Woodworking Tools 7 



and this is annoying in grinding fine work. Hence some 

 arrangement for emptying the trough under the stone should be 

 made, and in addition a means of dropping water on the stone 

 during grinding is necessary. 



Plane irons are not infrequently made of a plate of fine 

 steel welded upon a plate of softer and cheaper iron, conse- 

 quently it is well to turn the stone towards the grinder, as this 

 process tends to embed the steel particles in the following 

 iron, and at the same time grinds the steel free from a serious 

 amount of " wire edge." 



The angle of grinding should be about 25. 



When the fault has quite disappeared, and the edge is 

 straight and "square" with the sides, the tool may be dried 

 and sharpened. 



(2) Sharpening. The ground tool is still unsharpened, 

 despite the common fallacy that sharpening is performed upon 

 a grindstone, and must have an " edge " put upon it. This is 

 done by the use of an oilstone. 



The choice of an oilstone is a matter of some difficulty. 

 Washita stone is excellent and cheap (comparatively), but slow, 

 while Arkansas stone is rapid, but expensive. Turkey stone 

 is of an intermediate quality, and gives splendid edges to 

 tools; but it cuts slowly. An Arkansas stone is worth its 

 cost in time saved, but as it cuts quickly it must be used 

 carefully, or extra work will result. Olive oil is spread upon 

 the stone before use, and this, with the black particles of 

 removed steel, should be wiped off before putting the stone 

 away. It should be kept in a wooden case, with lid, as being 

 a porous stone it is liable to suffer if exposed to moisture 

 and dust. A good size is 8" X 2" X i". 



In using a stone, it should be remembered that while the 

 stone wears away the steel, the steel is performing a similar 

 operation upon the stone, hence the necessity to use the whole 

 surface equally. A plane iron should be held at an angle of 

 about 35 to the stone, and rubbed forwards gently and firmly, 

 pressing evenly with the finger tips on the front of the iron. 

 The forward is the cutting stroke, and the iron may be brought 

 backwards lightly and rapidly. The sharpening of a plane iron 



