Diamond Stones – not cutting well. Need cleaning??
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Hi,
I have some EZE-LAP diamond plates. I’ve realised that they are not cutting well. It can take me 20 minutes on the coarse stone to get a burr on a chisel with no defects, using a Veritas honing guide.
I suspect part of this is the spray I am using, as the plates cut better without it. So, I guess it is lubricating the plates too much.
My question: should I be cleaning the plates periodically? Do they get gunked up?
Thanks
Darren.
14 December 2017 at 11:36 am #403289I have the same make plates and they seem to work well.
I use Anti Fog Glass Cleaner as the lubricant, and fairly sparingly too, three sprays per plate.
Afterwards I wipe the surface while it’s still damp with a lint free cotton rag – lots of black comes off which is obviously good as it’s cleaning the plate.
THe plate manufacturers also recommend using a nylon brush (toothbrush or dish cleaning brush) and water or a mild kitchen cleaner, but I haven’t yet found this necessary.
Definitely 20 minutes sounds a bit much, though it can depend on what type of metal the chisel is made of too.
I don’t think it’s possible to lubricate too much, but diamond plates do have some issues.
They definitely get clogged, and I’d follow your mfrs instructions for periodic cleaning and maintenance.
They also get worn out from age and from mis-use. If you use a lot of downward pressure, you can actually break the diamonds out from the binder. They’ll then wash away, and you’ll have a spot that doesn’t cut. Enough of that and you’ll have a stone that barely cuts. That’s why Atoma sells replacement “tops” for their diamond stones. Other mfrs don’t seem to mention this eventuality, but it will happen, so use as little pressure as you can on a new stone — diamonds need less downward force than any other sharpening medium, and actually work best with less pressure, according to the Renaissance Woodworker.
I just went through this exact issue with my coarse and fine plates — the first two I ever bought. I didn’t know any better, and thought more was better, so I was crushing down pretty good in some instances when sharpening. 18 months later, those stones weren’t cutting, even though I was cleaning them faithfully. I corresponded with the mfr (DMT), sent them hi-res photos, and they helped me see the problem I’d created, and to their credit replaced both stones for free. Now I have a more complete set, and I’m using the least amount of downward force I can that still generates swarf.
20 minutes on a coarse plate and you should be able to change the bevel angle drastically. Not even being able to raise a burr? Something is very very wrong. That plate is either clogged, worn out or the spray you’re using is a very poor choice for the job. I know that on finer grits it’s actually possible to have the droplet size of the lubricant be higher than the sharpening medium itself, thus the lubricant is standing taller than the sharpening medium, and pushes back against the blade you’re trying to sharpen, reducing contact. But on a coarse grit it seems very unlikely, although who knows what weird concoctions are out there, I suppose it is possible. Try a light oil, like baby oil, which is cheap and has a very small droplet size, too see if this changes things, after you’ve properly cleaned the stone. If those two things don’t solve your problem, the stone is worn and needs replacing.
14 December 2017 at 7:14 pm #403673You could try plain water with a squirt go dish soap in its a lube. i been using mine almost daily for two years and they still work.it would be an easy try and cheap
15 December 2017 at 2:10 pm #404999I managed to Wipe out all my diamonds with one chisel. To much downward pressure. Looks like you’ll have to get a new one. And use very little pressure. And be mindful of the edge not contacting the plate.
When the wife isn’t looking, I take the plates to the sink and use a nylon brush and dishwashing soap and give them a good scrub and thoroughly dry. I have found a very noticeable difference after this. If there is too much swarf (metal dust), it can act like microscopic ball bearings between the blade and diamond plate.
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