Orange EDM stones and customer service

ken erickson

ken erickson

Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
2,701
I wanted to pass on a few thoughts about EDM stones. I recently placed an order for orange EDM stones after reading a few posts here. I placed a small order online and shortly received a email stating one of the items was out of stock and should they ship or wait until the order was complete. This was followed up by a PHONE CALL WITH A REAL PERSON at the other end. He spent an hour explaining different stones to me and said he would ship a partial order and pay the second shipping charge when he had the item in stock. I said, no hurry and just ship when complete, and low and behold the order was shipped in a few days with a bonus of free samples.

After using the orange edm stones I am sold on them! I flat grind all my blades and these stones cut well, leave a truly flat surface, I save on sandpaper and time!

www.moldshoptools.com

Also if this should be in GOOD BAD and Ugly, mods please feel free to move.
 
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I, too, use the orange EDM stones. They are huge! Mine are about eight inches long by three inches wide, tapering at both ends,and are 60-grit. They are made by Hertel. I got mine either from MSC Industrial supply or, I thing, Rutland. I agree with Ken Erickson--they work great on flat-ground blades, clean up all the grinder scratches, etc. I use mine with water, and then follow up with sandpaper of the same grit. I smash them on the ground and then use the pieces--they utlimately form themselves to the shape you want.
 
Haven't heard much about these. I checked their site, did you get the pack of them? I searched orange edm stones and that's all that came up was a 5 piece kit what listed 180,220,400,220,320 grit. I'm not sure if it's a typo but why would the send you 2 220 grit.
 
Ken: What size did you decide upon? There are a lot of 1/16 and 1/8" stones that would seem to be very fragile to this uneducated mind. Any help on selection is appreciated.
 
Fletch Helical said:
Haven't heard much about these. I checked their site, did you get the pack of them? I searched orange edm stones and that's all that came up was a 5 piece kit what listed 180,220,400,220,320 grit. I'm not sure if it's a typo but why would the send you 2 220 grit.
Click to expand...

Here is the link to the page were they can be ordered individually.

http://www.moldshoptools.com/catalog/list.php?category_id=73

John,

I ordered 3/8 x 3/8 x 6 in 120 180 220 and also 1/4 x 1/2 x 6

I will be following up with finer grits

So far I have not broke any even with moderate pressure.

Ken
 
I use 180, 320, 400 and 600 grit. 0,25 x 0,5 x 6" made by Gesswein. They are great!

They are hard to break and I have a history of breaking stuff!!!
 
Wow Ken you're sure right about customer service I called Mr Bass at Mould Shop Tools to clerify what was included in the Orange EDM kit (which by the way is 5 stones starting at either 120 or 180, 220, 320, 400, 600) and spent a good 20 or 30 minutes on the phone with him and ended up with him sending me some sample to try out. More to come on how the samples work out.
 
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Thanks for the heads up, I just ordered a few to try them out. Always wanted to try out some fast cut stones.
Chris
 
Alright I tried these a few days after I got them and was underwhelmed. THey seemed to load up slightly and did not IMO cut very well. So fast forward to today, I decided to read and head the advice that came with stones. The stones came with basic directions on what lubricant to use and it recommended Odorless mineral spirits.
So I took a small Tupperware container and occasionally dunked the stones and it made a world of difference. I had bought 120, 220 and 400 stones. I could not believe how quick I took a damascas flat ground blade to 400 grit using the mineral spirits as a lubricant. It really helped the stone break down to expose new grit. Anyway now to my question, I had my hands in doused in mineral spirits for close to 30-45 minutes.
So the big question is should I be wearing gloves for this, is this stuff bad for me if I expose myself to this often. I read the MSDS on it and it recommends not exposing to skin but just wanted the ground truth if you guys know??
Chris
 
I have had very good luck using cheap waterstones in 1000 grit. I xclean up a lot of old blades....
 
Well since I didn't get much of a response here referencing the safety of using mineral spirits on ones hands I posed it to the owner of Moldshoptools. He kindly responded and I am posting it here in case anyone else might be curious. His post is below.


Hello Chris,

Thank you for your recent purchase. We are also very glad to hear that our product worked out so well for you (by the way, we received a couple of orders, over the weekend, for Orange EDM stones that may have come from some of your good recommendation, thank you, thank you)
Regarding your question: Indeed, we have many customers that are professional mold & die polishers and a great majority of these use odorless mineral spirit on a daily basis.
Furthermore, many years ago, I myself used to be a mold maker and frequently ended up doing some polishing, using odorless mineral spirit in the process.
Personally, I never had any adverse effects. However, I always washed my hands thoroughly with soap and applied good quality hand crème (such as Vaseline Intensive Hand Care Lotion, etc.) after finishing the day. A few colleagues/customers that I know personally, use this lubricant when stoning and I have not yet received any negative comments. So, I suspect (unless perhaps you have some very sensitive skin) by carefully removing all traces with soap and applying some hand crème afterwards, it should be save to use this product frequently.

We hope this will assist you. Thank you again for your order.

Best Regards, Heinz
 
Yes. I've used them from time to time. One problem that has turned some people (e.g. Don Fogg) off of them is that bits of grit will occasionally get caught in them and cause serious scratches. It doesn't take too many times of a 220 grit scratch suddenly appearing when you're finishing up your 600 grit sanding to make you think twice...

This has only happened to me a couple of times. I've tried Cool Tool 2 and water with dish soap as lubricants (on different stones). Maybe I should get some more and give the oderless mineral spirits a try.
 
Dr. Thunder
Yes I just purchased 3/8 x 3/8 x 6 stones and just hand sand with them occasionally dipping them in a tupperwear container of Mineral spirits. Problem with sandpaper is it loads often and must be replaced very frequently, the stones that is not the case. I occasionally wipe off the slurry with a shop rag and keep on stoning. I can easily get a knife now to 400 grit in half the time or better as using sandpaper.
I have only done two knives yet Dan so can not comment on what you mention Don Fogg found.
I will continue to explore this new to me sanding technique, it looks promising.
Chris
 
To answere the question of toxicity mineral spirits is listed as a iritant to skin and a permeator (will go through skin), the overal toxicity seems to be mild. I do not use any chemicals without latex gloves, especially if for long periods of time, not even soapy water used in sanding. Its a good idea to limit your exposure to anything, one day you look down and see rashes and bumps and then you can never use that substance again, happens alot in to hair dressers.
 
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