true stone?

[Tim N]

Using my universal support, my stone appears to be 100% true, yet sharpening my chisels they do not have a 90 degree angle to the side of the tool. 1-2 millimeters for a 1 inch chisel. Sharp as all get up, but just slightly angled. Should I be worried? Do I need to us the diamond trueing tool on my brand new stone?

Thanks

[Indymac]

I found that problem as well on the first chisel I sharpened.  I found that I had not mounted the chisel flat in the holder.  I had it up against the tabs to keep it square to the stone but I had tightened the knob furthest  from the chisel blade too much in relation to the knob directly above the blade. This caused the blade to tilt just enough to cause the non perpendicular grind.

Mac

[Tim N]

I think that might be most of the problem. It did seem to get better. still its good and sharp!

Thanks Mac

[Jeff Farris]

You guys have just touched on the most common problem faced by new users.  It is critical that the back of the chisel set flat on the bottom of the jig, and that the clamping bar should come down perfectly parallel to the bottom.

Further, should the top and bottom of the tool not be perfectly parallel, or the stone be ever so slightly out of parallel to the stone, you can still cut a perfectly square tool with a little bit of manipulation.

After grinding for a moment, check the squareness of your tool with a small square (I use a Starret 4" combination square).  If the tool is out of square, tighten the clamp on the long point and loosen the clamp on the short point.  Small adjustments (1/8 turn or so) will have a significant impact on the squareness of the grind.  The narrower the tool is, the more critical this adjustment is.