Drill Press Sharpener Ultimate Starter Kit with Sharpener, jig & Flattening Kit

This is the Complete Drill Press Sharpener Starter Kit, which includes:

• Drill Press Sharpening System: Includes 2 arbors, 2 discs, leather strop, honing compound, and 15 Cubitron sanding discs.
• Chisel Sharpening Jig: Solid oak and features a 25-degree ramp 
• Chisel Back Flattener: Includes 5/16" float glass, Cubitron PSA discs and non-slip feet 

Downloadable manual HERE

Description for each component are below. 

This is the newest version of the Drill Press Sharpening System and includes 3/8" diameter arbors, 15 sanding discs and a horsebutt leather strop. 

This EZ Sharp Drill Press Sharpening System is the most cost effective and efficient sharpening approach available.  It can re-sharpen a dulled chisel in less than 20 seconds and can restore a razor-sharp edge on a very abused chisels in less than 60 second. It eliminates the need for much more expensive bench grinders, belt sanders, honing guides, strops and/or sharpening stones. The 5" version allows to sharpen blades up to 2" and the 6" version allows for sharpening of blades up to 2-3/8".

The heart of the system is an arbor that mounts acrylic discs in any drill press. Grinding and honing are done with 3M Cubitron II Sanding discs and a leather strop applied to the top or bottom of the acrylic discs. Chisels are held at the appropriate angle while grinding via a grinding jig that is fabricated by the end user. Detailed instructions and jig plans are included with each kit.  

Kits are available with either 5” or 6” discs. Kits come standard with two drill arbors, two acrylic discs, three each of the following 3M Cubitron II PSA film back discs (80, 120, 150, 180 and 220), one circular horsebutt leather strop, a piece of double stick tape and white honing rouge.  

Components:

Drill Arbor/Acrylic Discs

The drill press arbor is mounted in your drill press chuck and accepts acrylic discs. Acrylic discs are .200” thick cast acrylic and come in two diameters (5” and 6”) with a 1/4” countersunk center hole. These are laser cut and have finished edges. They come with protective paper on both sides that will need to be removed before adding abrasive sanding discs or leather strops.  Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) sanding discs can be applied to the top, bottom or both sides of acrylic discs. Using a custom sharpening jig with abrasive applied to the underside of discs, you can quickly regrind damaged cutting edges or hone to precise angles. The top of a disc can be used to flatten chisel backs or to strop with leather, bringing an edge to razor sharpness. The arbor shank is universal 3/8” diameter. The arbor length is 2-3/8”. The outside diameter where discs are attached is 3/4”. The maximum recommend speed is 600 RPM.

3M Cubitron PSA discs:

The sanding discs we supply are the 3M Cubitron Stikit PSA film back discs. They are the fastest cutting and longest lasting abrasive sanding discs on the planet, guaranteed! Cubitron abrasives were developed to grind steel and are the perfect abrasive to sharpen tools. Cubitron can regrind a very damaged tool in just a few seconds and will not generate enough heat to remove the temper in the steel. These discs have a film Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) backing that is nearly indestructible. They stick well to acrylic discs but are easily removed when dull and leave no residue.  Your kit comes with a selection of discs from 80 to 220 grit. Replacement discs can be found HERE.

Leather Strop with White Rouge Honing Compound.

Leather stropping discs are made from 10-ounce vegetable tanned horsebutt leather  that is 5/32” or 4 mm thick.  Discs come in 5” or 6” diameter with a 1” center hole to allow mounting to the top of acrylic discs. We supply a piece of Fastcap Speed tape with each disc so they can be firmly affixed to discs but removed when worn out. Leather can be used bare, but for faster cutting we recommend using our white honing compound. This white compound is specially formulated for use on power buffers and designed for honing super hard stainless steel, hardened iron, and chrome. It is a fast-cutting compound that contains the right amount of grease so it will load onto a spinning leather honing wheel and leave minimal residue on tools. One bar weighs in at 1.2 ounces and is 3/4" x 3/4" x 2-3/8". I

The Chisel Sharpening Jig

The Chisel Sharpening Jig is used to hold edge tools at the correct bevel angle and at a 90-degree angle to the edge of the tool. 

Specs:

-Base: 6" x 7-1/2" x 3/4" thick
- Body: 4" x 7" x 1-3/4"
- Ramp: cut at 25 degrees and is 3" long with a fence on the left side
- Body: contains holes to accept 2 disc mandrels and the honing compound
- Entire jig made from Red Oak
- The base, body, and ramp come fully assembled and ready for use. 

Chisel Back Flattener

Polishing and flattening the back of a chisel or plane iron must be performed during the initial setup of all new edged tools. The back of a chisel or plane iron constitutes half of the total cutting edge, making flattening essential with each new blade to achieve the sharpest tool. A flat plane iron back allows the chip breaker to seat properly, while a flat chisel back produces an edge that can serve as a reference surface, guiding the tool much like the sole of a plane. Once the initial polishing and flattening are completed, there is no need to repeat the process.

Typically, this procedure is carried out using diamond stones, water stones, or sandpaper adhered to glass. However, these sharpening media can be expensive and require maintenance (water stones need flattening, and sandpaper needs replacement). The process can also be messy, as water and sandpaper require water to carry away the swarf, and sandpaper may cut slowly, while water stones tend to clog and glaze over.

To address these concerns, we developed the Chisel Back Preparation Kit, offering a cost-sensitive solution that is fast and effective for the initial setup of edge tools. The kit includes a 5” x 11” piece of dead-flat 5/16” thick float glass, a selection of 5” 3M PSA sanding discs (2 each of 320 and 400 Cubitron II discs, and 2 each of 600 and 1000 grit PSA aluminum oxide discs), and 16 each 1/2” diameter urethane PSA bumpers.

The 5/16” float glass provides a dead-flat reference surface, and the urethane bumpers, placed on all corners and in the middle of both long sides, prevent the glass from sliding around while elevating it above your work surface to keep it clean. The Cubitron II PSA discs cut fast, last a long time, and require no lubricants. Starting with 320 grit and progressing to 400 grit is typically aggressive enough for most flattening operations. A standard 3/4" or 1" chisel can be flattened in seconds. If additional work is needed, rougher abrasive discs can be ordered separately HERE.

The flattening operation is completed with 600 and 1000 PSA aluminum oxide discs. Although the aluminum oxide discs do not last as long as the Cubitron II, they are very inexpensive to replace HERE.  Once the back face reaches 1000 grit, the final polishing can be achieved by stropping on our Drill Press Sharpening System, resulting in a razor-sharp mirror finish.

Our E-Z Sharp  Chisel Back Preparation Kit has proven to produce chisels and plane irons that are as sharp and flat as any other system available, all at a fraction of the cost.

Replacement supplies (arbors, acrylic discs, circular leather strops and honing compound can be found HERE.  Replacement PSA Cubitron sharpening discs can be found HERE. 

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