Vote to Establish a Woodshop Sharpening Station

Sponsors

• Tim Bielawa

History

• Mailing List Announcement: 2020-03-
• Officially Proposed: 2020-03-
• Language Locked: 2020-03-
• To be Voted on: 2020-03-

> process: sponsor(s) research and plan the substance and details of proposed vote.

> submit for member discussion

> submit to Board Secretary for discussion at regularly scheduled Board meeting

> Board discussion assures that proposal is OK to proceed to member vote, having had sufficient discussion and no averse repercussions legal or otherwise. Secretary finalizes the language and locks same

> proceed to vote

• Announced: Once a vote is announced the membership can scrutinize and comment on the vote. Take comments into consideration. Announce the vote a week prior to locking down the language.
• Language locked: After some time that the vote has been announced, on or before the Thursday prior to the Tuesday the vote will occur, submit the vote to secretary at pumpingstationone.org. The vote language will not be allowed to change until the vote is proposed again.
• Voted on: This is the date the vote occurs. Not entered as part of the vote proposal: the Secretary or others fill this in after the vote is conducted.

Background

The woodshop currently has a mass of assorted "sharpening things". They are not of any particularly nice quality, nor are they in particularly nice condition. For example, most of the sharpening stones which would see regular use are variants of this inexpensive home depot stone.

The current stones aren't well maintained and some are even degrading (such as our "green sharpening stone" which has wear spots you can visually identify). Most of our water stones have been abused over years in the shop, most are not flat or even have parallel surfaces anymore [1]. Almost none have their grits labeled on them anymore.

The stones we have in the shop presently are not of sufficient size for easily sharpening plane irons which are often 2" or wider. For reference, the home depot stone linked above is 6"x2". This leaves almost no margin for error during sharpening and requires more time due to the short 6" run of the stone.

The honing guides in the woodshop are very introductory level and are not usable for precision sharpening (easily repeatable sharpening).

Sharpening is best done with a proper fixed station to maintain your mess and the placement of your stones. We currently have no such station in the shop. Building a small simple surface with a front lip on the bottom which can be vice mounted (or simply butted against the side of a table) would improve the situation considerably.

There is no guidance or recommendations on how to use the current mass of sharpening things in the woodshop. For example, some folks use water, some folks use glass cleaner, some use random oil, some folks do it dry (BAD! No! Stop doing that!). Having manufacturer recommended sharpening fluid on hand would prolong the life of new sharpening stones and give the users a better sharpening experience.

We simply have no guidance on how to sharpen anywhere. The station this vote proposes to establish would be an Authorization Required station. The stones and jigs are not amateur dollar-store quality products. They need to be understood and respected to last and continue providing good return on investment. The authorization would fully encompass how sharpening and honing works, how to use the tools, and how to clean up after yourself to maintain the system for your shop-mates and future self.

• [1] While our current water stones aren't flat, they can be flattened given some elbow grease.

Proposed Items

Item	Cost	Notes
3 Ultra Sharp™ brand diamond sharpening stones		8" x 3", in grits 300, 600, and 1,200
180 grit (or lower) paper sheets		Two purposes: Grinding tools that would take a lot of time on the 300 grit diamond stone because of how out-of-shape they are Regularly flattening water stones
Several units of Krud Kutter		The diamond stone manufacturer's recommended sharpening fluid
A fingernail brush		For brushing iron filings out of the stones
A Veritas - MK II Honing Guide		For quick, precise, repeatable sharpening
A Veritas - Camber Roller for Mark II Honing Guide		For giving rounded bevels to irons or chisels (good for scrub planes)
A dedicated stick of Extra Fine "Green" Buffing Compound		For stropping freshly sharpened tools to remove burrs or give a polish on buffing wheels
A dedicated bottle of 3-IN-ONE Multi-Purpose Oil		For keeping the honing guide roller clean of debris, as well as preventing rust on recently sharpened tools

Fancy thing Under the Plastic Sheet

This vote recognizes that the woodshop presently has a fancy spinning sharpening thingy under a plastic sheet. It is not currently set up, nor does it have formalized usage requirements. This vote sees itself and the fancy spinning thing as having two separate audiences. The items described in this vote are more general and approachable. The fancy spinning grindy thing is more intimidating and not something one would use for small quick sharpening tasks, especially for the case of quick touch-ups. Therefore we do not see the spinny thing as being in conflict with this vote.

Language

Authorize $CASHMONEY for the purchase of the following items to establish an authorization-required sharpening station in the woodshop:

1. 3 Ultra Sharp™ brand diamond sharpening stones, 8" x 3", in grits 300, 600, and 1,200
2. 180 grit (or lower) paper sheets for two purposes:
   1. Grinding tools that would take a lot of time on the 300 grit diamond stone because of how out-of-shape they are
   2. Regularly flattening water stones
3. Several units of Krud Kutter (the manufacturers recommended sharpening fluid)
4. A fingernail brush for brushing iron filings out of the stones
5. A Veritas - MK II Honing Guide for quick, precise, repeatable sharpening
6. A Veritas - Camber Roller for Mark II Honing Guide for giving rounded bevels to irons or chisels (good for scrub planes)
7. A dedicated stick of Extra Fine "Green" Buffing Compound for stropping freshly sharpened tools to remove burrs or give a polish shine on buffing wheels
8. A dedicated bottle of 3-IN-ONE Multi-Purpose Oil for keeping the honing guide roller clean of debris, as well as preventing rust on recently sharpened tools

• This is the official action language of the vote. It's the only part of the vote that the membership is agreeing to. It must be written in the form of a statement that can be responded to with a yes or no.
• Write the language of any policy you'd like to see implemented.
• Write the amount of money this vote allocates towards a particular action.
• Write the duration of the action (if applicable) such as how long money will be made available for a specific purpose.

Results

Quorum: The number of votes required to have a valid vote as determined by the bylaws in place on the day of the vote. If the vote doesn't meet quorum it can be proposed again, and can be voted on the following week (consider campaigning for your particular vote.) Present: This is the total number of members that voted (physically present or by proxy) and includes those that abstained from voting.

For: This is the number of members that vote but that agree with the vote language. Against: This is the number of members that vote but that disagree with the vote language. Abstain: This is the number of members that were present but that did not vote on the proposal, or marked "Abstain" on their proxy.