smith's stone question

Not an answer, but....

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>Mike,

I also have stones from Smiths that I bought new about 13 years ago from a woodworking dealer. Mine is marked "MAB-8" which of coarse the "8" stands for 8" as it is 8x2x1. The "M" I'm sure stands for Mediumn. My stone is I guess you would say is grayish, but HEAVILY speckled with black.

This is the next stone I go to from the carborundum. I can't say as that I'm crazy about this stone. It seems to clog up easily. One of these days I'm gonna skip it and go straight to my Smiths "FAB-8" which is solid grayish, and is which I think is a true Washita. I like this stone alot. From there it is to my Smiths XAB-8 which is solid black and as fine as frog hair, than off to my user Translucent.

I've plowed around abit trying to find more info on this MAB-8 to find out exactly what it is, but really haven't had much luck. Hopefully somebody will be able to shed some light on this subject.

Todd O.

Sounds exactly like the one I got

mike recchione

>Except for the size. Oh well, it was cheap enough.

Maybe a different oil would help with the clogging problem? I had switched to lamp oil a while back, and it lets the stones cut really fast, but also needs to be rinsed a lot to avoid clogging. I recently started mixing in a little mineral oil to thicken it, and the tendency to clog is a lot less. The cutting is slower, too, unfortunately. I'm still trying to find the best mix.

I won't be back home for a week, so it'll be a while before I get to try this stone. It would be interesting to know what kind of stone it is. If I find out anything, I'll let you know.

Thanks,

- Mike

Re: Sounds exactly like the one I got

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>I use baby oil and have no problems with it except for this stone. I also agree that this stone is a slow cutter and to be perfectly honest I think it it one step above worthless.

I think I need to replace it with a Lily White but an not sure. I've still got alot to learn about natural stones.

Todd O.

Smith's catalogue

Warren in lancaster,PA

>I thought I had struck gold when I unearthed a Smith's catalog from January 1978, but the system was a little different then. SAB6 was Soft Arkansas Bench (stone) 6x2x1.

I think there was a time when WB was washita bench, MAB was soft(medium},FAB was white hard (fine), and black was XAB or BAB. The soft arkansas stones are sometimes white, sometimes mottled.

Sounds like the right answer

mike recchione

>Thanks, Warren - "Medium Arkansas Bench" makes sense. I was wondering what the "B" could have meant - I thought it might be a quality ranking or something. I'm ashamed to say "bench" didn't even occur to me :-)

Re: Sounds like the right answer

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>I'm ashamed to say "bench" didn't even occur to me

Me neither, but don't feel like the lone stranger as it didn't even occur to me that the "A" stood for Arkansas.

Sometimes I think that if being stupid was a crime I'd be #1 on America's Most Wanted list

Todd O.