Help cleaning D8E

T

thombrogan

Joined
Nov 16, 2002
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For reasons beyond me, my DMT 1200 stone has loaded with swarf and debris and won't fully clean. I've tried soap and water with both a Scotch Brite pad and a sponge; I've tried Barkeepers' Friend with a Scotch Brite pad, and I've tried a rust eraser. Would anything else work?

Thanks.
 
Try using a very stiff brush while under running water. Can you actually see the material with your naked eye?
 
Hmm , maybe get a heavy rag like from a pair of old jeans , dip part of it in denatured alcohol and try cleaning the stone.
 
I've seen the nickel substrate on diamond hones discolor, pretty much the same dark gray color as steel swarf. Not sure what causes it .... are you sure this isn't the problem?
 
The stuff is raised. You can see it and feel it and if you're faceting a semi-prescious stone, it will be covered in it.

Magneto and rebeltf, thanks for the suggestions. Will try with a brass brush first.
 
you should clean it more often and this wont happen. I have never had a dmt 1200 clog up. Well I hope you get it clean.
 
Dwade gave me a tip to try that I'll do before the wire brush scrubbing. He said sometimes flattening a fine grit waterstone will knock the debris loose from the diamonds. I have a 6000 grit waterstone which I despise. Maybe I'll despise it less now.

ashtxsniper,

Very good point. I'm not used to having to clean diamonds with more than running water and usually don't have to use more than gravity or my finger to wipe away the steel bits, so I only started cleaning this stone in its terminally gunky state.
 
thombrogan said:
The stuff is raised. You can see it and feel it and if you're faceting a semi-prescious stone, it will be covered in it.

Magneto and rebeltf, thanks for the suggestions. Will try with a brass brush first.
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Don't quite follow the stone faceting thing Thom (???) but this does sound odd to me, especially the part about it being raised. I've often wondered if the nickel ever loses its adhesion to the steel plate .... I've seen nickel-plated firearms do this, have to be careful with certain solvents and chemicals (Hoppes #9 is a known offender.)

Brass brush and alcohol sound like a good place to start to me, I'd be hesitant to use something harder than nickel, e.g. stainless steel brush, or an acid or base cleaner, at least until all else seems futile.
 
Dog of War said:
Don't quite follow the stone faceting thing Thom (???) but this does sound odd to me, especially the part about it being raised.
<snip/>
Brass brush and alcohol sound like a good place to start to me, I'd be hesitant to use something harder than nickel, e.g. stainless steel brush, or an acid or base cleaner, at least until all else seems futile.
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It has ridges of gunk (mostly steel, methinks) that've been tough to clean. The stone faceting is taking a piece of jasper and making it all shiny and angular.

If flattening the 6000 stone doesn't clean the diamond, I'll be sure to use a brass brush both on Magneto's and your recommendation and because I don't have a steel one.
 
With diamond hones, on soft steel at low angles especially, I've gotten a buildup of steel and swarf, very like metal smearing that goes on the diamond hones in layers. It will build up to the point it starts covering the diamonds.

I couldn't figure how to get it off nothing was working and I'd set it aside until later. A day or two later I needed to flatten a hard stone a bit and grabbed that diamond plate in error, not looking just grabbed. I made a couple passes on the stone before I noticed and when I checked the diamond plate it was almost cleaned out. Couple more and it was good to go.

I got the diamond plates so I wouldn't have to use lubricants. I have heard, but not tested, that thinned out dish detergent works well on diamonds. Defeats the purpose of going dry however.
 
Thom, do you use oil when you use your diamond stone?
If you do, you may need some solvent to cut the oil. Isopropyl alcohol may not do it. You might try getting some acetone from the local paint store or hardware store. Acetone would absolutely cut through oil and would completely evaporate when you are done. Careful if you do it inside. Acetone is quite flammable and the vapors can travel along the floor and find an ignition source.

An alternative that I see a lot of the guys talking about is Hoppes #9. It also would cut the oil. But it would leave a residue.
Just an idea.
 
Knarfeng,

I usually use them dry, but will use water with a drop of soap on the 1200 and upcoming 8000 from now on.

QuietOneD,

You helped me clean my waterstone and find a use for my King 6000. Muchas gracias!
 
it would probably be easiest to just switch to ginsu, you can cut through a tin can and still slice a tomato without sharpening. No need for messy diamonds anymore.
 
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