# Brett's Honing Guide



## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

*Brett's Top Fuel Dragster Honing Guide*

*INEXPENSIVE, key word. As pointed out below, while there are several fancy smancy systems on the market, some like to fiddle with building their own tools, jigs, etc. That's all this is, an inexpensive too sharpening honing guide.*

This is my version 1.02.

*Took me awhile to figure out just the right setup, but I've come up with something that will:*
a) Prevent side-pivot based on wide-stance design (keeps a perfectly straight profile (technically). 

b) Allow for up to 3" wide blades or super-wide mortise chisels for the Noah Ark builders, haha.

c) Fully adjustable for any grind medium, flat diamond plates, Scary-Sharp methodology (glass & sandpaper), thicker stones of any height, etc, doesn't matter, this will adjust to any angle for any grind medium.

d) Inexpensive, most expensive parts would be the Jorgensen 4” Adjustable Handscrew itself at about $12, along with a 7/8” 7/8 in. Flat Ball-Bearing Tub Enclosure Roller from your local hardware store, few other pieces of hardware, minor stuff. NOTE: for this build I sacrificed a $7 Northern Tools wood-clamp, the Jorg version I think uses a 5/16” screw adjuster vs the larger 3/8” screw adjuster the one I used has, either will work.


Ok, took some pics with the Nikon in the Kitchen and I was attacked by my 1yr old Grandson Brantley...he likes the Honing Guide more than I do...thus it's no longer a Honing Guide, it's now a TRUCK...with just two wheels, lol.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Off to build it now, will take some progress photos and now I know how to upload to the community, yayy me! Won't get lost this way.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

all I can say is

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17398&site=ROCKLER

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21500&site=ROCKLER

Rockler - Search

==


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Ahh, been there done that Bob, very familiar with the majority of sharpening systems out there.

I should have premised the thread with "on the cheap" for the DIY'rs. I for one find it fun to build tools, jigs, etc. 

Example: If there was a Pantorouter on the market, someone could have posted "all I can say is" ...oh wait! There is nothing like the Pantorouter, haha!

This was a project to build with minimal cost, mostly out of scraps and minor hardware many may have in their shop. :dirol:


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

very interesting brett. but it looks like the platform might be too big for a chisel ... no?


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> very interesting brett. but it looks like the platform might be too big for a chisel ... no?


That's something I'm pondering Chris, v1.02 is designed with dual t-tracks that will cinch any chisel from the sides and clamp from above, yet leave room for a 3" blade which I'll likely never own a hand plane for. With a DW735 planer in my shop, the hand planing is really kind of minimal. If anything with furniture building and tenon joinery, a smaller hand plane might come in handy now and then. Then again the pantorouter cuts a perfect tenon with any angle including the depth I want, so even a hand plane for tenons might be far and few between.

Thus I may narrow the device to 2-1/2" on v1.02, will ponder the design some more. Biggest design feature of the current version or 2nd one is the adjustable height for any sharpening medium vs fumbling with this little $11 guide on whatever sharpening surface and limited space.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Brett, I am in the same boat about building things to use in my shop. I looked at your three photo attachments from your original thread starter and I would like to say, "Your work in Sketch Up is very nicely presented". Are you sure this is your idea, or is it really something made by Hitachi? Those lime-green wheels gave-it-away! <just kidding>. Great idea and I am looking forward to see v1.02

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

OPG3 said:


> Brett, I am in the same boat about building things to use in my shop. I looked at your three photo attachments from your original thread starter and I would like to say, "Your work in Sketch Up is very nicely presented". Are you sure this is your idea, or is it really something made by Hitachi? Those lime-green wheels gave-it-away! <just kidding>. Great idea and I am looking forward to see v1.02
> 
> Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


Haha, thanks OP, now I'm wondering if Hitachi makes one! I should submit something to them, get signed up for some kind of electric (back & forth) motorized hand sharpener, lol.


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## gmercer_48083 (Jul 18, 2012)

Great Idea! Curious to see your upgrade.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Found the wheels at a flea market today, 1/4 shaft so 1/4-20 threaded bolt/etc will work for the wide-body no-rocking stance.

