Flattening Oilstones - No Belt Sander

[Bill_Houghton]

For rough flattening, concrete - your sidewalk, a concrete block, or the like - is amazingly fast.  I'd then refine it the way you did.

[Bibliophile 13]

FWIW, the stone in the OP is a soft Arkansas stone. I do sharpen freehand and try to use the whole stone. But after years of regular use, it was noticeably (not yet severely) dished. The other side is a hard Arkansas stone, which unfortunately has a soft spot on one side. It’s not as worn, though it was a bit out of flat. It also doesn’t get as much use because it’s a finer stone.

[Tony Z]

FWIW, the stone in the OP is a soft Arkansas stone. I do sharpen freehand and try to use the whole stone. But after years of regular use, it was noticeably (not yet severely) dished. The other side is a hard Arkansas stone, which unfortunately has a soft spot on one side. It’s not as worn, though it was a bit out of flat. It also doesn’t get as much use because it’s a finer stone.

When Norton transitioned away from Washita stones, they started selling the soft arkansas and/or the medium india stones as equivalents. The medium are dirt cheap, last and the one I have, does a pretty good job.

[Rob Young]

When Norton transitioned away from Washita stones, they started selling the soft arkansas and/or the medium india stones as equivalents.  The medium are dirt cheap, last and the one I have, does a pretty good job.

The Norton double sided ("coarse" / "fine") 2x8" is still only about $25 brand new on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Norton-6146368556...way&sr=8-4

Those are great stones. I have one as my go-to instead of using the Washita I have. Usually I just go straight to a power strop after that but also works to pop onto the hard ark for a moment.

The India stones have no trouble with W1, O1, A2, Dwhathever and a few other blends I have mixed in. Might take an extra lick or two but they all raise a burr pretty quickly.

About a 50/50 mix of baby oil (got a good size bottle for $1 at the, you guessed it, $1 Store. Much cheaper than plain mineral oil) and kerosene. Kerosene by itself works but since the India stone is man-made it tends to run through the stone. Does clean it. And the mix of baby oil and kerosene doesn't smell bad. Sort of like they left a baby at the truckstop.

[Timberwolf]

The Norton double sided ("coarse" / "fine") 2x8" is still only about $25 brand new on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Norton-6146368556...way&sr=8-4

Those are great stones. I have one as my go-to instead of using the Washita I have. Usually I just go straight to a power strop after that but also works to pop onto the hard ark for a moment.

The India stones have no trouble with W1, O1, A2, Dwhathever and a few other blends I have mixed in. Might take an extra lick or two but they all raise a burr pretty quickly.

About a 50/50 mix of baby oil (got a good size bottle for $1 at the, you guessed it, $1 Store. Much cheaper than plain mineral oil) and kerosene. Kerosene by itself works but since the India stone is man-made it tends to run through the stone. Does clean it. And the mix of baby oil and kerosene doesn't smell bad. Sort of like they left a baby at the truckstop.

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I also use baby oil but I prefer an evaporative spirit rather than any oil on porous stones.. MS works well and also Naptha..Unlike oils, they do not oxidize and solidify inside the pores of the stone, taking some of the "bite" out of the abrasive...It's like paving a gravel road.
..A few drops of "Oil of Lavender" added can make the smell more bearable..and in fact, smell pretty good. I haven't used Naptha in a long time but I think it can still be purchased at the Borgs. The "thinner" the viscosity of the honing fluid, the better. And it's a heckova lot cheaper than name brand "honing oils"..

..When it comes to honing...lubrication is not your friend...

[Tony Z]

Seem to remember, "the finer the stone, the thinner the lubricant needed".

I used a medium india for years (with a black arkansas & sometimes a strop) until I started searching out stones at flea markets, etc. Found myself with at least a half dozen Washitas (including a Pike lily white, never used, label on it and in the box), double that number of hard arkansas (black and translucent).

I have several cans of vintage Norton honing oil-almost thin a water, but my go to is Marvel Mystery Oil. Buy it at Wally World, at about $3.00 for a quart, that lasts forever. Same oil does a nice job of cleaning strops, etc. For good strops, "Tools for Working Wood" sells pieces of horse butt leather, about 4" x 20" for around $20. Well worth it. I have two pieces of leather for strops, and one I charged with compound by coating with honing oil then scribbling the compound bar on it. Works great for your gouges and other carving tools.

[Timberwolf]

Seem to remember, "the finer the stone, the thinner the lubricant needed".

