For anyone else who is contemplating doing this, try soaking the stone in alcohol. Methyl or Isopropyl would work and not damage the stone at all. Just pour whatever is left back into the bottle. No grunt work required.
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For anyone else who is contemplating doing this, try soaking the stone in alcohol. Methyl or Isopropyl would work and not damage the stone at all. Just pour whatever is left back into the bottle. No grunt work required.
[OP]
Contributor
Glad to help. Note to those wishing to try this: use BOILING hot water, and keep refreshing with more hot water every few minutes. It takes a few pours until the base heats up enough to come off, and a little prying. Don't force it- just gently maintain pressure, and try more hot water.
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Interestingly enough, unlike Malcom's observations, mine was chamfered on the bottom, although I'm sure I'll remove some of that in flattening the back side.
I took a small carving knife, and removed the "lip" along the side of the stone that the stone was furthest from (the one I had wasn't quite centered, so one side had a bit more room, so it was easier to cut into without cutting into the stone) This allowed me unfettered access to slide something under the stone.
I poured hot water, not quite boiling into the base as Malcom suggests. The trick for me was not to try and pry upward at all - I poured the water in, let it sit a bit, and then worked a thin paint scraper type thing between the stone as much as it would go, concentrating on forcing it in between, and not prying at all. Then re-did the hot water in the base of the stone thing, let it sit a tiny bit, pour out the water and resume. As the glue softened, I could rotate the knife back and forth in the crack between the stone and base, slowly working my way through the glue. Again not prying - a little bit of an attempt to pop off the stone made a tiny chip in the side. I think it took three hot water applications for me to get the knife worked through all the glue, and then the stone pretty much dropped off the base.
I missed Marc's suggestion before I used this method. The stone still has plenty of adhesive on the back, as I haven't cleaned it yet, and I tried denatured alcohol from the hardware store, as that was all I have handy, on the adhesive left on the back. It seems to have absolutely no effect on the adhesive on there. I think we've got some IPA somewhere around here, I guess I can give that a try.
" Be willing to make mistakes in your basements, garages, apartments and palaces. I have made many. Your first attempts may be poor. They will not be futile. " - M.S. Bickford, Mouldings In Practice
I just scraped the adhesive off and lapped the rest out with a beater diamond stone ( you could use sandpaper on a block), I wouldn't try complex chemicals on stones! we don't know what the binder actually is...
[OP]
Contributor
Update: Just got an 800 with base and tried using the heat gun to the bottom of the base. It came off in less than a minute with no real force. This time the glue is harder to get off and appears more like an epoxy than a hot melt. Not sure if it is a different glue or just a different batch that came out a little harder.
My 600 and 2000 are still at mom's house and I told her to ship them next time she sends something. When I get them I plan to do an all- out comparison. In the meantime now that I have the 800 I may do a video just of that stone compared to the 1000 for anyone wanting to know which to get and how much different the end result is.
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All out comparison of base removal?
Used the 3k a lot today… I'm honestly thinking of replacing the Snow White and sigma …
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The 3k is gorgeous, I really love the action on the stone with that. I must say I see it recommended to soak 5-10 minutes, but I prefer a very quick soak because I like the surface of the stone to remain very firm.
i have the 13k sigma and really like it...but not nearly as much as I like the Shinden suita that David recommended for me, but mostly because I prefer the matte finish it produces to the mirror produced by the sigma.
i like the sigma better than the Snow White, I find it more consistent with how it feels on the surface and it doesn't get loaded as quickly. That being said, the Snow White is a nice stone, it is light years ahead of the stone I was using previously.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
[OP]
Contributor
Ha! No I mean of all the grits.Originally Posted by Joshua Pierce
Contributor
How do you guys like your 1k? I like it after a short soak, not a long one.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
[OP]
Contributor
I changed my thinking on Choseras and now I soak them 5 to 10 minutes as opposed to splash and go. It almost seems they have opened up after use and absorb more water- but it could just be me.
Also I never let them dry laying on the counter on the wide side. I turn them up on the thin side or put them in a drying rack so they can dry more evenly. I believe irregular drying is the reason for the reports of cracking. To be fair, I have no scientific evidence to back that up except that I have yet to have one crack or even craze.
As for the 1k, it leaves a very consistent finish, but seems a bit slower than the others. I see why David Weaver (I believe it was him) liked the 800 better. I need more time to play with the 800 to decide which I like better, but it cuts way faster.
Last edited by Malcolm Schweizer; 05-08-2015 at 7:57 AM.
Contributor
Interesting. I've yet to try the 800.
I dry them on their thin sides as well, but I do this in the shop, so I just put them on an old 2x4 cut off.
I have tried a longer soak and I find i get a very quick slurry but the stones load up quicker than I prefer. On a short soak, they load, but I can move the swarf out of the way more easily with the blade.
Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 05-08-2015 at 10:18 AM.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Indeed I also feel like my Chosera's have opened up with use, I have the 800 and the 3000, love em both. I only ever spalsh them, and they work perfectly, if a long session is to be had than I'll leave a little water sitting on top of them for a minute or two.
I'm very intrigued with what you guys have said. I use my 3k chosera as a finishing stone and it can leave a really good edge. but I do like to take it just a little more sometimes. I have not used the snow-white but based on the choseras I have it has been my plan to get one
Joshua, what you said grabbed my attention, can you explain a little more?
Brian, I had the 13k sigma and the only thing I liked about it was the edge it left, otherwise it loaded up very badly and stuck to a diamond plate with a powerful seal to a point I needed 2 hands just to rub the plate... is the snow-white the same? I had hoped it would be more like the chosera line.
Last edited by Matthew N. Masail; 05-08-2015 at 10:18 AM.
Contributor
Did you soak the sigma? I treat it like my natural stones, which is to splash some water on it and go, no soaking.
Everything gets stuck to diamond plates, so I use those serrated looking ones (with the holes behind the plate) for flattening stones, not the big steel backed ones.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
I tired soaking it, and without, it just wasn't friendly to me,
I use a Atoma 400, nothing sticks to it too much, except that 13K sigma.
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