Not sure if this will help, but I recently bought some antique framing chisels. One was bowed like a bananna, the other has a slight twist. I sent them off to Tom Perkins (Jim Rogers partner/buddy). He is going to straighten them by heating them in a forge etc etc...He apparently has experience doing these framing chisels. He will straighten them for me and I will do the lapping and sharpeing. He can do that too, but I only wanted to pay for what I couldn't do. What I've learned is that flattening and sharpening are no as precise and particular as some might make out. There is no magical angle. As long as your are between about 25 and 33 degrees, it will work just fine. Closer to 25 degrees for soft wood, and 33 for hardwood, though you can use either for either if you want. You can use a bench mounted belt sander to flatten the backside of the chisel(hopefully you only have to do this once to a used chisel and it will stay flat if you use it correctly. You can also use the bench mounted belt sander to get your bevel angle. Cut a block of wood to the correct angle to use as a guide on the tool rest of the belt sander. Grind a little and dip in water so you don't build up heat. Check your edge for square and get it square if it's not. Now you can use sandpaper of various grits on flat glass to lap the back side and bevel face to a mirror finish. Last step is to create a micro edge about 2-3 degrees off your bevel face angle. After you establish that with the sandpaper, you can then use your wetstones and finally a stop if desired. Now, I am not an expert sharpener, so you can take this as you will. This is just what I was recently taught by head woodshop guy at Vermont American, who has been a wood worker all his live, taught by his father and grandfather. I have been learning myself and am in the process of getting 5 antique chisels into shape. What he told me sounded right. Praphrasing... A lot of people will pontificate about the angle and precise sharpeing. He said those guys spend too much time sharpeing and talking about sharpening and not enought time woodworking. You can't spend all day sharpening. You have to be able to get a good edge within 5 minutes, not an hour. As long as you take car of your tools and never let them get dull, sharpeing should only take a minute or two. (touching up the micro edge on chisel). He also told me that you don't need any fancy gadgets. You can make simple wooden guides for the belt sander, and for honing your microedge, you shouldn't need anyting. You should be able to learn to tip your edge that extra couple degrees from the bevel edge by feel. I've tried to summarize what he taught me. I'm sure some will disagree, but I will work with this method while getting these chisels into shape and see how closely I agree.