Flatten Chisel and Plane blade backs using the side of the wheel

[Segovia123]

I read the manual for the first time last night 

It says I can place a blade vertically on the side of the wheel to flatten the backs 

Seems a bit risky to me, anyone used it successfully ?

[RichColvin]

I do it often.  Works fine. 

[tgbto]

Tormek seems to have a conflicting history with the side of the wheels. Sometimes say say you shouldn't use it because you cannot true it, sometimes they say it's fine to do so even on non-diamond wheels. I don't think it matters much for light use...

I guess one has to be very careful to not put the slightest microbevel on the backside.

[darita]

I've been working on chisels lately and found that I can use the side of my diamond/CBN wheels for flattening, however I have to pay a lot attention when I do so.  Much care must be taken while laying the chisel down so as not to allow the chisel back to rock either side-to-side or heel to tip.  What makes it difficult is that there is a constant pull on the chisel from the rotation of the wheel.  All that said, using the wheel side removes material much faster than doing it all by hand, on stones.  Once I'm sure the chisel is flat, I finish by hand on stones.  I recommend practicing on a junk chisel first.   Hope this helps.

[tgbto]

Would the MB-100 help in supporting the chisel when using the side of the wheel ?

[darita]

Would the MB-100 help in supporting the chisel when using the side of the wheel ?

Only if you can align the support bar to be inline with the wheel side, then you could use it as a fulcrum to gently lay your chisel back down on the wheel.  It's a good idea.

[Ken S]

I frequently use the support bar positioned quite close to the grinding wheel. I like the control it gives.

Flattening plane blade and chisel back does not always need to be a laborious task. Do a search for the "Charlesworth ruler trick". This procedure, discovered by the late David Charlesworth, puts a slight back bevel on only the edge of a plane blade, saving much time. The plane blade only needs to be flat in the very small area where the edge contacts the chip breaker.

With chisels, rub the back on a fine stone. If the blade is hollow in the middle, flatten it only to where the leading edge is flat across the entire width. A mid blade hollow is no problem. If the chisel is new and has a belly in the middle, return it!

Ken