Haha, can't decide whether I want yellow or purple.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Brett, I will submit my vote for the yellow wheels - then you can tell people it is from DeWalt! <haha>


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Haha, that's awesome, didn't even think of that.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

wow. 1/4" shafts are unusual for skate boards. i have never seen that. all i have ever seen are 7mm (~5/16") shafts with 22mm dameter. 7mm is also the shaft of the bearings for roller blades.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Thus I stand corrected, indeed they are 5/16th shafts, which is even better.


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## gmercer_48083 (Jul 18, 2012)

I vote purple.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

i misspoke. skate board bearings are made for an 8mm shaft, not 7 mm. in either case though, 5/16" is the SAE equivalent for the shaft.

i am looking forward to seeing your completed guide. it is much more complex than the simple one i made.

does the adjustment mechanism use a barrel nut?


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> i misspoke. skate board bearings are made for an 8mm shaft, not 7 mm. in either case though, 5/16" is the SAE equivalent for the shaft.
> 
> i am looking forward to seeing your completed guide. it is much more complex than the simple one i made.
> 
> does the adjustment mechanism use a barrel nut?


Assembling it right now, came in for some lunch, freaking starving. It uses whatever they use in the wood clamps, not sure what they call it. Pics soon.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Holy moly, see-thru plane shavings in one pass, full connected. Used my 100 yr old Stanley #3 SW S-Patent smoothing planes blade, it was sharpened with a potato by whoever owned it last I think.

Before and after pics attached of the sharpening. Works like a charm, 1/2 to 3/4 turn of the knob and I can micro-bevel as well. Rolls solid, no wobbling, etc. Pretty freaking sweet tool for $5 of hardware and scrap wood...ok the skateboard was $5, so $10 total :sarcastic:.

I'll shoot some pics with the Nikon later, it's dinner time right now.

New pics are in the first post.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

:yawn: :boring: :simple:  :lol: :sarcastic:

seriously though, that is very professional looking!

but ... how about chisels?


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> :yawn: :boring: :simple:  :lol: :sarcastic:
> 
> seriously though, that is very professional looking!
> 
> but ... how about chisels?


Haha, thanks my friend, I have some pansy shorter Stanley chisels, with a through-shank at least, but the handles so fat, anyway I made a prototype little wood piece for the clamp with a groove in it to test, worked fantastic, pics are in my first post. I'll build a nicer clamp/wedge/footing hoodoh for it tomorrow. 

I need some of the longer mortise chisels which would be real simple to snug up.

The planer blade was freaking outstanding in the jig and it's 3" wide ID so if I ever get a blade that wide (doubt it) it'll work good.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

cool! that thing looks like a top fuel dragster.

last question: to make sure it is square to the surface, do you just butt it up against the side of one of the clamping risers, or is there another mechanism for that?


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> cool! that thing looks like a top fuel dragster.
> 
> last question: to make sure it is square to the surface, do you just butt it up against the side of one of the clamping risers, or is there another mechanism for that?


I should rename it Brett's Top Fuel Dragster Honing Guide...

I beat around trying to figure this one out, but found it simple with plane blades by rough centering the blade then measuring from the edge of the main-body (1-1/4" I think) and on both ends that measurement equated to a perfectly squared blade (checked with a square).

For chisels I'm just using a mini-square on the squared sides of the chisels. If I ever had a angled-sided chisel, reckon that would be a little tougher.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

*Build photos*

Few build photos


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

*BREAKING NEWS: *

This dragster can be used as a touchpad holder, lol, went out in the shop and my wife was chilling at the table with her toy sitting on the dragster, too funny!

Whoduhthunk it'd double as a Grandkid dragster & touchpad holder?


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

too funny! looks like you are going to need to make at least two more of them


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> too funny! looks like you are going to need to make at least two more of them


I know right? My wife suggested I notch the sides up by the clamp a little in order to grip it easier, it's wide but fits my hands decent enough. I actually ended up gripping it by the clamp assembly which seems to have good control and even pressure apply.

It works good enough that I'm going to order some diamond hones, I don't much care for the wet/dry paper, so far at least. But I didn't spray glue the paper to the glass either, so I reaped what I sowed I guess.

I've just gotten used to the diamond hones it seems. The one I have is 2.5" tall, 4-sided, 200, 300, 400 & 600 diamond grit, but it's more for knife sharpening with the football shaped holes. I want just a plain flat no holed diamond plate. Sure Amazon has them.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

EDIT: NEW PICS and minor guide adjustments. I didn't like the handle from the sacrificial Northern Tools wood clamp. Ditched the metal sheeth, pin and chopped it a bit which allowed for further height to work on the taller stones, hones & diamond guides, etc. Also the little handle on the poor-mans-lathe (my drill press) and shaped it a little. It now clears any long chisels.

