Oilstone Questions

[Maurice Metzger]

I have a Norton "Hard-Translucent" oilstone that I like a lot. I've got two questions about it for those of you who use oilstones:

1. How do you flatten one of these? The stone came from the factory very flat, more so on what I would call the "top" side - the lettering on the side is right side up when looking at this surface. There's just one very minor dip on the "back" side. I have a Norton 220 grit diamond stone, but I'm hesitant to use it with an oiled stone, since the instructions say only water should be used as a lubricant. Would sandpaper on glass be a better option?

2. Is there any good way to clean an oilstone that doesn't involve kerosene? I'd prefer not to keep kerosene in my current house or the storage shed. What I do now after sharpening is to flood the surface with a lot of oil and wipe that off. It seems to work well but I worry I might be clogging the grain long-term.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

- Maurice

32718

[tod evans]

maurice, when i need to flatten my stones i rub them on the concrete sidewalk......not very high tech but it works. and i just oil-n-wipe too...02 tod

[Joe Rogers]

I had a non flat hard Arkansas oilstone and I flattened it with my diamond stone. I used water to carry off the abraded material. Then when the stone was flat I used mineral oil (not as smelly as Kerosene) on the oilstone to hone with. Works fine now. I don't think the concrete would fare well against Novaculite.
To clean clogged oilstones you can boil them with powdered dishwashing detergent or sneak it into the dishwasher with a regular load. JR

[Maurice Metzger]

Tod, if you told me you flattened stones on a cat's backside I'd have one unhappy cat by now. I've got to sweep up the clippings but I'll give the sidewalk a try. Of course you do live in the Ozarks - it's all Arkansas stone there...

Joe, thanks for the info on the diamond stone and unclogging the stone. I'll give that a try too!

- Maurice

[tod evans]

maurice, arkansas stones will smooth out the sidewalk but the concrete will flatten the stone as well. i rub them in random figure eight patterns `cause concrete aint perfectly flat, you can watch the depressions get smaller rather quickly..02 tod

[Bob Noles]

tod,

Not to hijack the thread here, but would a concrete block work the same as a sidewalk?

[tod evans]

tod,

Not to hijack the thread here, but would a concrete block work the same as a sidewalk?

don`t know? never tried it. no more than arkansas stones need to be flattened i`ve never tried anything else...02 tod

[Bob Smalser]

I throw a sheet of 60-grit wet-or-dry paper soaked in kerosene on the jointer table and simply rub the stone flat, cleaning off the duff as I go.

If you don't like kerosene, then use mineral spirits.

[Maurice Metzger]

Thanks Bob, I will try that. I think mineral spirits will raise less alarm with others (landlord for example) than kerosene. Might seem strange, but I think it's true.

- Maurice