My Whizbang Belt-Sander Chisel-Sharpening Jig

Just learn to do it properly

Left side of jig is getting sanded causing to grind on angle. I would make a jig on sander so belt stays between runners.

Brilliant idea....I forehand mine on the front wheel of the sander for a hollow ground edge...I am going to try this for damaged tools

Hey, I've got chisels like that. I didn't do it to them my brother in law did it to my late father-in-laws chisels. I've got the chisels now so I guess we're going to see how this works.

Looks like a nickel to me! It's already costing me money. I should say that this is a great way to sharpen things. (not scissors)

Did you know you can get a speed controller from harbor freight which works great to slow down lot of small tools even a shop of vac. I have a lot of trouble with my sand belts failing and I am quite sure that heating up of the belt is part of the problem, of course running it slower helps solve the heat problem and it is usually recommended not to heat up a sharpening project.

Due to the way you are using the jig you are grinding some of the wood off the jig. I can see where that is happening on the jig. That is probably why you have had some smoke/

Or, how to make a ten minute tutorial last, TWENTYTHREE MINUTES!!!!

23 minute video is "no time flat"... I beg to differ....

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

There's a guy who goes by leatherbeltman online and he sells belts for your sanders that you charge up with stropping compound and you have a power strop. His prices are very reasonable and he's very accommodating. He didn't stock the size for my old Craftsman sander so he made it special for me and didn't charge a penny more. He sells compound too as well as other stuff like stropping disks you can use in a drill press or even a hand drill. A nice guy with good stuff at reasonable prices.

I have several general woodworking chisel that were re shaped and re sharpened
Thanks to your jig.

I also work out how to cut 27deg using a regular miter saw.
I add a 45 deg wood backer to the miter saw rail .

Thanks

How would it work to turn the stropping belt inside out and use the fabric with compound?

Where can I buy the jig and how much please?👍

spot on, just used an old sacrificial stanley honing guide on my benchtop sander, didn't harm the honing guide at all, flattened the back of the chisel on an oil stone and voila super sharp chisel! I'm not going to be making chippendale standard furniture so works for me, thank you

Call the cops

You didn’t mention that you turned the belt sander around when you switched to the finer aluminum oxide belt. Now having the belt running into edge of the tool rather than skimming out from under it.
Also, just my personal decision, if I were to use this reprofiling/ sharpening method, I would probably mount the belt sander to the bench in some fashion for both safety and convenience.

Tks for this ,I will take your advice

Go to your local glass shop they throw away carborundum belt for a 3 by 21 that a perfectly good for sharpening bits and no good for for glass they throw them away they'll give them to you for free

What a load of crap.

Great simple idea! Not to knock the hustle but if you can't look at that thing and instantly figure out how to make it... you probably have no need for chisel.

Anything that's whiz-bang>> I gotta see it!

Great idea. That jeweller's honing compound is terrific; I use the white compound when sharpening knives. Toothpaste is also good albeit a bit slow (70-150 microns). Some blokes I know hone/strop their blades on a disc of MDF board powered in their electric drills. There is enough fine grit in the board to do the job or you can just give it a coat of the jewellers rouge.

whoo, I wouldnt say "factory sharp" these days, they dont come very sharp from the factory but this trick looks like it should get ya the rest of the way! Im always looking for ways to save time and steps in sharpening because its not nearly as enjoyable as cutting!

You should use a band with finer grain to finish sharpening and of course i saw a litle curvature of grinded surface which means (at least for me) that your jig can be much much better if will be aproached in diferent way.

Thank you for sharing this very practical way to sharpen chisels.very inventive. Would like you to read Job 32:8. It applies very much to people like us!

😅 4 hours later it looks like crap. 😢😮

I like your no-nonsense approach.

As a self-defined woodworker, not a carpenter, I'll just mention that what you end up with your jig and method isn't considered sharp in fine woodworking context.

It is possible to get a much sharper edge, although in carpentry context there is likely no point in doing so.