I used a medium india for years (with a black arkansas & sometimes a strop) until I started searching out stones at flea markets, etc.  Found myself with at least a half dozen Washitas (including a Pike lily white, never used, label on it and in the box), double that number of hard arkansas (black and translucent).

I have several cans of vintage Norton honing oil-almost thin a water, but my go to is Marvel Mystery Oil. Buy it at Wally World, at about $3.00 for a quart, that lasts forever.  Same oil does a nice job of cleaning strops, etc.  For good strops, "Tools for Working Wood" sells pieces of horse butt leather, about 4" x 20" for around $20.  Well worth it.  I have two pieces of leather for strops, and one I charged with compound by coating with honing oil then scribbling the compound bar on it.  Works great for your gouges and other carving tools.

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You're gonna have to make a leather stropping wheel, Tony.....horsebutt would make a really good one.it's hard to believe the edge you can get when it's charged with diamond paste..You can do in one minute what will take you an hour stropping by hand. I think of a wheel like it is a belt that is miles long. It makes my finest stones obsolete, altho I like sharpening so much that I use all methods. The charged diamonds actually "cut" instead of just burnishing.

Here's my little one mounted on a small 3400rpm Bodine motor..I have a 6" wheel mounted on a 1/3 hp 1700rpm motor also.

[Tony Z]

.......................
You're gonna have to make a leather stropping wheel, Tony.....horsebutt would make a really good one.it's hard to believe the edge you can get when it's charged with diamond paste..You can do in one minute what will take you an hour stropping by hand. I think of a wheel like it is a belt that is miles long. It makes my finest stones obsolete, altho I like sharpening so much that I use all methods. The charged diamonds actually "cut" instead of just burnishing.

Here's my little one mounted on a small 3400rpm Bodine motor..I have a 6" wheel mounted on a 1/3 hp 1700rpm motor also.

Looks great, Jack! I bought one about a dozen years ago, V shaped, and in a moment of absoluted stupidity, approached the wheel from the wrong direction, sent the gouge flying across the shop, ruining the wheel and causing me to throw a perfectly good pair of drawers away.

Wife wanted to know later that evening where my drawers were as she saw me dress in the morning. My explanation was met with some disbelief at first, then she laughed, mainly because a few weeks prior, she was in my shop while I was turning a bowl, and the bowl blew apart.

[Timberwolf]

Looks great, Jack!  I bought one about a dozen years ago, V shaped, and in a moment of absoluted stupidity, approached the wheel from the wrong direction, sent the gouge flying across the shop, ruining the wheel and causing me to throw a perfectly good pair of drawers away.  

Wife wanted to know later that evening where my drawers were as she saw me dress in the morning.   My explanation was met with some disbelief at first, then she laughed, mainly because a few weeks prior, she was in my shop while I was turning a bowl, and the bowl blew apart.

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All it takes is one time for that to happen and you will remember it forever, Tony
I'm glad you were not hurt because it can be very dangerous and unforgiving of mistakes!!!! It's something that all lathe hands learn early on in their lives!!!..When it happens, it's so fast that it can scare hail outta you!!!! I have had it happen with grinding belts also.....

[Rob Young]

Seem to remember, "the finer the stone, the thinner the lubricant needed".

I used a medium india for years (with a black arkansas & sometimes a strop) until I started searching out stones at flea markets, etc.  Found myself with at least a half dozen Washitas (including a Pike lily white, never used, label on it and in the box), double that number of hard arkansas (black and translucent).

I have several cans of vintage Norton honing oil-almost thin a water, but my go to is Marvel Mystery Oil. Buy it at Wally World, at about $3.00 for a quart, that lasts forever.  Same oil does a nice job of cleaning strops, etc.  For good strops, "Tools for Working Wood" sells pieces of horse butt leather, about 4" x 20" for around $20.  Well worth it.  I have two pieces of leather for strops, and one I charged with compound by coating with honing oil then scribbling the compound bar on it.  Works great for your gouges and other carving tools.

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. 

Maybe I'll try that one day when I finish off my great big $1 bottle and gallon of kerosene.


I've only gotten one Washita stone at a reasonable (to me) price so I'm a bit protective of that one. But I do like the way it cuts steel. 

For the strop, I switched to Autosol polishing compound a while back and I do like the results. Had to mail-order the tube. Thankfully a little goes a long way so plenty of life left in that tube. And my teeth have never been whiter.