Diamond stone going orange

[Wend]

I recently became the proud owner of a (coarse) diamond stone, and a second hand no 4 plane from eBay. To break the stone in, I spent a while flattening the plane's sole (starting to feel like a real wood worker now!). The flattening seems to have been a success, but in the process the stone went rather orange:

The sole wasn't visibly particularly rusty, but I imagine this is what little specks of rust there were spread over the stone's surface.

I have a go at cleaning the stone with the tools that were to hand (such as water, a toothbrush, and a jay cloth), but whatever this orange stuff is it doesn't seem to want to move.

I don't want to clean the stone too aggressively, and wear out or tear off the diamonds, but having never used a diamond stone before I'm not sure what the best course of action is. Should I just ignore the discolouration as long as it continues to work? Or should I be cleaning it in some other way? Thought I'd best ask before my 'fine' stone succumbs to the same fate


Thanks!

 

[NazNomad]

A sanding belt cleaner (rubber block thingy) should do it.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I have quite a few of the cheaper plates (with plastic backers). they go rusty easily, too. It doesn't seem to matter. You might use a mild acid (say vinegar), to chemically reduce the rust, but to be honest I'd leave well alone in case it damages the binding of the diamond chips.

Years ago, the craftsman who introduced me to diamond sharpening used to have a jar of water for lubrication with Fernox in it (the central heating corrosion proofer). He said it was mainly to stop tools flash-rusting whilst sharpening them, but to be honest I've not found it to be a problem, nor doing water-lubricated scary-sharp either.

When I touch-up the kitchen knives, I usually do it under a running tap over the sink (freehand), mainly to keep the diamond plate clean. But they're usually a version of stainless steel, so rust isn't an issue.

Hope that's some help.

E.

[edit]PS: reading later posts, I realise I didn't make it clear that it's the minute steel particles from the tools that are rusting, not the plate itself. As others stated, the diamond is trapped in nickel that's plated on, so the surface doesn't rust itself.
That said, the cheapies I use often detach from the plastic backing pieces. The rear surface of the plate shows disproportionate staining, but I've never been sure if that's staining because the particles collect back there, or the back of the plate flash-rusting. Again I think it's the particles, as it's slight and doesn't seem to ever get any worse.
[/edit]

 

[D_W]

It is the cast from the plane sole rusting. I wouldn't worry too much about it, personally. If you want to get it off, just use it to lap a fine honing stone. The coating on the decent stones is nickel plate, so it is not that. You won't see rust on a decent quality stone unless the nickel actually flakes off and leaves a void down to bare steel.

 

[Ttrees]

On my very fine diamond plate I have been leaving a hint of wd40 on my plane iron,
I use a washita oilstone before it.
I give my iron a good going over with shavings to wipe it off.
It may be just a wee bit of residue on the sides of the iron that clings onto it.
I remember when I first started using the hone, and it got some oil on it, it reduced the aggressiveness of it,
and it took a while to get back to normal.
I may be cleaning this oil off by the time I'm finished honing.

I was wary of the wd40 on my diamond stone till I used some K2 07 lubricant.
This stuff smells much stronger than wd40, and it was only then I realised there was still a trace of oil on my irons.
It works well for honing and not too expensive.
Don't know if its good to be sniffing it though, it's pretty vaporous and I spray and walk away/find something for about 4 seconds
before it settles.

I wonder if cast iron would wear those plates fast, since its soft.
Tom

 

[paulm]

It's the metal particles removed from the plane sole and left on the diamond plate that then rust. Remove by washing under a tap with nailbrush and some mild detergent, or just rub clean with a pencil eraser, or just leave them until/unless you think the plate is too clogged and performance reduced then clean, won't do any harm in the meantime.

 

[adrspach]

Is not just cheap plates. I have the same issue with my Atoma plates.
Was thinking how that is possible when the backing is aluminium and top cover nickel.
Laping fine hone on them does not help. (Tried and failed.)
So far I will leave it as it is.

 

[paulm]

Is not just cheap plates. I have the same issue with my Atoma plates.
Was thinking how that is possible when the backing is aluminium and top cover nickel.
Laping fine hone on them does not help. (Tried and failed.)
So far I will leave it as it is.

Have you read the replies above ?

 

[Racers]

Cillit bang will remove rust from dimond stones.

Pete

 

[D_W]

So far I will leave it as it is.

That's probably the wisest move. It's a cosmetic change, but not an issue of performance.

 

[Argus]

I've come to this a bit late in the conversation, but I have a set of those plates (EZE-Lap- I think?), and also have a few brown marks from time to time.

My lubricant is 50/50 water and Meths with a few drops of liquid detergent as a surfactant. I conclude that the stains are a combination of water and abraded particles.... i.e. rust stains.

Apart from the aesthetics, I haven't personally noticed any problems with the stones' efficiency as a result, to be honest, but I regularly (once a week or so) clean them all with Vim/Ajax or that sort of mildly abrasive stuff, then rinse under a running tap. Most of it comes off and the stones are ready for another onslaught of metal.

I don't think that it's much to worry about - do the stones sharpen your blades?

All best