Shaping small oilstones to sharpen carving tools

HarveyWildes

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May 3, 2016
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I have some relatively small (6" x 2" x 1/2") oilstones.  They are rectangular stones.  I'm not using them for any of my routine woodworking sharpening tasks at the moment, and don't intend to.  I would like to shape them to a carving profile. 
  • The stones should be 1/2" thick along one 2" edge and taper down to 1/4" along the other.
  • One 6" edge should be rounded, with the diameter of the curve matching the thickness of the stone at each point.
  • The other 6" edge should have, for about 3" from the thin edge, a bevel that reduces to a sharp angle for an inch or so.
That should allow me to sharpen all of the profiles for straight tools, including straight and skewed chisels, curved gauges, and V tools.  It's not sufficient for short or long bent tools, but I can make special maple strops for those.

The question is, can I shape the stones by myself with a belt sander and perhaps a jig to hold the stones while shaping them?  Or is there any other technique that has a good chance of success without breaking the stones?

 
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