The first thing a "woodworker" will do is flatten about 1 inch of the back so that it is super flat and can be used as a mirror. Held up to a light, the reflection will be so flat you see no shape distortion as you look at it from various angles.

The bevel gets ground with a perhaps grinder, or maybe a sharpening stone up to maybe 1000 grit. Then move to a finer edge by tilting the angle of the bevel up by a few degree. At which point you use a finer grit in the area of 8000+/- grit and put on what is called a "microbevel". At this point you are good to go but some strop on with compound to try and getting a higher level, way beyond factory sharp and beyond scalpel sharp.

One way to test sharpness is to take a piece of softwood and pare the end grain. If you can slice a thin flat piece of end grain off, you are on the right track.

There are many variations of this, and many holy wars of people evangelicalizing their method and how much better, faster, cheaper their way is.

I'll mention that thr sharp-sharp edge doesn't last long. But it quickly goes to working sharp mode, still much finer than good for carpentry mode. And some extend the sharp-sharp mode with stropping compound on leather, maple, MDF, grocery bag, etc.

Why do this? Chisels in woodworking mode are used an a variety of ways to slice wood to create joints. Mortise joints, dovetails, etc. A machine cut mortise or whatever often needs to be refined for the best fit that can last a few hundred years. Or to avoid ugly gaps, and tolerances are in thousands of an inch.

It's May 31, 2023 and I just bought your jig plans. Even if I don't get off my butt and make it, this video and your other videos are worth it. LOL, my chisels are hoping I will make this jig so they can be sharp again. Thanks, I'm really enjoying your videos, very direct and clearly presented.

Excellent.. thanks for sharing and regards from Deutschland

Top idea, thanks man, I'll make one because while we need sharp chisels, I hate hand sharpening...

Nice! I’m restoring an old hand plane, so I’ll definitely give this a go! I saw a similar idea putting a sanding disc attachment in a pillar drill, but this looks far more controllable. Nice job, thanks for sharing.

Finally a use for my belt sander. Every time I try to use it for sanding actual wood I end up wanting to throw it in the trash because I take off too much material. Skill issue probably, since I don't have a lot of experience with it. Thanks for the video. I'm thinking I could sharpen the blades for my plane with a similar jig.

Great minds fella I,ve been sharpening my chisels with this method for the last 35yrs with my Elu belt sander.

You could have shortened this by fast forwarding through the shaping part.

Your "wire edge" is called a burr.

good vidios

its rubbish,because those rails aint going to last for long

Very nicely done. You can probably pick up the old belt sander at the same yard sale for a couple of dollars too.
I like your design, thanks for sharing

Watched it , thought about it , built one. Wow, what great results. I redid an old wrecked chisel that was probably ready for the rubbish bin. but after using your method the sharp end is like new, even better. 🙂 Thanks from Yorkshire U K

Need to order one but can’t find a price

excellent video thank you, i was over thinking things.

I've been doing home remodeling for almost 30 years and I think I'm nearing the end of it. But this whole time I would get a nice new set of chisels and I would swear that I am not going to tear these ones up, I'm going to use the old ones for the stuff that damages them. But yet every time I've bought a nice new set of chisels I tear those suckers up on nails and whatever else they happen to hit. It just happens if you're working on houses. It's not like with a woodworker in his shop under controlled conditions with all clean wood.

The difference in the different color like blue sanding belts is the old school stuff is aluminum oxide and the better blue belts abrasive is often made with silicon carbide. I bought a bunch of red sanding belts that are the same way with the Diablo name. At least I think that's what they are, I know they last a long time. The cheap stuff is sand and the good stuff is some sort of high tech ceramic material, very hard and durable. Worth the extra money because it lasts longer and cuts better.

I have that same chisel, the handle isn’t yellow anymore and the metal has a layer of rust and who knows what all over it. It was my Dad’s so it’s at least 50 or 60 years old. I kept it because it was my Dad’s, but never thought there was a way to restore it until now! I’m going to try your method - Thank you!

True education ❤

Totally Awesome and Creative! Thanks so much, it’s worth buying a new belt sander from Harbor Freight…

Not bad for a 75 cent chisel