Containing the mess? Water Stone Sharpening

Seems this is my night to ask all those pesky hand tool questions!

Recently I've been spending a lot of time restoring and sharpening old hand planes. So far it's going pretty well.I really love the edge that a water stone can give your blade. But the mess is becoming a real PITA! It seems like the slurry gets over everything!

So I have some questions I'd like to ask those of you who use water stones.

• How do you store your water stones? Do you have a dedicated "box", or carrier? I use a LV Stone Pond. But since I purchased some more stones, it's getting clunky to lug around. I was thinking of making a simple box that would hold all my water stones in wooden cradles.
  
• How do you contain the mess? If I could find a big enough flat plastic rectangular tray (about the size of a big cookie sheet), I'd use that. With it's raised lip, it'd be perfect for containing any stray moisture. But so far, I can't locate on big enough.

Thanks in advance.

I don't store my water stones in water so I just keep them in the bottom of my tool box. I have a spray bottle of water and spray them during use.

When I sharpen, I have a plastic mat that I put down. It was intended as a router mat and doesn't have any holes in it (like some router mats). As I sharpen, I use paper towels to wipe off the stones now and again to contain the swarf and water. Most of the time, the mat barely gets wet.

Mike

I too have the LV stone pond. I like it a lot for containing the mess during sharpening. I only have 3 waterstones, so it is adequete. I only store my 800 grit stone in water, my 4000 and 8000 are spritzed as needed to wet them. Before this, I had a rubermaid tub that I stored them in and then sharpened on the bench. it worked but was really messy.

I know others that store additional waterstones in small shoebox sized rubermaid tubs and it works well for them. Some use rubber mats to sontain the mess.

Howdy.

I use norton stones and I have a basement shop, so there is no worry that they will freeze. Therefore, I keep them stored in an orange bucket I picked up from the BORG covered in water.

When I need to use them, I simply throw a thin towel over my sharpening table and put the stone in one of those rubber holders. If I'm only doing a few things, the mess is very managable. If I'm done with a project and resharpening a lot, then the towel can get a bit wet. At this point, I rinse it out really well and sneak it in the dirty rags pile.

Also, I installed a laundry tub in my basement a few years back, so when it comes time to flatten the stones, I just throw a granite block I picked up a woodcraft in the bottom of one and go to town. Makes cleanup a breeze.

Anyway, just the way I do it. So far so good.

Michael

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dominic Greco

How do you contain the mess? If I could find a big enough flat plastic rectangular tray (about the size of a big cookie sheet), I'd use that. With it's raised lip, it'd be perfect for containing any stray moisture. But so far, I can't locate on big enough.

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Dominic, I use one of those big rubber coated fiberglass trays used by waiters. I bought it from a restaurant supply store.

Dan

In my basement shop there is a laundry tub that I use to sharpen with my waterstones.

I learnt this trick from Rob Cosman: I put a piece of wood that is covered with a sheet of plastic laminate for water-proofing, across the tub. On that main piece of laminated wood, are attached two small straps of wood, set parallel to each other, that are also lower than the stones, and just a bit further apart than the length of the stones. All you have to do to secure the stones is to place them in between the sticks and give the stones a slight twist, and they lock in.

Since the tub is high and I am low, a foot stool helps to gain the necessary height for doing a good job.

I have a rubberized hose that has a shower head on it, that goes over the faucet head, so I can give everything a quick rinse when needed. A spray bottle will do just fine though.

One of the best ways to contain the mess is to have a dedicated sharpening table on which you _don't have to_ contain the mess!
When I bought my house, the previous owner left a medium-sized counter-cabinet in the workshop, which I use as my sharpening station. The Tormek is on top and space for waterstones. There is a drawer for sharpening accessories -- nagura stone, jigs, small steel ruler (for the "ruler trick"). This cabinet is a bit high for this purpose, so someday I will build a lower one, but it has definitely convinced me that a dedicated space is a good idea. It doesn't have to be large, either -- just 3'x2' seems to be a good size.
-Andy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Larson

Dominic, I use one of those big rubber coated fiberglass trays used by waiters. I bought it from a restaurant supply store.

Dan

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Don,
You hit the nail on the head!:D That's exactly the kind of tray I was looking for! Now all I need to do is find a restaurant supply near me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dominic Greco

Don,
You hit the nail on the head!:D That's exactly the kind of tray I was looking for! Now all I need to do is find a restaurant supply near me.

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If you can't find one locally, check on the web. Defintely comparison shop, too... the price range I saw between vendors for exactly the same tray was huge.

Dan

An all wood solution can be built similar to the one Frank Klausz uses. Another alternative is that Harrelson is selling a large glass plate with a raised rubber frame. It is expensive...$185 + 75 for the pond + stone holders. (http://www.shaptonstones.com/stones/lapping.php)
Both of these can be seen on the JapaneseTools.com Web-Site under the Shapton link if my link does not work.

Sounds like the waiters tray is good, less expensive option to look into.

I've sen that glass plate and holder at a demo. I was thinking how good it would look int my shop:D :cool: ...but I had no idea how much he was asking for it.:eek: Doesn't seem nearly as a fit as it did then.:( :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dominic Greco

I have some questions I'd like to ask those of you who use water stones.

• How do you contain the mess? If I could find a big enough flat plastic rectangular tray (about the size of a big cookie sheet), I'd use that. With it's raised lip, it'd be perfect for containing any stray moisture. But so far, I can't locate on big enough.

Thanks in advance.

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Not sure if it would be big enough for your needs but the plastic drain trays that sits next the the kitchen sink to let pots and pans drain and dry might be an option - and cheap too. The one in my kitchen measures 12x15 and has a lip about 1/2 inch high.

Not a bad idea at all!

When I was visiting Target this past Saturday, I looked at the dish racks and trays they had. None really screamed at me "this will work perfect for what you have in mind!". But then again, Target isn't the only place that sells these things!:)

I'll have to keep this in mind. It's a hell of a lot more sane of an idea than paying someone $185 for a piece of flat glass!