Francis W. Kirkham argues that Joseph Smith did not use seer stones when translating the Book of Mormon.

...Moreover, they refer to the use of a seer stone by the Prophet. But no publication during his life contains such a statement.A neighbor, Willard Chase, asserted Joseph stole a "singularly appearing stone" which he had found in 1822 when Joseph and his brother Alvin were employed by him in digging a well. "Joseph put it into his hat and then his face into the top of his hat... alleging that he could see in it." — Mormonism Unveiled, Eber D. Howe, 1834.This is an attempt to explain the alleged power of Joseph Smith to translate the plates by a person who denounced him as a fraud and an ignorant deceiver. In the opinion of the writer, the Prophet used no seer stone in translating the Book of Mormon, neither did he translate in the manner described by David Whitmer and Martin Harris. The statements of both of these men are to be explained by the eagerness of old age to call upon a fading and uncertain memory for the details of events which still remained real and objective to them.See Full