Thread: Hone of the Day

Originally Posted by Learner

MikeB52 where did you get that marvelous lapping block?

Well thanks for asking Learner.
It's an old cylinder lapping block that works just perfect for stones. Weighs close to 40 lbs so it is solid.
Was for lapping cylinders true before mounting them back on rotary engine aircraft and the like. For finer stones, above 1k grit, I only use water on it. The natural slurrying of the stone quickly builds up in the grid to aid in levelling. For the 1k or lower stones I use a little 240k lapping compound to get the abrading started.

Sheesh... you aircraft mechanics get to keep ALL the cool toys!

Regards

Kaptain "I'm jealous!" Zero

Originally Posted by Euclid440

You don’t need that level of polish, 325 to flat is good enough, they are slurry stones.

Just slurry, with the slurry stone and go.

You may want to compare them to an 8k, so you know where they fit in a progression.

The back side was left "rough," lapped with whatever AJ laps them with. If I use slurry, I use the backside. The side shown is used strictly with water, maybe some shave lather. The PHIG is the exception to this, since the back of it is horribly rough and I don't want to imagine the work it would take to flatten that...

I've also done the 8k test. The Dragon's tongue on the left is close to 8k. Maybe just a hair below, but I like to think it's the same. The PHIG and Lynn Melynllyn are in the same ball park as one another. I think the PHIG is a little less fine, but it's very close. Both are an improvement over the 8k. How much improved I cannot guess, because I've no synthetic above 8k to compare to. The welsh slate on the far right is finer still.

That said, I'm aware it's overkill. I've said as much in a few places. But, that's where the experimentation led me, and he asked how you polish a hone...so there you have it!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Well thanks for asking Learner.
It's an old cylinder lapping block that works just perfect for stones. Weighs close to 40 lbs so it is solid.
Was for lapping cylinders true before mounting them back on rotary engine aircraft and the like. For finer stones, above 1k grit, I only use water on it. The natural slurrying of the stone quickly builds up in the grid to aid in levelling. For the 1k or lower stones I use a little 240k lapping compound to get the abrading started.

Clearly I am fixing the wrong machines! Shoulda been an aircraft mechanic...Well, I have an interview for an apprenticeship at a navy shipyard next month. Maybe boats will be a close second?

That's cause we had to BUY all the cool toys to do our job properly Cpt.

My first 'tab' was with the Snap On truck, not the local pub..

Addendum to above - the best progression for the Welsh slates is 1k bevel setter -> heavy slurry on Dragon's Tongue, dilute to pure water. -> light slurry on Lynn Melynllyn, dilute to pure water. Strop and shave, unless you have a notion to move on to the Welsh slate. No slurry necessary, just a few laps with pure water. The razor I finished with the full Welsh slate progression is by far my favored edge.

I guess that means I won't be finding one anytime soon Mike. thanks for answering.

Not to hard to find somethingsimilar though.,, try the below.

Challenge Lapping Surface Plate Machinist Tooling | eBay
Note there is a burr in that one that will need removal.
Or:
Lapping Plates, Round, Rectangular, Precision Ground, Challenge Precision

Good luck.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

That's cause we had to BUY all the cool toys to do our job properly Cpt.

My first 'tab' was with the Snap On truck, not the local pub..

I *almost* forgot about the Snap On truck..... AND the tab.....<sigh>

In my case, Snap On wasn't that big in Scandinavia... we lusted for "Hazet". When I returned to Canada, Hazet was unknown, and I had to buy Snap On tools instead. Given my druthers.... I would have chosen Hazet as it isn't as "clunky" as Snap On. I must admit.... Mac is the NA champ of "clunky", in tools.

Hazet, very good slip jaw pliers. Best I own actually. You are right about them not being readily available over here though, if at all.

Spent some time getting to know my new Naniwa 1k over the last few nights. Figured I'd post my thoughts here.

Here, a WB smiler getting its bevel set via rolling Xs. The stone is slightly longer and narrower than my Norton, but the Norton base proved stable enough for the job at hand.

Here a NOS Wapi I unwrapped just for the occasion.
Great stone compared to my king. Aggressive removal, but not scary or uncontrollably so.
Scratch pattern was surprisingly uniform and non toothy despite the speed with which it took off steel.
I use Scotch/3M 22 electrical tape when I hone. Its an 'extra thick', industrial grade tape that I found would last through the entire bevel set with my king. It's .010" thick x 108 ' roll so lasts a very long time.
With the Naniwa, after maybe 300 laps, had to change it due to wear. So I needed no more proof this stone moves material. See how metal laden the slurry looks in the pics.
Was able to get to sticky thumb grab stage in under an hour on the Wade, which had just been restored and was quite dull, and just over an he on the wapi which had never been honed before.
Very impressive time on stone ratio vs the king IMO. A similar Wade took me the entire night on my old rock.
No soaking required is nice, and I didn't find it particularly messy. No more so than my old stone anyway.
Tackling my nemesis blade tonight actually. It's a Ti LeDandy that I have never been happy with. Dulled what edge it had and will see how it goes.
Anyway, that's my lil review on the Chosera. I look forward to gaining more experience with it on a few other blades in the box.
Cheers.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Not to hard to find somethingsimilar though.,, try the below.

Challenge Lapping Surface Plate Machinist Tooling | eBay
Note there is a burr in that one that will need removal.
Or:
Lapping Plates, Round, Rectangular, Precision Ground, Challenge Precision

Good luck.

Yep, they're available all the time on eBay. Try to look for one locally if at all possible. (Use eBay with the search option for distance). They are heavy S.O.B.s and the shipping is not cheap. I got one for something like $25 a couple years ago - very handy.

I like to use SiC loose grit on mine though - but this is more necessary for lapping very hard natural stones like Arkies. Try to shoot for something at least twice as wide as your stones and a good bit longer as well - this will keep the lapping plate flatter for longer.

If you know any machinists, ask them to surface grind it flat for you once it gets a bit out of whack. I regrind mind when it's .002" out of flat. Takes a while before it needs it though, as mine is double-sided. I use 320 and lower grit for lapping on one side, 600 and finer on the other.