Anyone have any tips for easier, quicker ways of flattening the backs of chisels,plane blades,etc.. I had gotten this slick from woodcraft a few years ago and finally gotten around to flattening its back. It came extremely rough and I normally use my 10 by 4 inch duosharp extra coarse(220 grit) for quick removal but it is testing my patience and my tendons.
I dont have any machines as I use these diamond stones for just about all sharpening except for final honing I do on 4000 8000 grit waterstones. Any tips would be helpful as I am sure this wont be the last scrappy tool I will want to work into good use. tb

I do the same - DMT (black) diamond stone(s) for rough, then waterstones for final. I tuned up a broad axe found at a flea market - and while I didn't have to 'flatten' like a slick - it took forever!!!! You could move to their 'coarse' silver stone - might take off material a bit quicker...

I took the slick I have now to a machinest. He flattened the back, and the front, on a liquid cooled surface grinder. In the future, I'll do it myself, as I don't like perfectly flat tools. I have a belt sander that I've clamped upside down to a sawhorse. Put your fingers on the back as you grind, and when you feel any heat, dip in water. It still takes awhile, but it's faster than the DMT stones. I've also used a flap wheel type disc on an angle grinder. Again, watch the heat.

I am with Dave on this one. I use a small cheap disc and belt sander combo to shape tools when in rough shape. Keep them cooled and take your time.

Tim

I know some of you have read me writing about this before...though I don't like removing a lot of material from the back, you have to remove some sometimes on an initial tuning. I have used a belt sander to rough it out. But it still has to be flattened after that, and most all of the stones are not coarse enough in my opinion to start. The belt sander is generally pretty coarse. I like to tune on plate glass with psa sandpaper, starting with 80 grit, 150, and 220. Then you can switch to the stones after that or work with finer grits on the glass. A piece of 3/8 or 1/2 inch plate glass is pretty cheap and so is the MDF Frame I make to hold it. My plate glass is about 30 inches long, by 5 or 6 inches wide. It works.

I use coarse emery cloth on glass, and a hammer and anvil. Often the part that needs to be flattened is near the edge, and why flatten the whole back for hours when you can flatten in minutes with a hammer?

Actually i've been advised against cold hammering on the old chisels in the past. Jim R., where do you stand on this? I've also found that you really only need first couple inches flat. You don't need to flatten all the way back to the socket.

When I first get a tool. I'll spend about an hour "flattening" the back. All I am looking for is a smooth surface and a sharp edge. What are you all looking for by flattening?

A curve in the back of a broad axe is a good thing, and I think that can also be said for a slick, although to much less of a degree. Your framing chisels, should be fairly flat, but I don't think one needs to be as anal as a cabinet maker.
The sandpaper on glass/granite works well. It has a cheap initial investment compared and one can make a larger sharpening or flattening surface then with stones.
When it comes to plane blades I am a fan of David Charlesworth's "ruler trick". You need a decent back to start out, but can save one a lot of time as it elevates the blade to a slight angle so one is only working the metal very close to the edge, basically creating a slight back-bevel. This does not hurt the performance of the plane because the blade is already pitched at a higher degree.

I've cracked a couple of blades using the hammer, but would not give it up. As I see it, the key is not to try to bend the blade with the hammer, but to spread out the material on top a bit, so when I'm striking the blade, the anvil is always directly below the hammer.
I've been told that hammering blades cold can actually make the steel harder. You never know what to beleive, just have to try stuff and use what works. The thing I am confident about is that you do have to sharpen the back just like the bevel, in other words, your finishing stone must be hitting the end of the edge full on.

I prefer to have my chisels and slicks flat on the back, and will often hollow grind the center of the back as well, like a japanese chisel.