Here are some things I believe that might help in this discussion:
1) Water (in soft scrub, out of the tap, on a cloth, in 70% alcohol) will raise the surface grain of wood. Assuming you're not submerging the shaft in water, and you just wipe it on and off, you will only be affecting the surface of the wood. The grain will swell up, and give a rough feeling. This is not necessarily bad. In fact, it can remove many minor surface scratches and light nicks.
2) Alcohol is available at CVS in two forms. 70% isopropyl alcohol, and 91% isopropyl alcohol. The 70% stuff has enough water in it to raise up the grain. The 91% doesn't. Just get the 91%. It's like $1.49 for a liter. It works great for removing oil and grime.
3) ALL sandpaper, by definition, removes material. The lower the grit number, the more material it removes. 1500 grit paper is very fine, and thus removes very little material. But it does remove material, otherwise it would do NOTHING. That is why you should use it as little as possible.
4) Fast Orange hand cleaner (with pummice) works great to clean dirt out of the pores of the shaft. It is abrasive. However, it also sweats out the wood a bit, because it contains water. It seems to me, someone correct me, that if you only use sand paper after raising the grain, you will not reduce the diameter of the shaft that much at all.
5) Another great technique for cleaning the shaft is to wet a clean white towel and put it in the microwave for a bit, so that it is steaming hot. Vigorously wipe the shaft clean. This VERY effectively cleans the shaft and removes all but the nastiest dents. However, it also VERY much raises the grain of the wood, necessitating sanding. After this operation, I use 600 paper to smooth the shaft out, then go over it with 1500, then burnish the hell out of it with leather. This procedure I do about once every 6 months. It has not resulted in any loss of shaft diameter (over about 3 or 4 years)--I checked with a micrometer. My shaft looks great, feels great--it seems like a good system. Can any body point out any dangers of doing this??
6) I've never used comet, soft scrub, or any other bleach containing product. How is it? Is it bad for the wood? Does it make the wood really white? Opinions please?
7) Sotch brite is AWEFUL. NEVER USE IT! It's like the equivalent of maybe 120 grit sand paper. It works GREAT, however, on a crappy beat-to-hell house stick or bar stick that is soaked in beer, grease, and full of dents, and is going to be thrown away in a couple of months anyway.
8) A lathe is just a device for spinning the shaft in a very straight way. You can cut the shaft down (reduce the diameter), sand it, polish it, clean it, or just look at it spinning (just so that is clear).
Kerry
