Sharpening and maintaining tools and equipment

General guidelines

Maintenance

General maintenance requirements for tools are included earlier as part of the information on particular types of handtools, power tools, machinery, equipment and scaffolding. See information on these tool types to learn more about their maintenance.

For maintenance requirements on specific tools, equipment or machines see the manufacturer's information. Visit the manufacturer's website for general information on caring for their tools and keeping them in good working order.

Sharpening and grinding

Carpenters need to know how to sharpen and grind two types of tools - chisels and plane blades. The technique (especially the angles) and grinding/sharpening equipment is the same for both, you just need to account for the greater width of most plane blades. Wider blades have to move a bit more on the oilstone. Think of a plane blade as a wide chisel.

See the information on chisels and planes in the hand tools section of this Moodle site for information on how to keep chisels and plane blades sharp.