First a note of thanks and appreciation to two of our vendors. Both Ken Rizza of WoodturnersWonders and Vince of WoodenWonders offered help and solutions to my sanding disc problem. I followed John K Jordan's suggestion with success. Thanks everyone.
Now the next question....my diamond hones are "gumming" up, requiring more and more frequent cleaning. That's a good indication that "somethin' ain't right"! Do ya'll use some sort of lube when honing and if so, what? And how do you clean these things when they do "gum up"? Thanks.
Mineral oil is pretty good but is somewhat more viscous (syrupier) than the pretty blue stuff you can buy - and a lot cheaper!
You can buy it at just about any drug store. You may have some already on hand - Johnson's baby oil is mineral oil with a fragrance. General Finishes Butcher Block Oil is almost pure mineral oil.
For diamond (and CBN) I use the Trend lapping fluid (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NPIMU8). I understand water is OK but might need some care on hones made from steel. One gentleman told me he used water with a steel CBN Tormek wheel and it rusted.
I was told to never use fluid for diamond hones that is traditionally used for stone wheels (oil, kerosene,etc.) but I don't know why. I read on another forum that some people have success with mineral spirits on diamond.
I not only turn but carve, both power and hand, when you carve buy hand you learn how the sharpen or you don't carve for long!
I started out using 3 cheap diamond stones, years ago, and learn real fast that I needed and wanted the best. I purchased 4 diamond hones DMT brand that are 3" x 10" they are great. I started out with them using water with dawn dishwashing detergent in the water. About 3 drops to a pint of water. I've never look back or had any problem with rust BUT you gotta dry you hones every time you use them. Not only do I wipe them first but then I blow them top, bottom and sides with compressed air. The air blows any standing water no matter how small off, done correctly it's no problem.
FYI you should never use a diamond stone dry but water isn't a problem and the added soap helps.
The stones I have are course, fine, extra fine and extra extra fine. A carver needs all four if you mess up an edge but when reshaped if done when need you only use the last 2.
One last thing to clean a gummed up diamond stone use soap and water AND a nylon brush.
To me, this is less messy than using oil and DMT says water and soap. Try both and decide which you like best, I'm sure both methods will work.
I'm going to disagree about "never use a diamond stone dry." The Alan Lacer 600-grit hone I bought at the Louisville Symposium in 2006 continues to be plenty effective in refreshing an edge without any lubrication; yesterday it was in my hip pocket at an outdoor festival here in Maryland where I used it several times rather than stop longer to go to the grinder. The gouge was always more friendly when I came back to the wood.
I won't argue that dry is better or that wet is worse, only that after eleven years of almost all dry use, it still seems as good as new and remains a primary tool in my kit. Wet may in fact get a better result for sophisticated analysis, but dry does work well for me and I don't want to oil up my hip pocket.
Agreed! The detergent floats the debris away. Rinse under running water, done. I bought a new DMT bench hone at a show, explaining I wore out my old one. Impossible, said salesman. I brought it to him....yep, it's worn out!
You may get answers across the board on this one... Here is what I can tell you. I offer DMT products. American made since 1976 and I believe they are the best! Like all good things DMT has been copied and manufactured over seas by a certain company(s). Here is an illustration of the difference you will find between DMT and their competitors.
I spoke to DMT about lapping fluid. This is what was explained to me and it made good sense... When you are honing are you creating any heat? No... You do not need any fluid when honing! You should not need any lubrication when honing a 1-2 inch stoke back and forth a few times. You are not creating any heat! It was told to me...$12.95 for 4oz of fluid!?!?! Don't complain about the cost of gas if you are willing to pay for this...lol DMT said if a fluid was really needed they would have created it years ago! However, if one is determined to use something... simple water can be used... then an old tooth brush to clear any residue from the card is recommended because that is what is going to build up on the card... residue!
While we are at it I know there are CBN hones out there! CBN is much softer than Diamond and again because there is no heat build up when honing you would want a Diamond hone before a CBN hone. CBN is harder than marshmallows and is used on grinding wheels where there is a heat exchange... that is a different story but for honing... Diamond hone all the way! Again folks may have a different opinion on this I am not trying to stir things up but rather share some facts. I hope this helps.
Don, I do the same - I use the little Eze-Lap diamond "paddle" hones dry on turning tool edges, mostly the extra fine grit. I like the control I get holding it with my forefinger on the end - I find this much easier to control that the credit card size I started out with. BTW, these things are pretty expensive but I discovered I could buy them directly from the Eze-Lap company at a huge discount in quantity - I have a lifetime supply now.
I use the lapping fluid for the diamond honing "plates" - I special-ordered a variety of 3"x8" plates from Ken Rizza. I originally got these for lapping ceramic cutters for the livestock shears I use on the llamas and alpacas. The ceramic cutters last a lot longer than steel but they expensive and are throwaway when dull. A 1/2 hour with the diamond plates (with Trend fluid) and they are good as new. I also use these on my carving tools. I also use the Trend fluid on my 1200 grit CBN wheel on the Tormek when sharpening my spindle gouges.
BTW, Rizza also sells CBN honing plates. I bought some on impulse to try then had buyers remorse - when I thought of the reason CBN was better than diamond for high speed wheels (the heat) and the relative hardness of CBN vs diamond, I wished I'd skipped the CBN. I have a set of 6 CBN grits on three plates if anyone is interested, new condition! For now, I'm using them as weights to hold hair-thin wires in place to support small turnings for photography.:)
I found this fascinating article which discusses CBN vs diamond, primarily for grinding operations. It describes the chemical structures and how both behave with different materials at high temperatures. It does talk a little about using fluids for lubrication but it's not about honing or the loading problem you mention. It still might be worth reading for inquiring minds: