Sharpening and Grinding: Keeping Woodworking Tools in Shape

As with a kitchen knife, woodworking tools require their own level of maintenance. The wear and tear through their usage oftentimes leave woodworking tools, especially cutting tools, dull, lowering their functionality as tools. Cutting a piece of wood with a dull saw would take up more time, compared to using a sharp one. Drilling using a dull bit to bore holes on a piece of wood would be quite a hassle, compared to using a sharp bit.

(Photo: jc-pics)

Bottom line, keeping woodworking tools sharp and in top shape is just as important as using them. The value of maintenance. It is indeed something that goes beyond the realm of woodworking, but that’s another story.

As varied as the types of woodworking tools are in existence, a large number of sharpening and grinding tools, not to mention methods, also run congruent with them. The type of sharpening device and method is determined in part by the tool in need of sharpening. The other part is determined by personal choice.

Among the most common of sharpening and grinding tools are:

Sharpening Stones

As sharpening and grinding tools, sharpening stones exactly fit the bill. Knives, scissors, plane blades and chisels are among the woodworking implements commonly sharpened by this sharpening and grinding tool. They come in a wide range of sizes and shapes, and often made from quarried stone or man-made material.

They are not automatically powered, and are available in various grades, which are measured through the grit size particles of the stone itself. The finer the grit, the finer the finish of a sharpening and grinding operation. The longer for it to complete as well, as finer grits remove lesser material, compared to a rougher grit.

More defined examples of this type of sharpening and grinding stones are whetstones, oilstones and Japanese waterstones.

Files

When it comes to shaping a material through abrasion, a File comes in to play. Sharp parallel ridges covering a hardened steel bar basically make a file. It is basically a hand tool, and is useful not just for shaping materials, but with sharpening and grinding tools geared for cutting, like saws, knives and chisels.

Bench Grinder

A bench grinder is a machine tool utilized in making fine finishes on a surface. Depending on the type of wheel being mounted on its motor, a bench grinder could be used as a polisher, a buffer or a sharpening and grinding tool.

Bench grinders are stationary devices, and are fast sharpeners for woodwork tools. They are commonly found in a woodworker’s woodshop, as they are dynamic, capable of multiple functions, from sanding to tool sharpening.

As a sharpening and grinding tool, they work like magic. Fast, easy to use and accurate, just like the woodworking tools they are set to sharpen.

All in all, the three sharpening and grinding tools mentioned above aren’t the only ones available. They are the most commonly used, as they are multifunctional.

Woodworking tools are only as effective as their maintenance is. Keeping one’s tools sharp and clean assures an effective project, not compromising work quality and efficiency.