i have a dirty stone

[Jordanaambargis]

I recently started using my Tormek and the stone has gotten dirty.  Do I bring it back to life using the stone grader SP-650 stone or the Tormek Truing Tool?

Thanks

[grepper]

A couple of questions:

What kind of "dirt" is on the stone?  Were you sharpening soft metal, so the wheel is loaded up, or is it just discoloration?

Is it affecting performance or just not as pretty as it was?

I'd try the coarse side of the stone grader first.  If that gives you trouble, try lifting the stone so it's contacting the wheel on the edge of the stone.  Press hard and keep at it for several minutes.

If that fails, there is always the truing tool. 

[Jordanaambargis]

I was sharpening chisels and some were rusty. It seems like the metal is imbedded into the stone. Also the stone is dis colored. I will try your suggestions and will let you know tomorrow. Thanks

[Ken S]

Funny you should mention that, Jordan.  Very good observation.  By chance I was looking at my Tormek while walking through the shop today and noticed the side of my Tormek wheel was discolored. It doesn't seem to effect the operation any, however, it does look less than pristine. I thought about possibly using a scrub brush and some mild bleach.  I'm not sure if that might interfere with the bonding agent in the stone.

Perhaps Stig might chime in with some thoughts from the factory and school.

KennyK, you have been using your new Tormek extensively recently. Have you noticed any discoloration of your wheel?

Keep us posted.

Ken

[kennyk]

My own experience is that yes, the stone does become discoloured.  certainly the side of the stone goes a kind of greeny/browny/grey colour.

Interestingly, I was also doing a pile of rusty chisels a while back - they'd suffered water damage at some point, so there was some bright orange discolouration as well as the deep brown.  This was before I'd seen the electrolysis trick that was posted recently.  After doing a few chisels one day, when I returned to the machine the following day there were brown spots on the surface of the wheel, some could be moved by rubbing with a finger.   The most effective way to get that grey 'new' look back was to use the truing tool.  However the dirty surface didn't seem to affect the operation so I left it until I needed to refresh the surface.  the stone grader isn't as effective as getting rid of the dirty surface appearance in my experience.  But then with a large number of chisels to keep sharp, you tend to worry less about a showroom-condition wheel and more about an effective cutting surface, so I've quickly learned how to tell if the stone is too glazed to cut and requires regrading or truing.

[jcmv4792]

Deleted - Wrong thread

[Tormek moderator]

Getting back to the original question...yes...the coarse side of the stone grader is the answer. Works on the side of the stone as well.

[Rhino]

Emptying out the water regularly and removing the metal filings from the magnet helps as the iron/steel particles continue to rust in the water reservoir.

[SharpenADullWitt]

Rhino, do you keep the magnet in the tray?
The prior owner of my 2000, glued two magnets to the outside of the tray.  Another option, if one can find a small ziplock bag (typically comes with screws for something), I put magnets in them, and remove the magnet with tweezers over a trash can, so the filings fall down into it.

[Rhino]

I have the latest version of the water tray from my T7 bought around 2008 or 2009.  The magnet is on the outside.  I don't sharpen much but whenever I do there is a whole bunch of metal filings in the inside corresponding to where the magnet is on the outside.  I just wipe it with a piece of paper and toss it in the trash.  I leave the stone dry between use but the residual wetness plus iron shavings on the stone still cause rust spots.  They are easily removed with the diamond truing tool if they really bother me.

[Rob]

get the blackstone....you don't see the rust any more :-)