DEBURRING STONES
Deburring Stones (also known as deburring media) are modern items that may look and feel like stone, but are most usually made from ceramic. These days, they are often made of some high tech material to which abrasive compounds may have been added. Typically, they are relatively small – not more than one or two inches in size – in tan, brown, grey or black and can come in a variety of shapes, like this:
[pic from Grav Company LLC]
These items are used in large quantities in a tumbler (smaller ones may be pumped through an air or water-gun in the manner of a “shot-blaster”) to remove burrs from metal items which have been cast and/or subjected to machining operations such as hammering, grinding, drilling, engraving or lathe-turning. When modern small industrial items are cast and/or machined in steel, they often come out of the process with unwanted sharp edges (known as “burrs”) or metal that has seeped into the mould-join (known as “flash”). These unwanted defects are removed by the deburring process. Typical uses are for finishing screws, nuts, bolts, cogs and gears, as well as a wide variety of parts used in automobile construction.
The shape of deburring media is designed to ensure that their abrasive action reaches the affected surfaces of machine parts which may have holes and intricate designs. The conical ones are normally rather smooth to begin with and can be mistaken for polished Native American “conestones”:
[pic from the seller grumpydriver on ebay]
The triangular items normally start out with crisp angular edges, but after use will also take on a smoothed appearance suggestive of having been worked – leading finders to believe that they are artefacts. Here’s some examples from forum members:
[pic by Butch Wilson]
[pic by Ray Martin]
When deburring stones reach this kind of level of wear they begin to lose their effectiveness and can be found dumped all over the place – especially in the vicinity of industrial premises. They seem to find their way into creeks, rivers and fields even in rural areas.
Although there are precedents for Native Americans in some areas producing “conestones” (with either ritual or gaming usage), they are normally a rather more shallow domed form which does not have the typical shape of deburring media and are normally made from more attractive stones including (notably) hematite. There is no particular precedent for Native Americans producing or using triangular stones – apart from much larger items (up to megalith size) believed to have been placed outside tipis, lodges, caves and burial areas to block the entry of uninvited spirits. Most usually those kinds of stones are naturally broken/weathered and chosen for their existing shape.
Deburring Stones (also known as deburring media) are modern items that may look and feel like stone, but are most usually made from ceramic. These days, they are often made of some high tech material to which abrasive compounds may have been added. Typically, they are relatively small – not more than one or two inches in size – in tan, brown, grey or black and can come in a variety of shapes, like this:
[pic from Grav Company LLC]
These items are used in large quantities in a tumbler (smaller ones may be pumped through an air or water-gun in the manner of a “shot-blaster”) to remove burrs from metal items which have been cast and/or subjected to machining operations such as hammering, grinding, drilling, engraving or lathe-turning. When modern small industrial items are cast and/or machined in steel, they often come out of the process with unwanted sharp edges (known as “burrs”) or metal that has seeped into the mould-join (known as “flash”). These unwanted defects are removed by the deburring process. Typical uses are for finishing screws, nuts, bolts, cogs and gears, as well as a wide variety of parts used in automobile construction.
The shape of deburring media is designed to ensure that their abrasive action reaches the affected surfaces of machine parts which may have holes and intricate designs. The conical ones are normally rather smooth to begin with and can be mistaken for polished Native American “conestones”:
[pic from the seller grumpydriver on ebay]
The triangular items normally start out with crisp angular edges, but after use will also take on a smoothed appearance suggestive of having been worked – leading finders to believe that they are artefacts. Here’s some examples from forum members:
[pic by Butch Wilson]
[pic by Ray Martin]
When deburring stones reach this kind of level of wear they begin to lose their effectiveness and can be found dumped all over the place – especially in the vicinity of industrial premises. They seem to find their way into creeks, rivers and fields even in rural areas.
Although there are precedents for Native Americans in some areas producing “conestones” (with either ritual or gaming usage), they are normally a rather more shallow domed form which does not have the typical shape of deburring media and are normally made from more attractive stones including (notably) hematite. There is no particular precedent for Native Americans producing or using triangular stones – apart from much larger items (up to megalith size) believed to have been placed outside tipis, lodges, caves and burial areas to block the entry of uninvited spirits. Most usually those kinds of stones are naturally broken/weathered and chosen for their existing shape.
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