven't really progressed beyond this stage since then
(which is a few years ago now I suppose). My main output to date has consisted
of bookshelves, but my renewed interest in woodwork stems from having made a
cradle for some friends just before Christmas: this brought it home to me how
little I actually knew, not to mention how poor my skills were.

To my shame, I have to confess to owning a couple of tailed apprentices: the
most recent of which is a circular saw which SWMBO bought for my birthday after

I made the cradle. This is not a fun machine to use, and I'm beginning to wish
I'd bought a couple of good handsaws instead: not least because we live in a
studio flat, and it's not nice to have dust sprayed all over your sitting room
(bedroom, kitchen, study...)

I don't really have any Galoot roots: my dad only ever owned one chisel in his
life, and I don't think he ever used it. His father was a blacksmith however,
although he died long before I could ever see him in action. I do have an uncle

who makes furniture, although he's a strict MDF and machinery man... My wife's
dad was a cabinet-maker who has strayed from the true path and now restricts
himself to french polishing the odd antique (no, not Mom in law...). The next
time we're back in the Emerald Isle (we're in London for the last few years
trying to get an education an so on) I plan on having a good snoop around the
workshop! I'll keep you all posted!

Well, that should do the trick?

Cillian McBride.

         Replies               Author              Date
   31377 Re: Scary Sharp & Bio Tom Dugan           Wed  6/17/1998
   31405 Re: Scary Sharp & Bio Michael D. Sullivan Thu  6/18/1998



Recent Bios FAQ