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What methods do you use to clean diamond hones?

Odie

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
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What methods do you use to clean diamond hones?

I have quite a few of these that may only be clogged. The Chinese products are pretty cheap, and I've been replacing them periodically.......but, if they can be revived, that would be a good alternative to replacement.

Theoretically, the diamonds will last a long time, but I know a few of them have the diamonds gone from the surface. Not sure what they use as an adhesive, but probably some sort of thin epoxy, or maybe CA?. Prolonged use, or too much pressure will break the bond, and the diamonds will be lost. Of course, these with missing diamonds are no longer useful, but if the surface is only clogged.......they should be cleaned, and reused. :D

The thought to use a hand sanitizer, which is 63% ethyl alcohol, and a paper towel? Maybe naptha.....but, I don't want to break down the adhesive......?

-----odie-----
 
I have a set of DMT stones, since late 90's. I had stopped using them because they didn't cut any more. I put some of the Trend lapping fluid on them and they cut much better. I never used any fluid on them before. Not sure if they are back to good as new or not, but the lapping fluid really helped. I don't think we can wear out the diamonds other than by heat, and I don't think anyone is capable of generating heat when using them by hand...

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I have a set of DMT stones, since late 90's. I had stopped using them because they didn't cut any more. I put some of the Trend lapping fluid on them and they cut much better. I never used any fluid on them before. Not sure if they are back to good as new or not, but the lapping fluid really helped. I don't think we can wear out the diamonds other than by heat, and I don't think anyone is capable of generating heat when using them by hand...

robo hippy
Click to expand...

Howdy Robo.......What is the ingredients of the lapping fluid? I'm wondering if something I may have on hand might be a suitable alternative.....?

-----odie-----
 
To my surprise, at a recent woodworkers show, Trend was demonstrating. Their lapping fluid was very effective, but they sell some kind of eraser that cleans the diamond files etc. Similar idea to a sanding belt eraser idea but a different composition. I brought in all my diamond sharping tools, including cmt. They revived some, others no. If after cleaning, they don’t cut metal, discard. I bought their kit that contained 180/300 600/1200 diamond cards, eraser, lapping fluid and dvd. It’s helped me a lot. I use em to sharpen my 3” forstner bits for hollowing. I use them on my one powered metal gouge which does a better job than the grinder. https://www.amazon.com/Trend-DWS-LF...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5XB29XM67GFR6CGDV2HH

https://www.amazon.com/Trend-DWS-CB...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5XB29XM67GFR6CGDV2HH


I noticed that craftsupply is currently running a 15% sale on trend products.

Happy shopping
 
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Diamonds as well as CBN are normally bonded to the to the steel plate with a nickel alloy that basically captures the abrasive crystals. As the plating wears down, it allows the crystals to break free so diamond and CBN hones and wheels do wear out. Not all diamond or CBN hones and wheels are created equal.

I usually clean my diamond hones by spraying them with Simple Green and using an old toothbrush to remove the crud after soaking for a few minutes. I mainly use my Alan Lacer diamond slipstone. I've had it for nine or ten years and it is still as good as new. I've thrown away a lot of the cheap ones. In the long run, cheap has cost me more than quality.
 
Just wondering about the need for a solvent. I use soap and water, whether Simple Green or Dawn dish washing detergent. Like Bill, my Alan Lacer slip is at least 10 years old and still going. If I lost it, or when it wears out I will get another one. I've used Simple Green to give new life to belts from my wide belt sander, also to clean table saw and bandsaw blades. So with that in mind, S/G would have no problems dissolving sap or resins that might clog a diamond hone while removing metal dust. (If sap and resins are an issue)
 
Clifton C said:
Just wondering about the need for a solvent.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering the same thing. I have some Acetone (not Naptha, like I thought), and that did a decent job of cleaning the diamond hones. Also tried the hand sanitizer, (63% alcohol), and that worked just as well. Either way, there was a lot of dark residue removed from the hones.....this, I suspect was fine metal dust being removed.....and, what was clogging the hone, making them less effective.

The hones I cleaned are mostly worn out, with one that still has life left in it. I also have some EZ-lap hones that are high quality......EZ-lap is a pioneer in the diamond hone manufacturing. I first used EZ-lap back in the 80's to sharpen my hunting knives......and, that was the inspiration for my first using a diamond hone for my lathe tools.

I can get 9 two sided 300/600 Chinese diamond hones for the price of the Lacer, so I feel it's better for my purposes. Besides, I use the diamond hones about 50 times per day, and they last several months.