That brings up another point, this tool has proven itself, my worst chisel that I (confession) butchered by using it as a scraper and who knows what else, well it's a beauty now and will shave arm hairs let alone clean chisel now. I also took pics of my poor other chisels awaiting treatment. Thus I intend to procure a full set of Lee Valley's Narex mortise chisels for $80 soon.

It took me 15 minutes to get this tortured chisel sharpened from cradle to grave.









































































Here is my full set of current chisels, the obvious sharp one is the 3/4", have the rest to do still.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

I have been down the road you are going down now and for me the Work Sharp is the only one that will put a mirror edge on the tools in a heart beat,when you can see yourself on the cutting edge it's sharp...

==


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Hello Bob, 

That WS sure is a nice shop addition, I'd love to have one if Amazon will do their $150 sale again. The addons seem a bit overpriced, but what isn't with woodworking these days, unless you build it yourself.

I'm not really down any particular road as you may think, merely built a $10 tool to get me by with better than expected results. Waiting on Amazon for a couple of hones to help me get the finer finish, best I could do was #600 (all I had).

Now I do have to say that the WS is absolutely not the only method that's quick to get a razor edge with a mirror finish, but you along with most on here know that already. Ableit, this tool seems to do it probably faster than most .


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

That's one of the neat things about this forum, I and other members got one for 25.oo from Sears on a sale add error posted by Sears on the web,it pays to read the forum every day..

==

===


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Bet they don't make that mistake again.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

So in the spirit of "I CAN'T LEAVE ANYTHING ALONE" haha...I modified yet again. 

Didn't like the non-swiveling clamp system, so modified a $4 F-clamp to fit in the clamp holder. Also rounded up the corners everywhere to make it more comfortable while sharpening. Then I made some handholds suggested by my wife, was a bit wide.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris help!

Where can I find an 8mm shaft or rod stock?

The 5/16 all-thread has about a 128th or less of slack in the bearing which translates to the slightest wobble. I am contemplating mounting one of the skateboards trucks without the swivel bushings (no play). I originally wanted to remove the pressed in axle shafts on each side of the trucks but they are in there good, so it was a no go. I was going to drill and set them with 5-min epoxy. 

Since the adjustable wood axle shaft is drilled to 5/16", even if I could get the shafts off, I'd have to use some epoxy now to stabilize the oversize 5/16" hole I drilled originally.

It's not enough to notice on the edge of sharps I'm doing, but that's because I'm compensating by holding the guide securely.

I may leave it alone, but I'm a do-it-right kinda person. It's just the slightest micro wobble. Went through two more beat up chisels and they are not mirrored yet, diamonds will be here tomorrow from Amazon.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

maybe somewhere like mcmaster carr? also, i find there is very little wobble on the smooth part of the 5/16" bolts that are not threaded the whole length.

another option might be to try the 5/16" rods. if they are snug enough, you can put your own threads on them

lastly, maybe put a piece of tape on one part of the bolt to give it a touch more width?

then there is the option of putting a 3/8" rod on a lathe and grinding it down to the size you want and then threading it.

or maybe a piece of hardwood with a wedge?


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> maybe somewhere like mcmaster carr? also, i find there is very little wobble on the smooth part of the 5/16" bolts that are not threaded the whole length.
> 
> another option might be to try the 5/16" rods. if they are snug enough, you can put your own threads on them
> 
> ...


We think alike it seems, have ran most of those through the old noggin. It's so slight I might not even worry about it. Anyway, found plenty of 8mm rod options via Amazon.


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## BRAVOGOLFTANGO (Oct 11, 2012)

Gotta love MAP-gas, fired that puppy up and melted the entire truck off the skateboard to get the solid 8mm thru-shaft. Cleaned it up, measured, chopped it, epoxied and drove both pieces in, perfectly squared and not a bit of play now, zero, nilch, nada, super stable.

Oh and used the other set of wheels, they are Corvette Z06 wide skateboard wheels, more stance and stability ...:yes4:

Forgot, the purple wheels had a sticker with "Christine" on it, lol. Little Lacquer thinner cleaned that up, should have left it, would have had it said "Nancy" :haha:...


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