Flattening Oilstones - No Belt Sander

[Admiral]

I remember that Junior Strasil (was a frequent poster over at SMC until his death in 2015-ish) was a big proponent of Marvel Mystery Oil. 

Junior was a great guy.... he made me a pair of holdfasts for my 1" dogholes on my bench.

[Rob Young]

Junior was a great guy.... he made me a pair of holdfasts for my 1" dogholes on my bench.

He certainly was a helpful character. His place in Nebraska isn't terribly far from me and when he would set up his traveling woodworking shop at a small county fair venue in Hiawatha, NE I'd go and see him. Cut a bit of time off my drive.

He'd also be in the Kansas City area about 3 or 4 times a year for VA hospital stuff. He was a SeaBee. 

In person, he was a bit more gruff and it was best not to get him started on politics...

Made a few trades for tools and he always had neat stuff to "play" with. Had an interesting design for a knock-down workbench. Kind of a cross between a Nicholson design and a Japanese planing beam. The top (beam) was a great big piece of basswood.

[Tony Z]

For those that like a mirror polish, go to a local auto parts store and buy a container of "DuPont PerFect-it III" polish (about $10.00). Put a large dab on a piece of MDF and hone on it, just be careful with plowing the compound ahead of the edge (when I use it, I pull towards myself, away from the edge).

[Timberwolf]

For those that like a mirror polish, go to a local auto parts store and buy a container of "DuPont PerFect-it III" polish (about $10.00).  Put a large dab on a piece of MDF and hone on it, just be careful with plowing the compound ahead of the edge (when I use it, I pull towards myself, away from the edge).

....................
Here's something I have used for years....it is used by opticials for polishing eye glasses, both plastic and glass lenses..Cheap and effective...Cerium oxide......available in powder or paste...I bought the powder and use vaseline for the "carrier"....but it also comes in "kit form"..I don't know anything that will produce a better polish when used on leather, felt or muslin buffs. Works well {with more effort} on a hand held leather strop also.

Amazon........

[Bibliophile 13]

So far I haven’t found a honing oil I like better than WD-40. Straight mineral spirits evaporated too quickly on the Arkansas stones and would leave them clogged. Only downside to the WD-40 is that the price adds up after a while. Might try the MM oil sometime.

[Rob Young]

So far I haven’t found a honing oil I like better than WD-40. Straight mineral spirits evaporated too quickly on the Arkansas stones and would leave them clogged. Only downside to the WD-40 is that the price adds up after a while. Might try the MM oil sometime.

The fine folks at HarborFreight sell WD-40 products now. Haven't done a price check but maybe with the 20% coupon it becomes a good buy. And their cheapo microfiber towels work pretty well as tack cloths and woobies. Not interchangeably though...

[Tony Z]

Coarse stone=thicker fluid
Fine stone=thinner fluid


Always wipe your stone clean after use!

[Scoony]

So far I haven’t found a honing oil I like better than WD-40. Straight mineral spirits evaporated too quickly on the Arkansas stones and would leave them clogged. Only downside to the WD-40 is that the price adds up after a while. Might try the MM oil sometime.

Forget the aerosol cans and get a gallon of WD40. They also make a spray bottle specially for WD-40. Makes it easy to fill up. That gal I bought years ago will last a very long time.

[Bruce Haugen]

Forget the aerosol cans and get a gallon of WD40. They also make a spray bottle specially for WD-40. Makes it easy to fill up. That gal I bought years ago will last a very long time.

Amen to that!  I bought a gallon10-12 years ago for a little more than the price of one aerosol can, and it came with a spray bottle.  Still working on that first gallon.