Ice Bear Waterstone Kit

[j]

I've just got my new waterstone set from axminster.

On the back of the box, it says to keep the stone in water, or soak it in water before I use it.

Should I really keep it in water? It only came with the cardboard box, which looks very nice BTW, but if i'm to keep it in water, i'll probably have to throw them away and get a plastic food box to keep them in.

Actually, it only said on one of them to keep it wet.
I guess I really need some more detailed instructions on how to look after, and use these beauties.

Any help appreciated.
J

 

[Philly]

J
You need to keep the red or 800 grit stone submerged in water all the time. The yellow 6000 grit one only needs the surface wetting prior to use, with a little rub over with the little nagura stone to work up a little slurry on the surface.
A plastic tub of some description with a lid to keep out the sawdust will be handy! :wink:
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Scott]

And make sure you don't leave the box in a cold shed or anywhere else it's liable to freeze!

 

[David C]

j,

perhaps you are able to beg borrow or buy the current copy of F&C, no 106.

It has the first of a three part series on waterstones and how to use them, (written by me).

I know senior forum members will be familiar with this stuff, but it is a long time since my first book was published.

David Charlesworth

 

[Anonymous]

j

just soak it for 10 minutes before use and you'll be fine. i have done this for about 3 years now.

For fine waterstones above 1000grit, don't soak at all but spray lightly with water when in use

 

[j]

You need to keep the red or 800 grit stone submerged in water all the time. The yellow 6000 grit one only needs the surface wetting prior to use, with a little rub over with the little nagura stone to work up a little slurry on the surface.
A plastic tub of some description with a lid to keep out the sawdust will be handy!

Philly,
Thanks for the advice, i'll have to go down to woollies this weekend and find a plastic box to keep the 800 stone in. Then i'll probably need to make a box to keep the plastic box, the 6000 stone, the non slip stand and the nagura stone in. Then I can sharpen my planes, and make a box to keep those in. Then I might be able to make something that's not for the workshop

And make sure you don't leave the box in a cold shed or anywhere else it's liable to freeze!

Scott,
That's a good point that I hadn't considered. My "workshop" is my garage which is not attached to the house, so has no heating. Probably best to keep the stones indoors.

perhaps you are able to beg borrow or buy the current copy of F&C, no 106.

David,
Sorry, maybe it's something I should know, but what is F&C?

just soak it for 10 minutes before use and you'll be fine. i have done this for about 3 years now.

Tony,
Are you saying you don't keep the 800 stone in water all the time. What do you keep them in out of interest. I can see that i'd need something to keep them in that won't mind getting a bit wet, and stop them getting knocked about.

Thanks all for the good advice.

 

[Alf]

perhaps you are able to beg borrow or buy the current copy of F&C, no 106.

It has the first of a three part series on waterstones and how to use them, (written by me).

J, worth doing - what DC doesn't know about waterstones probably ain't worth knowing. Issue #107 btw - oh, and it's "Furniture & Cabinetmaking" magazine. I see our other DC's suggestion of the drywall screen is featured too.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Shady]

J - the tip about F&C is worth following up, I'd suggest. Without being rude in any way, the questions you're asking suggest a relative lack of experience: you will need to understand just how fast waterstones wear, and how to re-flatten them, if you're not to end up frustrated by the end results. I'd guess that the series mentioned will cover this sort of topic. Let us know what you think of the icebears - I've never actually played with one.

 

[j]

Without being rude in any way, the questions you're asking suggest a relative lack of experience: you will need to understand just how fast waterstones wear, and how to re-flatten them, if you're not to end up frustrated by the end results

Shady,
Don't worry about beign rude, I consider myself a complete novice. I haven't done any woodwork since school (about 15 years ago) and even then I probably didn't do much of it.

I need quality stones to keep my tools sharp. And now I also need to keep my sharpening stones flat. Maybe i'd have been better off with the wet&dry on a sheet of glass
There certainly is a lot involved in keeping my tools in good condition.
I'll take a look at F&C, any online guides to get me started as I won't be able to shop for this till the weekend.
Ta
J

 

[Shady]

Hah! welcome to the slippery slope - you're gonna faaaallll, I can tell!

Hmm. Good online guides, as opposed to advertising: try this link:

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To.htm. There are some links on various sharpening methods here, but I'm not sure if there's one for someone in your position, specifically looking at using waterstones. (there's one by me on rehabbing an old chisel - might give you some ideas)

FWIW, a quick and dirty primer might be:

Any waterstone 'less fine' than about 6000 grit should be soaked for a minimum of about an hour before use: best bet, as mentioned, is to store it in something like an old ice cream tub - keep the lid, it keeps workshop crud out of the mixture - so it's always ready. Above this grit, they normally work with just a spray of water before use: I use a plant misting bottle.

You should assume that the stone is not flat before use. to make it flat, there are a range of more or less obsessive techniques. One of the least expensive/fussy ways is to rub two stones together, and look at the surfaces - you can see the different colour of the newly exposed bits, and keep going until that is uniform across the surface. Ideally, this should be done with stones close together in grit size, and under running water (kitchen sink) in order to flush away particles. Some will worry about contaminating finer grit stones with the coarser grit - all I can say is that, in my experience, this doesn't appear to be a 'real-world' problem. That said, what is a problem is being self-confident about a truly flat surface.

Therefore, the next step up is a sheet of wet-or-dry on a flat surface: wet it, and rub the stone over it: easier to feel confident that you're generating a flat surface. if you like, use a pencil to draw lines across the stone, then check until they're all gone - hoorah! - flat stone! Rinse under running water afterwards.

Now you can use it. I swear by honing guides, some don't: in your position, I'd use one, in order to minimise all the unknown variables in the exercise. HTH.

 

[ike]

j,

Just a thought,

Icecream tubs et al - it's cheap, kindof OK and all, but things can get a bit messy cos you'll want a tray or similar to sit the stone holder on when sharpening. Then you need to stop the tray sliding about too. I pushed the boat out and bought the Veritas Stone Pond after I got the Icebear kit. Not bargain basement but it's a neat and tidy way to store, use and maintain (flatten) your waterstone sharpening kit.

At the time, it crossed my mind that maybe I might be wasting my money, but I'm still pleased I bought one.

Ike