Woodworking On The Cheap

There comes a time for all woodworkers where they realize their tools start getting dull. Chisels, plane irons, cabinet scrapers, etc., all wear down as the metal oxidizes and working stress wears at the edge. Sharpening is a skill like the edges of your tools. The process becomes more natural and less like work as you hone it.

Scary Cheap, Scary Sharp!

Last month, Rockler put their plate glass sharpening system on sale. I’d heard of people using this method before, but never tried to find a way to put it all together. After seeing that Rockler wants to sell you two kits each $30+, and then charge 8+ bucks for peel-n-stick sandpaper refills. That’s more than $60 for two pieces of float plate glass, a honing guide, and eight pieces of sandpaper! Yikes! I decided it was time to find a better, cheaper way.

I’ve just finished grinding and honing my 1″ wide Irwin chisel (tool review here) to a mirror finish with a 1500 grit final stage for less the cost of one of the Rockler sets. If you’re starting out working wood, this is the way to go. You’ll save yourself money in the long run by not wasting it on methods that don’t work, or wear out quickly.

Read on for how I put together my scary sharp system for scary cheap!

Purchasing Supplies

At Lowe’s, I found:

11oz can of Duro Spray Adhesive: $3.98
12″ x 16″ 3/32″ thick plate glass, cut down to two 8″ x 12″ pieces: $3.52
400 grit wet / dry sandpaper pack: $3.97

Then I made my way to an Advance Auto Parts store. It’s right down the road from Lowe’s, and on my way home. There I picked up:

800 grit sandpaper in 1/3 sheet strips $4.09
1000 grit sandpaper in 1/3 sheet strips $4.09
1500 grit sandpaper in 1/3 sheet strips $4.09

I already had some 600 grit paper on hand at home, as well as 320, 220, 150, and 80. Those pieces I’ve been ripping into 1/3 sheet strips, which fit nicely in my sanding block, and work quite well on the 8″ x 12″ inch glass.

I have a honing guide that I purchased on sale at Rockler last year, and used with a set of the worst diamond-plate sharpening stones I’ve ever had the displeasure of using, (more on that later). Had I needed to buy a honing guide out-right, I’d have paid anywhere from an additional $10 up to $14 bucks for it.

All told, my system is cheap. At $23.74 I had everything I needed. If I needed to buy all the sand paper, in 220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and even up to 2000 grits, I’d have spent $32.72 in paper and $7.5 in glass and adhesive.

If you have to buy everything new, the worst case scenario with this method is…

$21.50 in glass, adhesive, and a honing guide.

$32.72 in sand paper, of all grits from 220 through 2000.

That’s a total of $54.22 for 250% more sandpaper than you get from Rockler.

You’d have to spend an additional $8.50 four-times over to get the same (actually one sheet more per grit) amount of sand paper. That brings the Rockler price tag to $102! ($34 for the coarse, $34 for the fine, and $34 in paper.)

The woodworking cheap way is 53% cheaper than the pre-packaged systems! And that doesn’t count the long-term savings in buying cheaper (normal, non peel-n-stick) sand paper.

For me, it was significantly cheaper than %53, because I had some of the parts laying around.

Using the System

In my shop, I coated one side of both plates of glass with a thin layer of spray adhesive. Inside (at a flat table) I had a towel to place the glass upon. After putting the glass on the towel, I stuck strips of sandpaper to the glass. From then on, it’s a matter of honing the tool in your guide, being careful, and taking your time. And it will take time.

My big, 1″ wide chisel had a bad angle, big nicks, and a horrible finish on it. It took an hour just to hone that one tool. More than half that time was spent grinding a proper bevel. You can see the results though, at 1500 grit, I’ve got the beginnings of a fantasting mirror finish, and this chisel is sharper than I’ve ever had it.

Stay tuned, I’ve got three more chisels and a plane iron to hone, and I plan on chronicling this in a new, exciting way for WWOTC.