February 13, 2025
Additional information
Adapter for sanding beveled irons for MK.II sharpening guide VERITAS
This adapter for the precise adjustment of bevel edges is simply mounted on the Veritas MK.II sharpening guide to determine and set both the exact bevel angle and the skew angle (either right or left).
The machined base plate made of aluminum has laser-etched markings that cover a range from 10° to 45° in 5° increments. Additionally, there are 3 special markings (18°, 22°, 28°) to cover common angles for skewed plane irons.
The base plate has 4 grooves for precise adjustment of the bevel angle at angles of 20°, 25°, 30°, and 35°. For an additional micro-bevel, it is best to use the fine adjustment on the MK.II sharpening guide. A movable stop allows for convenient pre-setting of known angles.
After the pre-settings have been made, the iron is inserted and fixed in the MK.II sharpening guide. The adapter is then removed, and you can start sharpening. Make sure that the sharpening stone is absolutely flat!
The machined base plate made of aluminum has laser-etched markings that cover a range from 10° to 45° in 5° increments. Additionally, there are 3 special markings (18°, 22°, 28°) to cover common angles for skewed plane irons.
The base plate has 4 grooves for precise adjustment of the bevel angle at angles of 20°, 25°, 30°, and 35°. For an additional micro-bevel, it is best to use the fine adjustment on the MK.II sharpening guide. A movable stop allows for convenient pre-setting of known angles.
After the pre-settings have been made, the iron is inserted and fixed in the MK.II sharpening guide. The adapter is then removed, and you can start sharpening. Make sure that the sharpening stone is absolutely flat!
Distinction between the two types of angles:
The finished planed plane: You can still see a dark stripe at the back in the middle. There, the abrasive did not reach the sole. The inward curvature is no longer measurable with our means, as it is less than 1/50 mm. The remaining, largest part of the sole has a very good finish. I decided to stop here as the effort and yield should be in a reasonable ratio, and the plane does not experience any limitations regarding its function. Of course, you can also smooth the last piece at the back; there are no limits to the pursuit of perfection. If you have planed a plane: dry it well and oil it afterwards to keep rust at bay. The whole process took just under 60 minutes. You can control the time investment yourself. If you want to go faster, change the sanding sheet more often; the process will then be a bit more expensive.
Note on this adapter for angled irons:
1) Bevel angle
2) Slope angle
2) Slope angle
This adapter may reach its limits with larger angles of 45° or 40°. This depends on the length of the blade, also influenced by the width. In the example of this 18 mm wide MHG iron with an angle of 45°, it is clearly visible that the desired angle cannot be achieved.
Unless the adapter is positioned so far outside on the grinding guide that it is just barely held by the screw. This does achieve the angle of 45°, but the bevel angle can only be ground to about 32° because the angled iron lacks some length. The specified bevel angle of 25° cannot be achieved in any case. If you click on the images, you can see the details enlarged.
The above example is illustrated again here! If you want to make the movable stop usable, only a very blunt bevel angle of 35° can be set in advance.
Based on a steel ruler with a width of 11.5 mm, we tested what cutting length a chisel with this width would need to set the 45° bevel angle and 25° chamfer angle. In the enlarged image, it can be clearly seen that the blade would need to be at least 150 mm long.
