Help me figure out my plunge problems

J

jawilder

Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
2,331
I have noticed that when I am grinding my plunge lines one side of the blade gets a nice returned corner while the other side gets squared off.

held with right hand
2012-03-12003422.jpg


held with left hand
2012-03-12003518.jpg


is my platen off or do I need to practice more with my left hand?

for what its worth I've noticed that the platen runs just a bit diagonal with the belt.
Jason
 
Fix the platen first off. Mine was like that and I would get the same thing. After fixing the platen it was better but I was still not getting the same radius. That is due to the difference of left to right. I found that with the left, my angle of the blade to the belt was different, in that I would tend to tilt the plunge into the belt more with the left hand. In other words, I would grind more with the left side of the belt while working left handed whereas the blade sat flatter with my right hand. Figure out what's working with the right hand and try to transfer the muscle movements.

But first fix the platen. If the two sides are different, you have no base of reference.
 
Also, I would suggest cleaning up the flats at least partially, before grinding the bevels. Then, you can tweak the flats to adjust the bevels later.

Until you get your left hand technique down better, try rolling the edge of the belt more to soften it on the LH side. That will give you more rounding.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!
 
Make sure your tracking is even on both sides of your platen. I know when I am doing plunges, I have to bring the belt over a tad(slightly more than a smidgen). There are much more highly skilled grinders than me but I found that breaking the corners on my platen(evenly) and having a bit of the belt hanging over(maybe 1/16") allows me better control on plunge lines. But that might just be a crutch for lack of grinding prowess.:p
 
When I first got my Bader BIII grinder, I immediately noticed that the "flat" platen provided wasn't going to work. It was simply a piece of angle iron, with one edge square cut off and the other edge rounded. Now, I glue a piece of glass on my flat platen and all is good.
 
I have the same problem on longer blades (10" +). I started using a push stick with whatever hand is farthest from the ricasso and it helped me even out pressure and get a better feel since the pressure I was applyign wasn't spread out thru all my fingers etc. For some reason on smaller blades Im ok.
 
Yesterday I watched Flat Grinding with Harvey Dean for the first time. You should check that DVD out, its really worth the cost. He grinds only to his right, flips the blade edge down to grind the other side. Might work for you?
 
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