Waterstone trays, sink bridges, etc . . .

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've been putting aside some money here and there for some new waterstones - I'm thinking I'll probably be ordering some in mid February.

Right now my stone holder is a piece of pine with a couple of beveled scraps screwed to it - the stones I have slide in from the side and stay pretty securely in place. There's some non-slip drawer liner glued to the bottom (well, mostly glued - it's coming loose) and that does a decent job keeping things from sliding around.


While I try and keep it from getting too soaked, water and slurry has been taking it's toll on this board, and it will need to be replaced at some point.

While in the process of budgeting for some new waterstones, I'm debating whether I should pick up a new holder/tray sort of thing. The normal sort of black stone holders that clamp the ends of the stones are readily available to me, and I have no doubt that I could construct something functional. At the end of the day, not much is needed, but anything to make the process more enjoyable is nice.

I'm debating lining a small cookie-sheet type thing with some rubber and calling it a day, or making a sink bridge out of some Trex cutoffs from the home center, but I'm just curious what folks here use and what they like. This is one of those things where there's a million ways to do it, from setting down a wet towel to some fancy stone pond. It seems like most of the discussion I see here is about the stones themselves and not these accessories, and a lot of the review info I see is folks who are primarily sharpening knives, not tools.


I guess more than anything I'm wondering if anyone finds any of the fancy commercial jigs and fixtures worth the price, or if it's one of those things not worth the trouble over rolling your own or repurposing something else. (I see McMaster Carr sells some interesting things in their food-service category, including some fibreglass trays with rubber-anti-skid-coating which may be just the thing . . . )

[Archie England]

I picked up a 2ft sq of kitchen counter top being discarded and now the "mess" is much more manageable. Because I use soakers, I keep the stones in a common bath (standing vertically [a plastic tea jug]). When done using a stone, I'm not far from a sink, so I rinse and return to the bath. I sop up mess with paper towels (a regular raid on the Mrs. stash) and am quite comfortable with managing the water. When dry (or drying), I store the stones in plastic tool boxes. No problems yet. So, no bought jig/fixture solutions here....yet.

[Sam Murdoch]

I don't have an answer but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Thanks for asking Joshua I haven't come up with a good system yet either.

[Jason Coen]

I made a jig that uses one of the metal/rubber adjustable stone holders. The stone holder sits on a piece of cedar and butts into a 90° corner created by a couple pieces of scrap pine. The bottom of the holder has a pair of stops kinda like a bench hook to make a 90° corner. I sit it on the corner of my sharpening bench and can either use the length or width of the stone without it moving. I also added a couple of stops for 25° and 30° to set my Eclipse jig.

It's held up for a year so far. I should have put on several layers of poly when I made it, and with that I imagine it would last indefinitely.

[Joey Naeger]

I've been using a rubber dish drying matt for the kitchen. It doesn't slip and keeps the water from getting on the bench. There's really only enough room to have one or two stones on it at a time, but I prefer the small footprint for now.

[Paul McGaha]

As I don't have a utility sink in my shop I do my sharpening either on my bench or assembly table and I need to contain the mess. A couple of things that I use are the stone pond from Veritas and a couple of the waterstone trays from Peachtree Woodworking:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=33027&cat=1,43072,67175,67176&ap=1

http://www.ptreeusa.com/norton_waterstone.htm#301

I tend to keep the stone pond in one of the trays and the diamond flattening plate (on a little stand) in the other. I do my flattening by taking the stones from the pond to the flattening plate rather than bringing the flattening plate to the pond. Seems I can contain the mess better like that.

PHM

[Sean Richards]

I use a deep plastic tray/dish that is probably 18" x 12" x 3" or so. This has a wooden frame built around it - stones sit on a couple of wooden blocks (there is a batten at each end of the block on the underside that stops it moving around and a batten on the top to locate the stone against) that straddle the box. Have used this type of setup for years - no mess no fuss

[Chris Griggs]

I use a small baking tray with a piece of grippy drawer liner on it.... just like what you mentioned you're think of...its pretty much just like this (http://www.ptreeusa.com/norton_waterstone.htm#301) except I made my own with junk from Walmart.

[Jonathan McCullough]

I have a children's place mat from Ikea. It has a shallow lip to prevent kiddie spills from crawling the length of the dinner table, and nonskid gummy feet underneath. With a little nonskid drawer liner on the top, it would work well with water stones, and washes out with the sink sprayer. Sadly, they're not available anymore, but you might find something in the children's section at your local big box store. One that may be available is the "Luv that Tray."

[David Weaver]

Piece of MDF covering an old machinist bench that was left behind in my garage. Water doesn't run off of MDF very quickly. On top of that is a granite surface place, for lack of anywhere else to keep it handy. If i need to use its flatness, I wipe it off.

[Jim Koepke]

Many ways to do the same thing. Each person has to decide what works best for their situation.

With no running water in my shop, water is carried in with a 1 gallon milk jug. Another water bottle with a small hole drilled in the top adds water to the stones when needed. A plastic shoe storage box is for soaking the stones. The stones sit on a automotive floor matt when in use or just resting to dry out. This all rests on a stand of about 2' square. Since the stand has no other purpose it makes it easy. If one has stones that do not have a permanent site for use, then this might not work well. At one time in a smaller shop, this would be set up on my bench when needed. A bit of a hassle while working on a project and needing to sharpen a blade.

