Wire brushes: Stainless steel vs carbon?

[foxyfox]

I hope this isn't too left field of a question. I'm particularly keen on using the right tools and accessories for a task, and would like some insight on this dilemma.

I've been using a dremel with a wire brush to clean up picks. And there are two wire brushes variations: Stainless steel and Carbon steel.

Looking on the dremel site, I see the following tips:
Stainless Steel Brush

• Use on stainless steel, aluminum, silver, pewter and other white metals
• Do not use in areas where carbon steel may come in contact with the brush to prevent rust and contamination (does carbon steel cause rust on stainless steel??)

Carbon Steel Brush

• Use on brass, copper or other soft ferrous metals

What I don't understand is, why would one need carbon steel brushes at all? Let's say we contaminate our stainless steel brushes with carbon steel particles, making it susceptible to rust; isn't that effectively transforming the stainless steel brush into a carbon steel brush?

[Wiseman501]

Basically, you're right. I would just stick to stainless if you're going to use steel. In my experience, the carbon steel ones aren't worth buying. If you want to use a metal brush on those softer metals, try brass instead (Even softer than steel). Brass will leave a slight yellow hue to the surface, but it won't matter if it's not bright white metal, and it might even look cool for picks. *shrug* For polishing, I normally just use a rubber wheel and normal brush with tough polish like Greystar or Bluestar, since it leads to the mirror finish better in my experience, and you don't have to worry about metal contamination or errant bristles making a mess. Just try not to mix your polish on the brushes. I tend to use the metal bristle brushes just for that specific finish. Your mileage may vary, since it's all about what you want the finished surface to look like.

[cheerIO]

What I don't understand is, why would one need carbon steel brushes at all? Let's say we contaminate our stainless steel brushes with carbon steel particles, making it susceptible to rust; isn't that effectively transforming the stainless steel brush into a carbon steel brush?

You are not going to turn a stainless brush to carbon steel by using it on carbon steel.

Brush contamination is a concern when welding. Especially TIG welding. You don't want the brush to contaminate the work piece, or carry over contaminants. You use Carbon Steel on Carbon steel, and Stainless on everything else.

[YouLuckyFox]

Foxy, a very well structured post, thank you for your questions. I would agree with all that is said here. What has helped me most with cleaning up picks is a wire wheel and a polishing wheel on a bench grinder. As long as you don't have any intricate angles in the pick (like with my fox-pick,) you will have a mighty shiny pick with no rough edges and it will be done in a lot less time than using sandpaper (if there are disadvantages to this, let me know.) The only problem with intricate angles is that the polishing compound gets stuck in them and you have to get it out by flossing it with a wire or whatever. Anyway, cool topic.

[Wiseman501]

YouLuckyFox, could you give us a link or something to your pick? I'm curious to see it. I did a brief Google search, but found nothing I could trace to that name.

[YouLuckyFox]

You bet: http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=59119&hilit=wire
I haven't posted a picture of the polished pick, and will have to do that, soon. I'll do it on the original EDM topic. Let me know what you think of the pick.

[Wiseman501]

Oh that's awesome! I love it. I have a CAD system that works much like that, so it inspires me to make some picks with my own logo or something. You did a great job with it. I like seeing another serious metal worker on the forum! I'll add you to my friend list on the site if that's alright?

[YouLuckyFox]

Please do, I've learned a lot from the friends I've made on LP101.