Honing Compound PA-70 - Alternatives?

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

Honing Compound PA-70 - Alternatives?

At the risk of sounding stingy, is PA-70 the only thing that works.. The reason i ask is that at my work, there is a lot of grinding, polishing, plastering going on. all on industrial machines. using for me unknown compounds when doing the grinding, polishing, plastering, some of the compund used are brownish, some are gray some are white. The 100$ question is, you guys think i can use this instead of Pa-70.

I'm guessing you will say.. eighter NO.. HELL NO.. or you would go well mayby, but what is the grid on the honing compund they use.. and he he..i don't know any of this. but wouldn't go and envestigate if you guys said.. HELL NO!.

The stuff looks a lot like the (not that a picture will tell any info, but here you go)

http://i.imgur.com/b2YcCGo.jpg

[Ken S]

Good question, Jimmy.

I generally use the standard Tormek honing compound. It is designed to be a balance between fast cutting and smooth polish. If you can plan ahead, the best way to buy it is when your local dealer has a sale. In Ohio, where I live, my local dealer has either woodworking sales or storewide sales several times a year. Sometimes anything which fits in a bag they provide is 20% off. I have bought most of my Tormek stuff that way. If I knew I was going to need a lot of honing compound I would stock up during the sale. If you ask a sales person, they will normally tell you when the sales will be.

I have posted about using valve grinding compound with the Tormek. With the fast cutting/ smooth finish balance, valve grinding compound cuts more quickly but doesn't leave quite as smooth a finish. This extra cutting speed is often useful. I have a second leather honing wheel, so it is very quick to change leather honing wheels. As the valve grinding compound is more coarse, it seems prudent to me not to cross contaminate the leather honing wheel with two compounds. I purchased a T7 part which allows me to do quick changes on the T4.

I have not tried most of the other polishing compounds.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

Dursol Metal Polish has been recommended, but I've never tried it.

[SharpenADullWitt]

I use the Dursol and like it.  The link in the OP, appears to me, to be the harder compounds that are normally used with a cloth buffing wheel.  There are ones that can be used with leather wheels (barbers used a green), but they tend to be softer then the ones used with the buffing wheels.  I think the liquid compounds like the Tormek and Dursol, tend to soak in the wheel and might last a bit longer, then the harder compounds, which I expect would rub off more.  My father uses a green (there are several manufacturers and they vary in hardness), one on a homemade leather wheel, in the drill press, but that is to buff tools out and help refurbish corroded tools.

[Ken S]

Jimmy asks a good question. I would like to comment on two different aspects of the question:

First, the choice of compound. The choice of compound is like the choice of work aprons or anything where "one size fits all". Putting a honing compound together is a juggling act between speed of cutting, smoothness of polish, longevity and cost. What fits one application may prove lacking with another.

The Tormek honing compound is designed to function as the final step in the Tormek sharpening process.In my opinion, smoothness of polish is the primary factor, with reasonable speed of cutting being secondary. This is an excellent balance for the final step of blades sharpened on the Tormek. It suits the purpose.

The further we deviate from typical Tormek work, the more questionable the tormek honing compound balance becomes. From my own experience, I have found that valve grinding compound serves the purpose well when speed of cutting becomes more important than smoothness of finish. Once I have completed the cutting with valve grinding compound, I can finish with the Tormek honing compound. This extra step is often not necessary, and may often be accomplished by more time with the fine stone and leather honing wheel.

I have also used Dursol. I have found it similar to the Tormek compound. The Dursol seems a little more liquid, which is nice when polishing using a cloth or scotchbrite pad. The Tormek compound is a little drier, which works well with the leather honing wheel. I use both interchangeably. One caution, the outer tube of the Dursol compound seems more fragile, and a light touch should be used when squeezing it.

My second point is in regard to the nature and extent of Jimmy's honing/polishing work. If the purpose of this forum is to encourage the efficient use of the Tormek and its system, I would be doing a disservice not to question if very extensive polishing might be more efficiently accomplished with a machine designed for that purpose. In my opinion, while the Tormek is capable of polishing, if much polishing of different materials is routine, an industrial buffer would be a wiser choice. By all means use the Tormek for what it does well, and do not use it inefficiently when other tools would do the job well.

Jimmy has made a major investment in Tormek equipment. I want to see him use it to maximum efficiency.

Ken

[SharpenADullWitt]

I have used valve grinding compound on my reel mower (it is still sold for that purpose), but it seems to me to be more messy then the Dursol.  Personally, I would be more apt to try some of the toothpastes out there first, as they are a mild polishing compound, I just don't think they would be as forgiving on the wheel (seems to me they might attract insects, via the smelly stuff/flavor ingredients).

[stevebot]

Jeff (SharptoolsUSA) sells the Durasol. I use it and think it works as well as the Tormek version.  Here is the link.
http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/xcart/product.php?productid=98&cat=1&bestseller=Y

[Ken S]

Steve,

I believe Jeff sold his interest in shaprtoolsusa to Advanced Machinery several years ago.

Ken