My day in the shop typically starts at around 10 or 11 am. I work until 5 pm taking few, if any, breaks. Then its off to the kitchen to make dinner before Marguerite gets home from work. After dinner I go back into the workshop and continue until 9 or 10 pm. The evening shift is my favorite. I work mostly at my bench with handtools having done the heavy machine work earlier in the day without the worry of making too much racket.
One of my night jobs is sharpening tools. Pictured below is a low speed grinder setup. A reduced speed motor, step down pulley and belt system and a Norton cool wheel makes this less risky than a typical bench grinder. The wheel is spinning at about 300 RPM. This coarse grinding is followed by hand sharpening on progressively finer water stones until the tool reaches a razor edge and a mirror finish.
Ending my day quietly with a sharp chisel or plane blade in hand gives me a satisfying feeling of completion, even if little else seems to have been accomplished that day.
