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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Stones


montea6b

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Do standard hardware stores or big home improvement chains carry stones suitable for riflesmithing? I'd like to find a local source to get stocked up on some as I currently have none.

 

I'd like the big ones for smoothing front rings, and some smaller soft ones for polishing the raceways. Can anybody suggest a good "starter set" of stones for this purpose, a source, and recommended grits?

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There is an industrial tool suppy by me. They mostly sell import junk but they do have a big barrel full of small stones, the soft ones are good for raceways, they comform to the shape easily. Check some of the local store that sell drills and such at look around. That is how I find most of the goodies.

-Don

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www.mscdirect.com

 

Look to their india stones.

 

As to starter sets, cheap stones wear really, and I mean, really fast. I bought what I thought was a nice Norton stone 8"x2"x1" at the local OSH (Hardware store). Coarse on one side, finer on the other. It wore out after only one and a half receivers. Whereas, the stone I paid a bit over twice as much for has done well over a dozen and is still staright.

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Thanks.

 

Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I've heard these names before and am wondering what is the difference between Norton and India? Type of stone, (material) manufacturer, or origin? Are there other types, and if so, any to specifically avoid for rifle work? Any way to differentiate quality other than price?

 

Z, in your example with the low price Norton stone, was there a stated hardness? If so, I take it that it may be inconsistent across manufacturers. Are any stones natural, or all of them manufactured with a certain grit held together with some sort of binding matrix? Any "brand name" makers to look for?

 

OK, so I'm probably getting carried away with the questions... (I wonder if there's something in the archives?)

 

 

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Norton is a manufacturer, one of the best. India is a type of stone, generally hard. Cheap stone have their use, even that Norton cheapie that wore out. You can use them for rapid removal of material then switch to the good ones.

 

Here is tutorial by Jack Belk, the guy that taught me. http://community.webshots.com/album/31674165jITCPUJoFZ/0

 

Here's a little how to I did. http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=1019

 

Get EDM stones like the one pictured in Jack's tutorial for the rear bridge. Get 180, 220, and 320. 120 would be fine too. Same grits in the India stones that you will use on the front ring. Soft stones for interior polishing like Don said, because they will quickly conform to the shape.

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Monte, I don't know what state you're in, but you may try this site. (www.pts-tools.com) Browse by page #'s 624-626. They are based out of Michigan, but have a store in town. Our tool guy goes there 3-4 X a week and we get a discount. Small, but better than the catalog price. If you were considering a decent batch, you could PM me with the list of #'s and I'll have him get them. For a small amount the savings won't be much - just depends how many you buy. If this is a good idea reply first, cause I know nothing about how to send/receive PM's. LOL.

Ron

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I just looked in the Yellow Pages and there's a Harbor Freight tools in Everett which is not far from me. Anybody know if they carry a decent selection?

 

The one near me doesn't but they do have some cheap chinese stones about 6"x2"x1" which are perfect for messing up your receiver. Good stones are not cheap. Cheap stones wear quickly but more importantly, they aren't straight to begin with.

 

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Those harbor freight stones are complete crap. My brother bought me 2 of them after he dropped one of my 8x3 norton bench stones. One that was marked hard was so soft when sharpening, the stone shaved off in strips like a block of soap. The other one ended up crumbleing after 2 or so months and i never even used it, it fell apart like sand. And like z1r said neither were any where near flat. Harbor freight sells nothing of quality, only cheap chinese tools.

 

Home depot does sell some cheap norton stones that are not that bad. They are less then $8, and seem to be pretty flat.

 

 

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Thanks for the warnings about Harbor Freight and cheap stones.

 

That's a mighty generous offer Sonic, but with postage for a heavy item like that plus the hassle of mailing stuff this time of year I'd probably be better off just figuring out what I need and buying some good ones.

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