Hi fellas! I am psyched!!!! Went to a show today and a fella was selling used tools from a gunsmith at very reasonable prices. I bought everything pictured for $30! I was only looking for the stones but couldn't pass up the mics! Question: The stones still have a pretty sharp edge and none seem worn. But, they are filthy and feel way too smooth to the touch. How do I clean them? Just degreaser and a toothbrush, or oil and a cloth, or 600 grit sandpaper, or??????

Thanks!
Dave

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A scrub brush and Dawn dishwashing liquid will clean them nicely when they are still a flat surface. Ones that are worn can be reconditioned by scrubbing them on a coarse diamond stone with Dawn and water. This restores them to a flat surface when they are dished down in the middle.

Good find! Those will serve you well for years.

Will do! Thank you very much! I am sure they will outlive me! I should have owned them a few decades ago! haha

Best way to clean clogged stones I've ever found is to soak them in Kroil. That will float the fine steel right out of them.

Stu

You should back that micrometer's spindle off the anvil a bit, too, if you have't yet done so. Mics should never be stored with the faces in contact with each other. I always wince when I see that.

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SWHF #448

Yes - a mike should be stored with an air gap between the anvils.

Super, will do, thanks!!!!

You got a heck of a bargain.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

A Starrett mic....nice find.

A NIB 1" Starrett mic would set you back over $200

I worked in a machine shop back in 1965/1966 and a lot of my precision measuring instruments were Starrett and Brown and Sharpe

The proper way to hold the micrometer when taking a measurement is:

Hold the workpiece in the left-hand and the micrometer in the right hand.
The frame of the micrometer should be placed in the palm of the hand.
The index finger and thumb grips the knurled surface of the thimble
The ring finger is inside the frame holding it against the palm or heel of the hand
The little finger is curled back behind the frame.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Thanks very much, fellas! I appreciate your kindness and information sharing. I've been shopping around for a handful of stones at a decent price for over six months. I watched a few YouTubes on tuning actions and liked how the stones worked. I don't need brand new ones but most used ones are out of shape. These have two divets and two chips total, but look well cared for! For $1 a piece, I was really happy!!! Once I bought the stones, I looked around at boxes of other stuff but most items I did not recognize except for the mic and compass. I am not a smith but do enjoy carefully working on my guns! Maybe I should have been one all along. Oh, the compass is a Sterrett as well, marked 1898! It's almost as old as me!! hahaha

I clean my stones with Simple Green , water and toothbrush lifts the oil and metals out of pores. Nice deal.

After the above cleaning one needs to recondition the stones for best use and longevity. I use kerosene. Some use Kroil. It depends on which smell is the least offensive to you.

An aside: To reshape a dished stone, I found that the 'rock cutting and polishing' crowd has the best tool. The wheels they use to polish and shape the surface of cut rock are a natural to flatten the dish out of any whetstone. It really doesn't take them too long to do it as long as they have two wheels with a course surface and then a medium surface to them. I had a neighbor that had all the equipment and was a "Rock Hound" of the first order. Once I had him do one, I bought all the 'dished' whetstones that I came across. I did him several favors in return building work benches and small gunsmithing jobs ...