Rusty?

[Anonymous]

I use diamond sharpening “stones”, with water as the lubricant.
Swarfega clean. Rinse. Warm-dry. No problems.
My Tormek wheel and trough-magnet also enjoy a clean daily bath.

I’ve seen some Trend Lapping Fluid (Axminster catalogue) at
£7.43 for 100ml. That’s more than Laphroaig !!

Similarly, I’ve seen “ToolSave” at £3.99 for 60ml

What, if any, are the advantages of these fluids?

Rob S

 

[Pete W]

This (heavily edited for length) from the Classic Hand Tools website...

"You must use a lubricant with Diamond stones otherwise, quite logically, it will tend to clog. Some manufactures suggest water as a lubricant, however, there have been problems of rusting. If you use water it is critical that you wipe the stone totally dry after use...

Other users try W.D.40 or a spirit, the better option though is to use *Lapping fluid - a petroleum based fluid purely designed for use with Diamond abrasives, suitable for use on all Diamond makes.

This fluid reduces the threat of rusting by 95% and also greatly removes the threat of clogging."

Which sounds fairly convincing to me, although I wouldn't attempt to defend the price... a 'petroleum-based fluid' that costs eight times as much as petrol!

 

[Chris Knight]

Pete.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I argue with the term "lubricant" when it comes to sharpening. A lubricant is undesirable inasmuch you need the friction to remove metal.

What is needed is something with sufficient viscosity to remove the metal particles as they are created and before they clog the stone and also to stop the blade riding on them as you proceed with sharpening.

With a diamond stone where there is no porosity to trap particles (compared with say an oilstone) something with the viscosity of water works well because the particles are "floated" across the surface of the stone. With a porous oilstone, you need something that can keep particles in suspension and stop them filling up the pores. In the case of a waterstone, the surface is worn away so quickly that evn though pores can clog, they cease to exist about as quickly as they clog and the slurry of water, metal and waterstone materials, all slides off the stone.

For most purposes a light oil like mineral spirits or kerosene will work on most stones although a coarse oilstone might need a more viscous oil - as much as the neatsfoot oil of tradition in some cases - since without such a viscous oil, it disappears into the stone like water in the desert, taking the metal with it. However, there is relatively little oil left on the stone to act as a lubricant in such a case so the stone will still sharpen the tool.

 

[Alf]

Somewhere I read someone say the DMT guy used paraffin and recommended it. So that's what I do, and it does a great job. Well actually I use odourless lamp oil 'cos it doesn't stink the place up... Whatever you do, don't use it on natural oil stones though - apparently it does Bad Things. Instead I negate the advantages of the odourless lamp oil by using odourful neatsfoot oil

But to the question: "What, if any, are the advantages of these fluids?"
Hmm, I'm beginning to think the main advantage must be the incredible mark up the manufacturers can pocket...

Cheers, A Cynic

 

[The Restorer]

I've used water on my DMT's and White Spirit. The White Spirit obviously cures the rust problem and seems to make the DMT cut a little bit faster. Water gives a finer finish and is fine as long as you dry the DMT off properly afterwards.
Another wheeze you might like to try with your DMT's is to rout about under the kitchen sink looking for a product called "Shiny Sinks" use that to clean your DMT and it comes up like new and cuts so much quicker. If you can't find it in the sink cupboard suggest you know who buys some at Tesco's the next time they go as you've heard "it's brilliant at cleaning the stainless steel sinks" (which it is). :lol:

 

[gidon]

Rob

I use water with mine most of the time. I only use that lapping fluid when I'm honing the p/t'er blades, because I don't want the cutter block rusting!
And like TR, I use an abrasive kithen cleaner (Gumption!) with a scouring pad if I ever get any rust on them - it works a treat.

Chris Scwarz from PW also recommends using mineral spirits (is that the same as white spirit?) because it evaporates more slowly and prevents rusting.

Cheers

Gidon

 

[Chris Knight]

mineral spirits (is that the same as white spirit)

Gidon, yes it is. All these things are basically just different boiling fractions in the distillation of crude oil and stuff like white sprits is not particularly well controlled as a fraction - it can vary a lot depending on which refinery and country is being considered but since it is hardly a vital spec, not everyone bothers much.

More tightly controlled specs like avation kero will be the same in most places where a reputable airline would buy their fuel.

Many refineries "dump" their excesses (which can vary depending on what crude they are processing at the time) in stuff that has few specs. Thus bitumen and bunkers for shipping are favourite places to put the absolute crap - thick horrible stuff full of heavy metallic salts and sulphur. VMP stuff like white spirit and "Naptha" - the version known by our USA woodworking buddies as opposed to the basis of petrol - is another dumping ground.

 

[gidon]

Thanks Chris! Interesting stuff - never even knew it came from distilling crude oil.
I feel wiser every day I look at this forum .
Cheers
Gidon