- Joined
- Dec 8, 2003
- Messages
- 279
Somebody in another thread mentioned using 3/8" toilet or sink supply tubing to securely clamp a diamond stone into their EdgePro, and I started pondering using the tubing in a different way...
I bought a length of 5/16" steel rod -- the same diameter as the stone arm on my EdgePro, and, by coincidence, the same diameter as both a Crock Stick and the ceramic "steel" that Ben Dale supplies. A 2" length of 3/8" supply tube can be used to splice the ceramic rod to 5/16" steel rod. You'll need to wrap some thin paper around the end of both the steel and the ceramic rods to take out the slop and keep the splice from coming apart (I used the sticky strip from a Post-It note).
After finishing an edge using the normal EdgePro stones, take the stone arm out and insert the rod with the ceramic spliced to it into the pivot. The ceramic will now meet the knife's edge at a very slightly less acute angle than a stone would, so there's no need to increase the height of the pivot. 2 or 3 very light alternating strokes with the ceramic and you'll have a nice little micro bevel.
I had a bit of a brain fart when I was deciding how long to make the steel rod and I cut it at 13" -- way too long, or so I thought. It turns out that the extra 4 or 5 inches of rod hanging out the back end of the pivot serves as a nice counter-balance and helps me keep from applying too much pressure with the ceramic.
On a similar note, there's been talk around these parts of playing with different grades of sandpaper stuck to either the tape blank or the stones. I found some 4 1/2" x 10 yard rolls of GatorGrit self-stick aluminum oxide abrasive in 120 and 220 grit at Lowes today. So far I've only tried 1 piece of 120 stuck to the tape blank, and it worked great for hogging a new bevel on a 440A blade. We'll see later how it works with harder steels.
Shalom,
Mark
I bought a length of 5/16" steel rod -- the same diameter as the stone arm on my EdgePro, and, by coincidence, the same diameter as both a Crock Stick and the ceramic "steel" that Ben Dale supplies. A 2" length of 3/8" supply tube can be used to splice the ceramic rod to 5/16" steel rod. You'll need to wrap some thin paper around the end of both the steel and the ceramic rods to take out the slop and keep the splice from coming apart (I used the sticky strip from a Post-It note).
After finishing an edge using the normal EdgePro stones, take the stone arm out and insert the rod with the ceramic spliced to it into the pivot. The ceramic will now meet the knife's edge at a very slightly less acute angle than a stone would, so there's no need to increase the height of the pivot. 2 or 3 very light alternating strokes with the ceramic and you'll have a nice little micro bevel.
I had a bit of a brain fart when I was deciding how long to make the steel rod and I cut it at 13" -- way too long, or so I thought. It turns out that the extra 4 or 5 inches of rod hanging out the back end of the pivot serves as a nice counter-balance and helps me keep from applying too much pressure with the ceramic.
On a similar note, there's been talk around these parts of playing with different grades of sandpaper stuck to either the tape blank or the stones. I found some 4 1/2" x 10 yard rolls of GatorGrit self-stick aluminum oxide abrasive in 120 and 220 grit at Lowes today. So far I've only tried 1 piece of 120 stuck to the tape blank, and it worked great for hogging a new bevel on a 440A blade. We'll see later how it works with harder steels.
Shalom,
Mark
