AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: Eric Smith on May 31, 2012, 07:42:22 AM
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I need some advice about slip stones used for sharpening gouges. What do you use and prefer, sizes and such.
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I just strop my chisels on a leather covered board with compound rubbed on it. Occasionally re-sharpen on a diamond stone.
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I have an old hard black arkansas slip stone that I use most. It is about 4 inches long and about 2-1/2" wide. One edge has less than 1/4" radius and the other has about 1/2" radius. This takes care of 95% of my gouges. It was my grandfathers and It got dropped and broken once and after cleaning it with alchohol it was glued together with clear nail polish about 20 years ago! Since then I made a little mahogany box that it lives in when not in use. I also have a large tapered slip that I rarely use. Look at tool companies that supply machinist tools for these type stones. The manmade stones are cheaper but I like the hard arkansas best.
I also use a small scrap of leather after the stoning. I just bend it to fit the concave surface.
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For finishing the insides of gouges, I've found it easiest to use very fine abrasive paper. Several woodworking suppliers provide it for sharpening edged tools. It has an adhesive backing so it can be wrapped around a rod, piece of wood etc. This is of course very versatile an works quite well.
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I use a local sharpening service - "Taylor'd Edge". My bro is incredibly talented at sharpening tools of all sorts, hense his business.
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I like Dan's Arkansas stones.