Emory cloth...

[Sidney Smith]

Youd think the title is something simple, something that is well known to most. Like aluminum foil or ice cream. But no. I went to several stores today to buy an assortment pack of Emory cloth to use when I clean up my barrel before polishing and Browning etc. Youd have thought I had a Tarantula mole growing out of the middle of my head, the way the young clerk looked at me at the Advance auto parts. He took me over to the rack with the body filler and sand paper etc. I had to search the rack and I actually found it. I showed the kid. I said " see this stuff with the canvas backing". The kid says " oh that stuff, is that what it's called?".. I hurridly paid and got outta there before my blood boiled over.

I must be getting into my old fart stage of life. These kids today are just plain stupid.

 

[Semisane]

You should have asked for "that rough toilet paper substitute".

 

[TNGhost]

Yes, kids these days are lacking in essential common skills and knowledge, but they are good with their thumbs.

As far as emory cloth, the plumbing section in hardware and big box stores or a plumbing supply house. It is essential for plumbers sweating copper fittings. However with the advent of "Sharkbite" type push fittings, emory cloth may fade some from the scene.

 

[Sidney Smith]

My local hardware store sells this made in China stuff they call plumbers paper. I tried it, its horrible. The abrasive comes off faster than any metal you try to smooth with it. Even there the term " Emory Cloth" is like a foreign language to them. And some of these guys aren't spring chickens.

I do think Emory is probably on its way out.

 

[hanshi]

I dearly hope "emery cloth" is here to stay. Clerks in stores these days don't know their "toilet paper hanger" from a hole in the ground.

 

[RAEDWALD]

If you can't find emery cloth then one can buy emery paper and stick it to duck tape. It makes a very acceptable substitute and is my current norm.

 

[oldwood]

Guys............Be patient w/ the new generation. There called the "bedroom slipper " generation because most have only been button pushing w/their expensive toys. There easy to spot as they wear bedroom slippers in public.
Emory cloth of every description can be ordered from MSC industrial supply. Grizzly Supply , might have it as they sell a line of lathes , etc..

 

[Zonie]

Personally, I don't like emery cloth.
It is not very good at removing steel and it wears out quickly if that is tried.
I much prefer the black silicone carbide wet/dry sandpaper. Silicone carbide is one of the hardest abrasives known, just slightly softer than a diamond and the glues used on the wet/dry sandpaper does a good job of holding the abrasive to the paper.
The paper is very tough too and can be used just like emery cloth to wrap around an object and sand it by pulling the ends back and forth.

 

[Semisane]

If you can't find emery cloth then one can buy emery paper and stick it to duck tape. It makes a very acceptable substitute and is my current norm.

Thanks RAEDWALD. What a great tip. I've never thought of doing that.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I like using Emory wrapped around a round file to remove rust and minor pits on the barrel flats just prior to polishing.

 

[Archer 756]

[U]Zonie[/U] wet/dry sand paper that's what auto body refinishers use, must be ok for $$$$ autos That's all I have used for the pass 70 yrs.

 

[RB POWELL]

This is an interesting commentary on the ignorance the workforce.
Try this on: a while back I went to Lowe's for something-or-other: a basic tool to be used in conjunction with a BP build. Asked one, asked a second, asked a third. The third said "OH, YOU NEED TO GET HERE BEFORE NOON. THE OLD GUYS WHO REALLY KNOW STUFF ONLY WORK THE MORNINGS." Seems that a lot of retired guys: electricians, carpenters, plumbers, etc. work mornings at Lowe's before they go home to take their naps. Been there many times since: before nap-time, and by gosh # 3 was right. I've found the knows-his-business-pro every time! Amazing.

 

[firestick]

Don't be so critical of the youngsters about emery cloth. Plenty of modern technology we use that we really have no clue about. Give em some time and they'll figure it out.

 

[RB POWELL]

Guys............Be patient w/ the new generation. There called the "bedroom slipper " generation because most have only been button pushing w/their expensive toys. There easy to spot as they wear bedroom slippers in public.
Emory cloth of every description can be ordered from MSC industrial supply. Grizzly Supply , might have it as they sell a line of lathes , etc..

In my opinion, one of the problems with the "bedroom slipper" generation is way too much patience on the part of the older generation. It is reaching the point of unrecoverable intellect, and simple disinterest in anything that does not have a bunch of buttons on it. Come on folks! I see it every day. Get real, not sympathetic. They do not need understanding. Maybe an EMP?

 

[Treestalker]

In my opinion, one of the problems with the "bedroom slipper" generation is way too much patience on the part of the older generation. It is reaching the point of unrecoverable intellect, and simple disinterest in anything that does not have a bunch of buttons on it. Come on folks! I see it every day. Get real, not sympathetic. They do not need understanding. Maybe an EMP?

When was the last time you saw or used friction tape? Ask a youngster about that sometime!

 

[oldwood]

I'm more than a little concerned about young folks these days , because they might not have enough time to catch up to where us old guys were 40 yrs ago. Trying to reinvent common sense can be punishingly hard.
Treestalker mentioned Friction Tape. In the coal region , friction tape was the duct tape of the day in the 1950's. At shift change and miners were done for the day , many a roll of friction tape went home in lunch buckets. It was put on anything needing nonslip fix , hammer handles , ax handles, etc. It's still available on line... oldwood

 

[HandyAndy]

Not many call it Emory cloth anymore. Abrasive roll or plumber's sanding roll. Real hardware stores haven't existed in most places for a long time now. You can't reasonably expect the kids who work at what hardware stores have turned into to know what the obsolete terms of what they sell are. Try explaining what corcus cloth is for fun.

 

[firestick]

I'm more than a little concerned about young folks these days , because they might not have enough time to catch up to where us old guys were 40 yrs ago. Trying to reinvent common sense can be punishingly hard.
Treestalker mentioned Friction Tape. In the coal region , friction tape was the duct tape of the day in the 1950's. At shift change and miners were done for the day , many a roll of friction tape went home in lunch buckets. It was put on anything needing nonslip fix , hammer handles , ax handles, etc. It's still available on line... oldwood

Key word here is WAS. Very little use for friction tape today when modern and improved products have replaced it for the most part. The same as emery cloth. It is more or less a specialty item now. I am sure machinist still use plenty of it but I doubt the avg Joe in his garage has any. When I was a kid we always had a sheet or 2 of it around the workshop. My father called it "crocus cloth"

 

[Whisper]

I got my last roll from Amazon and it was reasonably priced.

 

[tallpine]

Ok, the kid does't know what emery cloth is but I bet he could straighten out your screwed up computer or I- phone when you can't. Kids today are not stupid they just live in a different world than we grew up in.