Oilstone maintenance

[Patriarch]

Awarea s I am that Scary Sharp(tmSomebody from the past) is a part of haory wReck lore, I bought a set of Norton oilstones at the woodworking show this past weekend. Using them this evening to put an edge on some old, disreputable, but still usable Craftsman chisels, as well as a bunch of card scrapers, I was glad I spent the relatively few dollars they cost.

But how do I clean them up? Or should I clean them up? The white Washita (sp?) wiped clean with just a paper towel, but the coarse and medium stones didn't come so clean, and naturally had much more swarf.

I've seen, and own, examples of clogged stones. What's the recommendation for cleaning?

Patriarch

[Australopithecus scobis]

I discovered, accidentally, that rubbing compound works well. Lore says to soak in kerosene and scrub. [I think that lore says to soak in gasoline, but that's not a) environmentally sound and b) who could afford to? :) ]

[nailshooter41]

I have soaked them in gas for a couple of days in a closed container, then swish them around in the gas to get the loose particles off. Works pretty well on the carborundum variety stones. If that still doesn't do the trick after soaking, I take a stainless steel brush to them and scrub them with Comet.

On my soft stones like my Washitas or Arkansas, I use the same method but change the brush (if needed) to a stiff nylon cleaning brush from the dollar store. They all clean up great.

Robert

[woodworker88]

I just douse mine in WD-40 (which is what I use for sharpening anyway) in a pan and just let the oil and solvent wash away the grunge. Then I wrap them up in aluminum foil to keep some of the oil in the stone.

[John B]

They shouldn't need cleaning to often, as OIL is the name of the stone :) However when they do, soak them in mineral turps as this is a very thin oil it cleans the stone and leaves a slight residue thus you don't have to "feed" them so much oil next time they are used. The best way to store them is in a wooden box made to measure as this protects the stone and soaks up excess oil. To make the box just get yourself 2 pieces of timber about an inch wider and longer than the stone and about 1/2 inch thicker than the 1/2 way point. Lay the stone on the timber, draw around the outside, drill out the shape with a forstner bit and square up with a chisel. One piece for the box and the other for the lid. You can then place the whole box, with the top of, in a vice for use. This was the way they taught us when I did my apprenticeship and it has worked fine for me for the last 35 years. And I still use a stone that is about 30 yrs old. Have fun Hope this helps a bit Kind regards John

[John B]

Either use a machine oil or thin motor oil 50/50 with turps Use a lot as the more oil the more the metal filings will be washed away from the stone. John

[Prometheus]

I still like my Arkansas stones, myself... That scary sharp method worked ok, but it just seemed wrong to me after years and years of oil stones.

You should definately clean them up. Depending on how ambitious I'm feeling when I do it, I either use dish soap and a piece of scotch-brite, or I just spray the suckers with wd-40 and wipe them off with a rag. It does actually make a lot of difference in the speed of your sharpening.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

[Dave in Fairfax]

snip

Steve LaMantia. DAGS for the original or take a look at Woodbutcher's website, if he still has that page up. If not, let me know and I'll repost the original letter/post.

Dave in Fairfax

[Teamcasa]

I'll add that I use a mix of kerosen and 30wt oil. The homemade box is the way my grandfather, father have done it, so now that I have the boxes, I guess I do the same.

Dave

Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services

---------------------------------------------------------- ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **

----------------------------------------------------------