Flattening water stones

[Izzy Camire]

Hay Folks,
About 6 weeks ago I asked how much water everyone is putting on their water stones when flattening them with the harder stone used to flatten them out. Most people said they just wet the stone and it works well.
I was concerned about washing away all the grit that is released in the flattening process so I decided to try something different. I placed the stone to be worked on in a decent sized plastic basin. I added enough water to cover it well. I then went about flattening it under water. By having all that water present the grit from the flattening was easily washed off the stone.
I really felt this worked well so I thought I would share it.
IC

[Kevin Womer]

I hold mine under the faucet in a laundry sink, it is amazingly fast. I put pencil lines on the stone and when they are gone, I'm done. Works well. I use a diamond stone and have for years, no sign of wear yet as flattening waters tones was the main reason to get one.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am always a bit worried about running a bunch of "powdered stone" down the drain because I am worried about it depositing in the drain. I suspect this is a greater problem with the waste water under my Tormek since that generates far more than flattening my water stones. But still, it is in the back of my mind.

If I do not run it under water while I flatten, then I dip it into a large bucket of water.

[george wilson]

I have warned several times about the build up of insoluble stone mud in the drain of sinks. Better use the plastic basin as suggested,and toss the muddy water into the yard. Eventually you will have a house built upon a hill,like so many want. And,it will protect you from floods,as an added benefit. But,grass will not grow upon it.

[Kevin Womer]

I'm not a plumber, but I suspect it would take a tremendous amount of flattening while using a faucet to wash sediment away to cause any problems. I think for the hobbyist this method is fine.

[Patrick Chase]

I'm not a plumber, but I suspect it would take a tremendous amount of flattening while using a faucet to wash sediment away to cause any problems. I think for the hobbyist this method is fine.

As I've said a couple times, I think that the type of waterstone matters. We know from another thread that George has at least one clay-based stone (King 6K), and those present a risk of resolidifying in traps etc. Modern ceramic and resinoid stones do not AFAIK. JNats could be problematic, though.

EDIT: Emphasis here should have been on "could". I'm speculating based on the fact that the binder in JNats is basically clay, not relating experience.

[Stewie Simpson]

I keep a sealed container full of clean water close by to wash down my jnats after use. The mucky water is then emptied out onto the back lawn. Where there is potential risk, a common sense approach to negate that risk is needed. Its not rocket science required to resolve this particular issue.

[Stanley Covington]

I keep a sealed container full of clean water close by to wash down my jnats after use. The mucky water is then emptied out onto the back lawn. Where there is potential risk, a common sense approach to negate that risk is needed. Its not rocket science required to resolve this particular issue.

But what about the mountain of growing mud in your backyard, and the flooding caused by the snowmelt at its peak every spring?

[Stewie Simpson]

Stanley, where I live, the last snow melt was 12,000 years ago during the Ice Age. :D