Diamond stone care
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Diamond stone care
- This topic has 16 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 12 months ago by Tahlia Wadsworth.
-
AuthorPosts
-
20 September 2015 at 1:22 am #130656
I wonder what is the best way to care for these new eze laps I just got. Lets hear your procedure for storing your stones when your done!
20 September 2015 at 2:03 am #130667Oh nice one @trooper82 My stones were so coarse when i first got them that wiping them off with an old tshirt left cotton all over them haha. I think they are smooth enough now that they wont abdrade too much shirt
20 September 2015 at 6:56 am #130675I keep mine out on a table top so that I’m more likely to use them as often as I should. I wipe them off with a rag after using them and once in a while I take them to the kitchen sink and clean them better, usually just with water and fingers. Lately I’ve been covering them when with a rag not in use because I’ve noticed that they get dust on them (because I leave them out) and the dust interferes with sharpening.
20 September 2015 at 12:25 pm #130683@mattmcgrane I’ve noticed dust settling on them as well. Happened to my water stones as well.
20 September 2015 at 3:24 pm #130686Hi there,
If your diamond stones get really dirty over time, or even if you just want to keep them in pristine, clean condition here is my solution.
Do it in the sink, just use a bit of warm water, baking soda and a toothbrush. You will see how fast your stones will get back to their original condition. Just sprinkle, brush, rinse, repeat.
It has worked wonderfully for me, plus it is very convinient, and baking soda is one of the best natural cleaning solutions.
And to store them , It can be put in a small box made for them, wrapped in a clean small towel, or in my case right now, I just stack the three on top of each other, wrapped some lie nielsen thicker catalog paper around them and store in in the toolchest drawer.
Hope this helps 🙂
Oliver20 September 2015 at 4:02 pm #130687@oliverkozak Thanks for the tips. I will give the baking soda solution a shot tonight.
The manufacturer says to use Comet or Ajax. I use Bon Ami and a green scouring pad. I don’t know if the high pH of the baking soda would affect the plate or not over time. I find manufacturers are generally good at replying to this sort of question. You could ask if baking soda is okay. Let us know if you do! In the mean time, I’m happy using scouring powder.
Edit: Just looked up the pH in the MSDS…Ajax and Bon Ami are around 9 or 10, so they are even more basic that baking soda. 🙂 Still, I’d stay with what the manufacturer suggests. I used to use Comet, ran out, and Bon Ami was the next thing on the shelf. Not a good reason, I know.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Ed.
24 September 2015 at 5:21 am #130800I used to put my (dmt) diampnd plates away between sharpenings until I statred following this blog. They live on my bench-top, always ready to go. If they’re “put away” I inevitably wait longer than I should (tear-out) to touch them up.
I used to wash them off at the end of the night with soap and water using a stiff nylon bristle brush. Then I would pat them dry with a shop towel and put them in front of fan. Even doing all of this they were still getting yellowed and rusty. I stopped doing all of that recently…
A recent reshaping of a couple chisels and blades seemed to clean the plates of all of the discoloration so they’re brighter now. All I do to the plate following a cleaning these days is to turn them up on end and give them a good spray with water / windex and wipe off the steel particles left on the surface.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.Mine are definitely rusty and discolored, but I don’t think that matters. I only clean them when they start to feel bumpy when I sharpen, like there is debris catching the edge. Otherwise, just a quick dust off with a brush when dry before spraying with glass cleaner prior to sharpening and a wipe with a rag afterwards to pull off the wet swarf. My holder is a pair of battens on a plank of wood, so the stones are free and easily lifted out for cleaning or, more often, to rearrange their order if a tool needs to hang over the edge when sharpening.
24 September 2015 at 5:15 pm #130817I use to use water as my “lapping fluid”, but have switched to glass cleaner and they no longer rust. Like others, I wipe them off when I am done for the day. I also bought a cheap scrubbing sponge from the store and wash them with baking soda every six months or so
I use an eraser to clean my diamond hones. The same type of eraser found on the end of a pencil, but a larger, hand-held one – a pencil eraser is too small, and would take too long 😉 Just bear down and use some pressure as you rub the eraser over the surface of the stone. After you cover the whole surface, brush off the bits left behind by the eraser and you’ll find that the stone is pretty clean – the fine diamond particles shine and sparkle as they did when new.
It’s a pretty easy, quick method to use. I also like this technique because you don’t need water or honing fluid; just an eraser. If you don’t have one on hand, look in your kid’s pencil case in their back packs. You’ll likely find one there – just replace it after you get one of your own from the store 😉
I use this method to clean some old Spyderco Ceramic Stones that I have. That’s where I found out about this method of cleaning stones – on the Spyderco site. I think this method closely resembles the technique that people use to clean their sanding belts. In Woodworking Catalogs they sell big crepe blocks that you rub against the belt. I have read about people using their old, worn out crepe-soled shoes to do the same thing, on the cheap.
One last method that I haven’t tried yet, but sounds like it may work as well. Once again, Woodworking Catalogs sell little silicone carbide embedded rubber blocks to remove rust from metal tools. As I said, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m thinking that it may just work as well.
I hope this helps those trying to revitalize their diamond hones. Good luck to all.
Take Care,
Kenny
- This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by bruseth. Reason: Spelllllling ;-)
Anonymous10 October 2018 at 1:27 pm #552629It is interesting to read your blog post and I am going to share it with my friends.
Rob Cossman showed a pencil-eraser type block that comes from the manufacturer of his Diamond Plates.
I tried a standard pencil-eraser on mine. It worked, but it chewed-up the eraser completely, really quickly. Perhaps the manufacturer-supplied blocks are harder? I’ll try the harder, blue end of a kid’s eraser when I find one.Anonymous10 May 2019 at 1:50 pm #561591I usually use rags to clean my stones and to wipe dust from my stones and this method is actually pretty effective. Actually, the idea of using paper writing services best to clean my stones, I have got from your source and this methodology is very effective.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.