My tool sharpening system.
I will now introduce you to my sharpening station. As I said in my profile, I fine tuned  my hand tools  on a short course with
David Charlesworth.   It was whilst on that course I was introduced to the efficiency of David's sharpening methods.  I had never
worked with anything better, so I adopted them.  

On returning home from the course I obtained a piece of perfectly flat material that is used in kitchens for the top surface of the
base units. It was around 40mm(1½”) thick and 600mm(24”) square.   I then added some lipping around the edges that protruded
around 6mm(1/4”) to prevent any water or mess spreading.

I purchased some 6mm (1/4”) float glass and secured it to the top with double sided
tape.   This measures 300mm (12”) by 250mm(10”)

084
Whilst the water stones are being used they need to be secured firmly or they just roam around the board.   

A wooden block with a slope of 1 : 20 and a matching wedge are positioned so that the water stones are pushed against the outer lip
of the sharpening station.

my sharpening station 071  
Honing guides
I find that I only require two honing guides for all of my sharpening,
The eclipse honing guide

073




The eclipse073
And the Stanley honing guide.

074
Diamond stones.
I own a couple of small diamond stones that I use to remove sharp edges on a tool that would be otherwise dangerous to use.  


075
Kitchen towel.
another important element of the sharpening station is paper kitchen towel, to clean the tools and the sharpening station.   
The water stones are kept in a seed tray half full of water.  They are supported on two pieces of timber the full width of the tray.   
In this way the water stones will not be laying in a bed of slurry.



077
And I use another seed tray for cleaning the 8000 grit stone after it has been flattened, and for cleaning the part of the wet and dry
that has been used to flatten it.   This will be explained under the topic water stone maintenance.



078
And a bucket of water is situated adjacent to the sharpening station for cleaning the part of the wet and dry used to flatten the 800
and 1200 grit stones.   Using this prevents the 8000 grit stone being contaminated. I also have another bin on the floor for the
waste paper towel.
I also use an adjustable lamp, an essential aid in checking the edge of blades.
Tormek water cooled grindstone
Many years ago now when I was looking for advise when buying a sharpening system, I read an article by David Savage, another
leading cabinet maker in this country.  He  recommended a Tormek water cooled grindstone.   For me, this is a near perfect
system.  Unfortunately, it does not come with a jig for grinding the small Japanese chisels that I use.  Having said that, Rob
Stoakley wrote an article in the Furniture and Cabinet making magazine,about a jig that he had designed for that purpose.  I will
cover this in detail some time in the future.


081
Chisel/knife tidy
Having spent so much time getting the knife or chisel ready for fine cabinet making, I wanted an efficient method of protecting the
sharp edges.  A piece of scrap wood 25mm(1”) square with 9mm(3/8”) slots was my solution.  I have a few of these.  Some that
are only used by the sharpening station, and those used on my workbench.

083
a list of 'how to do' in the woodwork field
japanese water stone, float glass and wet and dry paper used for flattening the stones
japanese water stones secured with wedges
eclipse honing guide for shaprening chisels and plane blades
Stanley honing guide for honing chisels and plane blades
diamond stone for removing very sharp edges and for honing router cutters
kitchen towel for cleaning and drying tools after they have been sharpened
my 800 and 1200 grit japanese water stones in a water bath prior to use
water bath for cleaning wet and dry after flattening the 8000grit superfine japanese water stone
bucket of water for cleaning the 800 and 1200 grit water stones plus the wet and dry after flattening them
a table lamp using both on the workbench and whilst sharpening tools
Tormek grindstone for grinding chisels and plane blades
a very quickly made chisel/knife tidy
If you have benefited from this web page and would like to contribute to good causes listed below are charities of my
cho
ice.
The Alzheimers Association.
www.justgiving.com/hand-cut-dovetails
Water aid  www.justgiving.com/hand-cut-dovetails1
Dreams come true www.justgiving.com/hand-cut-dovetails2
Help for heroes  www.justgiving.com/hand-cut-dovetails3
The Wounded Warrior Project www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/hand-cut-dovetails/alan