Re-facing India Oilstones?

Question

I have a collection of India oilstones, some of which have become hollowed through use.

I read somewhere - I think it was in one of Guy Lautard's books - that India stones could be re-faced by rubbing them on a sheet of emery or wet & dry (coarser than the stone) on a surface plate. I tried this, and after a lot of effort with paraffin lubricated wet & dry I got the surface flat. However the stone seemed glazed, and just skated over the next surface I tried to hone.

Does anyone have a reliable method for restoring flat faces to worn stones?

Mike

campingstoveman · Accepted Answer

As you have abraded the surface you have filled the minute gapes with loose abrasive, you may find vigorous washing may remove the unwanted material, otherwise try a wire brush over the surface.Martin P

bugbear · Answer

Hmm. That's odd. Normally a fresh surface is rather agressive (due to the cutting particles that you've exposed being fresh and unworn).

It sounds like you may have filled the pores with "something" I'd try a quick wash with meths (and/or white spirit) and a quick scrub with a wire brush.

No guarantees though.

BugBear

Mark Rand · Answer

It can work better if you use water and washing up liquid as the 'lubricant'. Having. presumably' filled the pores of the stone with bits of dust. Try giving it a vigorous scrub in a bowl full of warm washing up water/detergent. Do this before washing the dishes to avoid embedding baked beans/spam into the stone ;-)

Mark Rand RTFM

Norman Billingham · Answer

As others have said, you may have gone too fine.

It's been a long time since I did this (I mainly use water stones) but I did it quite successfully using a piece of plate glass sprinkled with coarse carborundum grit and lubricated with paraffin if I remember. Keep sprinkling new grit to avoid filling the stone with the fines from the old stuff.

Peter Neill · Answer

Or chuck them in an ultrasonic cleaner for a cycle or two.Peter

Dave Baker · Answer

The standard method of refacing stones of all kinds including honing stones in cylinder honing equipment is with abrasive paper. Unfortunately not the

240 grit I suspect you used though which has now filled all the pores in your stone up with tiny particles. What you want is the coarsest emery you can find. 60 grit or an old belt off a linishing machine. The other way is against another coarse stone. An old grinding wheel will do fine.

Dragon · Answer

Would it be too late to try that approach now?Henry

Jordan · Answer

> I read somewhere - I think it was in one of Guy Lautard's books - thatI recently flattened one using a concrete block. Finish was clean.

Dave Baker · Answer

No it should work ok. My cylinder honing stones are always getting packed with debris and glazing up but a scratch against the emery block sorts them out again.

Re-facing India Oilstones?

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