Waterstone storage

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Do you need to store waterstones in water? I have always kept mine dry and poured some water on top when I wanted to use them. Have I committed some sort of mortal sin?

[Daniel Thompson]

No, they don't need to be stored wet. Some water stones should be soaked before using to ensure they are saturated. Just pouring water on them may not be adequate. I always soak my natural stones but I just spray water on my Shapton manmade ones.

[george wilson]

I don't use waterstones,but we never left large sandstone grinding wheels half sitting in water. The lower part of the stones,of left sitting in their water troughs,would wear faster,and ruin the stone.

I would think from this,that your waterstones might be softened also. As well,mold will soon infest them.

[Rob Luter]

I've heard of guys keeping theirs in a Tupperware or similar container full of water. Some throw a cap full of bleach in to keep things from getting slimy. FWW Mag had a blurb on that a while back.

[Brent Smith]

Hi Michael,

I use my stones a few regularly, so I leave some of them soaking. My Norton 220, 1000 and 4000 are always in water. The 8000 is kept dry and soaked for a couple of minutes before use and sprayed liberally during use. I have some natural stones that I usually soak for a half hour before using. I do put a few drops of bleach in the water I keep stones in permanently. If I'm not going to be using them for more than a few days I usually take them out of the water.

[Jim Koepke]

I used to keep my stones in water all the time. After awhile, they would get coated with a bit of the rust formed in the water from the residual iron left on the stones.

Since then, water is kept in the shop and the stones are dampened as needed. The coarser stone needs to soak a few minutes and the finer stones can usually just be dipped for a moment then kept wet while working.

One other reason my stones are kept dry is our move to a cooler climate. One of my fears is things might freeze some cold night in my unheated shop.

Finally, the water up here has a high iron content and I do not want to go through the rust smuts on the stones again.

jim

[Ken Werner]

My Norton 4K/8K stone sits in its box. I spray it down before and during use. The 700 and 1200 grit waterstones will absorb lots of water if stored dry, so I keep them sitting in water. They do get nasty from rust, but I've never seen mold. I don't like the smell of bleach and don't add any to the water. I did once have a bucket of stones freeze. FWIW, the 220, 700 and 1200 were fine. The 6K broke.

[Hank Knight]

I found some small watertight plastic containers meant for fishing gear that are the perfect size for storing my Norton stones individually in water. I keep my 1,000 and 4,000 stones in water all the time. I flatten the stones each time I use them. That must get rid of the steel swarf that others say causes rust. My stones have been in water for months a time and I've never had rust or slime problems. I do, however, change the water occasionally when I use the stones - but not every time. My 8,000 Norton stays out on my bench and get's spritzed when need a touch up. I don't keep it in water.

Hank

[michael osadchuk]

....I used to store the coarser grit waterstones (up to 1200) in water but now store them dry not so much because of any negative effect of the wet storage but because of how I flatten the stones....
.... I used to use wet n dry sandpaper but with drying out the stones, I am able to use any sandpaper of suitable grit - which is cheaper - and also find much less clogging of the dry sandpaper with stone dust; any developing clogs easily come out with a woodworking crepe 'eraser' so it is less messy and the sandpaper lasts longer...

the downside is waiting for the stones to dry but I have duplicates or near duplicates for most stone grits so that it not a problem for me......

good luck

michael

[Paul Atkins]

Mine have been in water for over 15 years with water changes as needed. No problems. I use a Tupperware type container.

[Danny Burns]

There is always the LV Stone Pond approach.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,43072,43071

In a cold/freezing shop, it is a good idea to store your rocks dry, as freezing causes expansion, and can lead to stones cracking.