I enjoy looking at, using, and restoring old tools. Old tools sometimes come with stories, which makes them even more interesting.

As I was getting into woodworking with hand tools, I found myself buying old hand planes and chisels. The only problem is they had been rusty and dull. So, I built this quick jig to quickly and accurately sharpen them.

This is just a steel block with an angled surface and some clamps. The block is held in the magnetic chuck on a surface grinder. It's wide enough to fit up to a Stanley #6 plane iron and get a primary bevel quickly.

At the time of this build, I used to work in a teaching shop, which meant our cheap woodworking chisels got used for things they shouldn't have been used for. This jig made quick work of refreshing chisels that had hit nails or been used to open paint cans.