-----odie-----
 
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odie, when you feel it's time to retire a hone, is it from the quality of the cut after you hone, the feel while honing or can you tell by looking at the hone?
As for the soap and water, I was a cabinet maker for a while and made too many countertops, the guys would joke me when I wore chemical resistant gloves
when using lacquer thinner to clean the glue overspray, the reason, we've been doing this so long it doesn't bother us anymore...
For me, just trying to limit my exposure...
c
 
I think I might have been responsible for a thread about lapping fluid on my CBN wheels over at SMC, can't remember. A number or people commented about their home made variations. I think pretty much any light oil will help, from WD40 and even kerosene. Just spit doesn't do the trick. I think the oil gets down in, and loosens stuff up so it will come off...

robo hippy
 
Clifton C said:
odie, when you feel it's time to retire a hone, is it from the quality of the cut after you hone, the feel while honing or can you tell by looking at the hone?
Click to expand...

Clifton...... You can't really tell by looking at the hone. The feel of the steel rubbing across the hone is the best indicator for me. You can also tell somewhat by running your fingernail over the surface of the hone, and checking for "drag". A clogged hone can mask the feel, though.

When the hone is doing it's job, the quality of the cut is significantly better. You can feel the difference between a more sharp edge, over a less sharp edge, by running your finger sideways over the edge.....but, this isn't as good an indicator as the quality of the cut produced. You can also tell by the amount of pressure you need to make the tool cut......more pressure = less sharp. Less pressure = more sharp. That "more sharp" edge lasts a very short time......and, it's back to honing again.

Because I hone gouges, I tend to wear the center of the diamond hones more than the surface around the edges. It's easy to tell the difference by feel, when you can switch the test between good and worn surfaces very quickly, and on the same diamond hone. I prolong the usefulness of the diamond hone quite a long time, because I use up all the unused surface around the edges. This is where you can "fine tune" your senses of "feel" for the good vs worn diamond hone surfaces.

As with anything about lathes and their related tools.......you just have to immerse yourself many many times, before your senses are "in tune" with knowing just how to evaluate all the processes. :D

-----odie-----
 
I know it's hard to part with $88, but I feel like it was worth the extra expense. The size of the diamonds is much more uniform, the density of diamonds is much greater, and the plating is much better quality. The radiused edges are a near perfect fit for many bowl gouge flutes. And, if you are sharpening flat edged tools the faces of Alan's slipstones are machined to a much tighter tolerance than the cheap diamond hones.

When I was using the cheap diamond hones they seemed to wear out rather fast so on average I was always using a half worn out hone. With the Lacer hone it feels like it has barely worn.
 
I learned that Odie's assumption that some imported hones used adhesive to glue the diamonds to the metal plate is or was true. I was in Rockler's yesterday and noticed that all of the diamond hones they carry are now made in the USA (DMT and EZE Lap). I have used both of them and the DMT are better in my experience. I haven't tried the Trend hone, however, I think that the Lacer hone is much better than the DMT hones for woodturning tools.

Here is a video that I think is informative although I haven't used the Trend lapping fluid ... yet. I might try it one of these days.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBND6emsSE4
 
I'm with Bill, the Alan Lacer diamond hone is worth the bucks you have to spend. May I add that Alan backs his product. A few years ago he was out of stock as his latest shipment from his "maker" didn't meet his standards. I really wanted one so he sold me one at a discount with the caveat that he didn't think it would last. He was right, it wore open patches in about nine months - but I got good use out of it until then. By then he had a new manufacturer who met his specs, and he gave me a discount on a new one as a "reward for my foolishness" <g>.

I have lots of stones, I used to do woodcarvings before being converted to the lathe. Oil stones, India stones, diamond stones, etc. - and of various grits. For my wood turning tools I find the Lacer 600 grit diamond slipstone to be all I need. I've got the DMT and EZ Lap "paddles" and use them for other things. I'm not going to hone my hatchet with the Lacer stone, actually I'm not going to hone my hatchet.

I got careless and let the "clog" build on my Lacer. I even ordered a new one as I thought I'd ruined it. The new one is in reserve as I cleaned the old one. The magical solution was a Scotch Brite Hand and Nail Brush (@$3 in the paint section of Home Depot). I soaked the stone in dish soap and water then brushed it well. Now I'm more careful and hit the stone with water and the brush at least once a week - works beautifully. I now have several of the brushes as the bristle stiffness is good for cleaning the filter on my shop vacuum and various other things.

Best, Jon
 
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