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Back To The Grind(ing paste).

2/20/2015

5 Comments

 
PictureCarborundum, Oilstone and Diamantine.
It seems to be a constant of life.

The moment you become attached to a product that really pleases you, its only a matter of time before it disappears off the shelves for good, never to be seen again. You then spend a large portion of your waking hours scouring Ebay for the last remnants of your forbidden treasure. If you stumble across a source, the only rational response is to buy as much of it as you can afford. Maybe even a lifetime supply. Who knows when you'll ever see it again, right?

Just as Smeagol becomes Gollum, the shift from mild mannered citizen, to obsessed hoarder is inevitable.

Such is the case for grinding and polishing pastes commonly used in horology.

The literature commonly refers to using Oilstone powder (powdered arkansas stone) for steel preparation, prior to final polishing with Diamantine (finely ground aluminium oxide powder). I have also found that using a medium grade Carborundum is a very effective first stage preparation,  prior to the Oilstone powder.

PictureOilstone powder, very hard to find.
The problem is, a few years ago, Oilstone powder became almost impossible to find. I purchased a 30g jar from German materials dealer Ernst Westphal in 2011, but it appears to have been one of the last jars in existence. If only I had known, I would have bought up big, cornered the market, and built an Oilstone powder empire!

Instead, I only purchased the one jar, and remain an Oilstone pauper. Desperately watching my pitiful supply slowly dwindle to nothing, trying to stretch it out as much as possible.

Since then, I have not seen it for sale from any of the common retailers. Occasionally old stock pops up on Ebay; small quantities left over from what appear to be retired professionals selling the contents of their workshops (or perhaps estate sales?). I recently had a crack at an auction, and missed out. Given that my precious little jar is nearly empty, I really needed a break.

And just like that, good fortune came to the rescue: Oilstone powder is back for sale at Ernst Westphal. 

The order is in, and I patiently await my lifetime supply... My Precious...

Thanks for stopping by,
Chris.

5 Comments
Douglas Skinner
2/27/2018 04:22:37 am

Just went to Ernst Westphal looking for oil stone powder. Like you I have some old stuff--fine and very fine. Problem it's so old it's has started to form clods and I have to grind it in a mortar and pestal. This works with the very fine but not so well with the fine. Wish I could get some new stuff. Also, am relatively new to this. Do you know of any good sources on how to use oil stone powder with a screw head polisher?

Reply
Chris link
2/27/2018 06:10:02 am

Hey Doug,

I cover the process in detail here: https://youtu.be/5sAw4Q1PM8Y and Steffen Pahlow has a great video showing how he uses the traditional tool here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYamLPIrvr8

Cheers,
Chris.

Reply
chad
11/9/2018 07:26:39 am

I just found a full jar of oilstone powder amongst a collection of stuff from my uncle who passed away that was into watches and clock repair. It is from C&E Marshall Company, Chicago. looks pretty old.

David link
2/3/2021 10:05:57 am

Watching your clock series now for the first time (all caught up on antikythera series), and I came across your mentions of oilstone paste and immediately checked out eBay because it seems like such a useful tool to add to my collection. I was disappointed when I found no references to it, and looked it up, only to find this post as the first result! Great to hear that it’s still out there! (I’m a young aspiring hobby machinist and just got ahold of a Bridgeport series II Special that I’ve now torn down, and I’m cleaning and re-scraping it before re-assembly.. I would very much like to one day have the tools, experience, and hopefully skill to do work of a similar standard of craftsmanship as yours. I’m learning a lot from you and Tony, so please, keep it up!!!)

Reply
Dave Jaloway
4/18/2021 01:32:12 pm

3M company produces some micron graded lapping film that you might be interested in. It's usually available on Ebay or Amazon. Use it attached to thick float glass or a surface plate to maintain a flat surface finish.

Reply



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