Sharpening Station
2011.09.09
Almost three years ago, I threw together this table as a place to sharpen my hand tools. Despite my dislike for melamine, I bought it because it was a ready-made top that would be easy to wipe down. The legs were 2x4’s just held together with screws.
It has served its purpose, but it was somewhat rickety until I permanently clamped it to the nearby 4x4 post, and I did not properly support the melamine-on-particleboard top, so it sagged over time.
So, I finally got around to rebuilding the sharpening station. I still have leftovers of the old-growth 2x4’s I bought for the workbench, so I sorted through what was left and set about making new legs and stretchers. They are still attached with screws, no glue, but with crosslap dados in square legs and more careful construction in general, the result is much more rigid.
2011.09.09
With two stretchers supporting the melamine, fastened with screws, the table is now reasonably flat again. It still needs to be set against the post and a plumbing pipe to keep from rocking during sharpening, but I no longer need to clamp it to the post. Nothing fancy, but an improvement over the original.
I have been using a set of DMT diamond stones for sharpening, and the Veritas MK II jig. Occasionally I use sandpaper on a granite tile. I sometimes strop with green compound on leather mounted to a piece of MDF.
With the rebuilt table comes a new addition, a Pike #5 hand-crank grinder that I bought on ebay. I replaced the small, worn-down abrasive wheel with a Norton “medium” grit grey wheel from the home center. The original tool rest was missing so I made one from a metal bracket.