My oil stones have taken up residence on a different bench in the shop on top of a piece of ply wood. They also get to stay out all the time.

Keeping my stones out all the time means there is no reluctance to take a blade to the stones when it needs it. Today my wife came in with a knife for me to sharpen and the blade was attended to without delay.

jtk

[Stanley Covington]

A sink with a bridge is ideal, but the Mistress of the Blue Horizons at Hovel Covington will not countenance such muddy devices near the Sacred Sink.

The old fashioned option is a wooden box with a soldered copper liner. A sturdy plastic toolbox with a bridge works very well and since it is has a vented lid, can be used to transport/store sharpening stuff. I have not seen these sold in the States.

I prefer a more flexible and lightweight system. I spread a piece of fiberglass-reinforced rubber roofing membrane on my workbench. This is very sturdy, waterproof and slip-proof, and rolls up for easy transport. It can also be spread on a board or plan table or ground at the jobsite. For stone holders, I have wooden ones and also use the steel rod and rubber block type. The key to not making a mess with this system is to use as little water as possible. Spray bottles cover everything with a fine mist, so I use a ketchup bottle to drip just the right amount exactly where I want it and nowhere else. The water I use is a special mixture designed to prevent rust I learned from a sword polisher. I make sure that any excess water drips onto the floor and does not soak my work surface.

I keep my stones (up to 2000 grit) stored full-time in a plastic bucket of water and covered with a plastic shopping bag to prevent dirt and insect infiltration. To prevent the crud from growing and mosquitoes from raising happy families in my bucket I treat the water with an environmentally-friendly chemical.

This system is portable, lightweight, inexpensive, and works anywhere. At least until the Mistress of the Blue Horizons sees reasons, I will continue to use it.

Stan

[Joel Moskowitz]

Before I had easy access to water in my workshop (many workshops ago) I built a wooden tray that sat over a bathroom sink and drained into it.
Then once I had water in my shop I took a piece of plywood, added a stick on the bottom so I could clamp it in my vise and used that.
To keep the stones from moving about I use a wet paper towel.
I recently switched to a small stainless table and to keep the stones from moving about I use a wet paper towel. This is the first time I have had a standing sharpening station and I love it.

conclusion. None of the trays or anything are large enough to contain the waterstone mess. so a large piece of scrap that can be clamped down is the way to go. If it needs an apron to protect the bench - add an apron. Waterproofing, using exotic materials is all a waste simply because if all the protector is used for is sharpening - who cares what happens to it and it will take decades before enough water soaks in to become a problem. Also weight is an issue -if the thing weighs too much putting it on or off your bench will be cumbersome and you will not do it.
To keep the stones from moving about use a wet paper towel. If the stones still move you are pressing too hard and everything will go faster if you lighten up. THat's what I have seen all the Japanese masters do.

A standing sharpening station is best. but if you don't have the space - the alternatives are fine. Don't be too fancy about the table - it should be easy to clean but it will get filthy

[Jack Curtis]

...The key to not making a mess with this system is to use as little water as possible. Spray bottles cover everything with a fine mist, so I use a ketchup bottle to drip just the right amount exactly where I want it and nowhere else. The water I use is a special mixture designed to prevent rust I learned from a sword polisher. I make sure that any excess water drips onto the floor and does not soak my work surface....

A neat, effective trick I picked up from Dave van Arsdale's dvd (he uses natural stones, mostly) is to wet the blade and carry the water to the stone that way. And the process is a natural one, pick up the water on the way to the stone without putting down the blade.

[Mark Kornell]

I salvaged a small kitchen cabinet (2' x 2') that had a stainless steel top. I lay out a drawer liner on that to hold stones in place. Easy clean with a paper towel when I'm done.

[James Owen]

Woodcraft (and others) have a rubber and steel, screw adjusted stone holder that runs between $15 and $20. works nicely with most stones, and keeps them in place pretty well.
LV also has a nice stone pool that takes care of most of the mess associated with water stones.....although it is a bit on the pricey side....
A couple of thing you might want to look into to see if they fit your needs and match your budget.

[john davey]

I soak my stones in a rubber tub that came home with me from the hospital. It is about 14" x 8" x 6" deep. I then use a simple pine bench hook to put them in while using. Messy yes but I do this on a plastic table top and then just wipe the mess off the plastic with a few paper towels. I only soak the 220/1000 and 1000 stones. The 8000 gets sprayed...John

[Curt Putnam]

Stu sells a cute little tray (includes it with some of his specials) Suehiro (if I got the spelling correct) with which I have recently become quite enamored. It has non skids in the tray as well as on the bottom. Works perfectly for me. Take a look at the videos on his site - will give you a good idea of whether or not it will work for you.

[Chris Merriam]

As an alternative to those using baking/cookie sheets, last week I went to Lowes and found a $5 black plastic tray for dirty boots. It's 1.5 inches deep, about 20in long, and maybe 12in wide.