care of old pedal grinding stones HELP !!

[jluke]

good day all .recently got my hands on a small hand crank sharpeing stone ,and a pedal type wheel stone ,the big pedal grinder look almost new ,can someone tell me ,what to treat these with ,water or a good honeing oil.thanks

[Hungry Horse]

 Water, most had a water drip can over the top of the stone. The majority of these stones are just sandstone.

            Hungry Horse

[David R. Pennington]

For pedal or hand turned grindstone use water as lubricant. NEVER let the wheel stand in water or sit on the ground. It will soak up water and become soft on that side and wear unevenly. A tin can suspended over the wheel on a wire works good. I soldered a little gas cock on the bottom of one so I could regulate the "drip" to get the right amount of water. The more traditional way is to use a funnel shaped reservoir with a tapered stick inserted from top which you can adjust for flow rate. Move the tool you are grinding across the face of the wheel so wheel wears evenly across face. They don't cut real fast but leave a very nice almost polished surface. I really like to grind drill bits on mine. They are excellent for sharpening tools, no danger in overheating and ruining the temper. I recently found a very large fine one some one had mounted up on iron frame with a double shaft and belt arrangement. It had a very old cob webby washing machine motor. I was shocked when  plugged it in and it ran! My pedal version came from my grandfather. I built the wood frame and mechanism for it.