Noob machining question....stoning things

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Ok so I've read here and elsewhere about "stoning" the table of your mill, I'm curious what are people using for this?  It is just a regular whet/dry stone like I use for doing a rough sharpen on my knife, or is there more to it?
Reply:Table can pick up little dings from clamps,fixtures,vise etc.Prior to tramming head or mounting vise/ work, run a large regular (like for knife sharpening)whetstone over the table in sort of a circular or figure 8 pattern(evenly,and very briefly).The idea is to only remove any high spots that would cause inaccuracies in the more precision work.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:I like to use a larger diameter stone. I have one that is 4" diameter and I put some oil on the table and go over the entire table every now and then. The stone will actually create a suction when you have deburred it properly.If you take care of the machine, You really should not have any damage to the surface. If you drop an end mill or something and it creates a dent, then this is why you want to make sure it is stoned.Granthttp://jackalopefab.com/MM210Synchrowave 200DXMiller XMT350 w/60series feederMiller Bobcat 250 with SGA 100 and spoolgunHTP PlasmaFull Machine shop with everything
Reply:Only stone it if it's been seen in public with a man other than family or if it made someone rape it.200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Originally Posted by bert the welderOnly stone it if it's been seen in public with a man other than family or if it made someone rape it.
Reply:Originally Posted by dunemetalI've seen more than a few Bports that have been seriously abused...
Reply:I'm not a fan of using stones on machine tools, I use a scraper and pinpoint the trouble spot. With ductile materials you can drag the scraper and pull the top off small burrs (similar to cabinate scraping but a bit different angle with the edge). Then a small cast iron lap can do a good job of blending.A small hard "red india stone" will cut very slowly but will stay more flat when working with burrs. Softer stones will wear at the high spot quickly & then start to remove material where you don't want it to. The hard stone is also less likely to leave abrasive behind "stuck" in the material (real bad thing in machine ways).Matt
Reply:look for a tool supplier near you, or you can order one online probably at enco or msc get  a 4 inch round stone with a course and fine grit side....  they are common amongst machinist and toolmakers... mills need to be stoned to remove highspots left from nicks, dings, scratches... when you stone a mill table use a light oil such as wd-40 or if you have a coolant bottle and use the coolant as lubrication..   the trick when stoning is to not do it aggressively, just do it lightly over the entire table...  if you only do the center all the time, you will develop a slight dip in the table which is not good, causes the mill to not cut perpendicular or parallel... we stone our mill tables pretty much daily and even multiple times a day, and i've done it pretty much every day of my working life..  we have to stone them, if not your parts dont sit flat or square and you scrap very expensive pieces of viscount steel.Last edited by brucer; 06-10-2011 at 08:04 PM.tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:whoops blew the pic up too bigtackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:in case anyone else can't see what Brucer wrote because of the pic size: Originally Posted by brucerlook for a tool supplier near you, or you can order one online probably at enco or msc get a 4 inch round stone with a course and fine grit side.... they are common amongst machinist and toolmakers...mills need to be stoned to remove highspots left from nicks, dings, scratches...when you stone a mill table use a light oil such as wd-40 or if you have a coolant bottle and use the coolant as lubrication.. the trick when stoning is to not do it aggressively, just do it lightly over the entire table... if you only do the center all the time, you will develop a slight dip in the table which is not good, causes the mill to not cut perpendicular or parallel...we stone our mill tables pretty much daily and even multiple times a day, and i've done it pretty much every day of my working life.. we have to stone them, if not your parts dont sit flat or square and you scrap very expensive pieces of viscount steel.
Reply:yea sorry bout that greenbuggy, i was linking the pic offsite and evidently it was too large.. thanks for quoting me and bringing it back to reality..tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/