Lapping plate/base

[Proinsias]

Where do I get a very flat piece of stuff on the cheap for wet and dry or loose grit lapping of stones? I asked a local guy that does granite kitchen & bathroom tops for something that suits my needs and awkwardly got a useless far from flat chunk of stone for nothing.

My DMT 325 seems to be dying, or perhaps closer to dead. I got it second hand 5yrs+ ago and it's served it's time.

I gather glass, cast iron and stone is pretty good when flat. But what to get and where to get it? Where does one find a flat iron,stone or glass plate?

Another diamond plate would be lovely but a dmt or atoma is not really budget friendly at the moment, I'd like to have flat stones on the cheap and something I can grind on with some real estate.

 

[kelbro]

Here in the States, we can pick up a single floor tile made of polished granite for a couple of dollars at any large home improvement store.

Another one that I've used successfully is a 3/16 - 1/4" piece of tempered glass. Mine was salvaged from a defunct small refrigerator. It was one of the smaller shelves. Works well.

 

[Kentos]

I used to use the back of my DMT for that .

 

[Legion]

I went to a junk shop and bought a piece of glass out of a light fixture that was about the right price. Cost me all of $2.

 

[Alum of Potash]

Given a limited budget, I say go with a thick slab of crown plate glass in this case, cut to whatever is your desired dimension. One side can be used for wet/dry sandpaper, and the other for powders.

 

[Gamma]

Go back to the shop where you got the piece for free and explain that you need it to be flat and offer to pay a few bucks for it.

 

[Proinsias]

Go back to the shop where you got the piece for free and explain that you need it to be flat and offer to pay a few bucks for it.

There was a communication issue, possibly my fault, the guy was a salesman/middleman which didn't help. Found a local shop, hopefully all will be well shortly.

 

[nikonNUT]

Go to a place like Glass Doctor and ask them to cut you a piece from a drop. For $10.00 I got a 12"x12"x 3/8" thick piece of plate glass that is crazy flat (I use it to lap CPUs). See if they will bevel the edges for you. They might want another $5.00 or so but it's cheaper than stitches... Viola! Instant lapping plate...

P.S. you aren't stuck with 12x12. Any size is doable. I'm guessing something like 3"x8"?

P.P.S. Alternatively, you could jump on one of the machine shop supply sites and grab a small granite surface plate. They can be had in the .0001" flatness range for $30 to $40. Or amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/Granite-Surf...2779197&sr=8-2&keywords=Granite+surface+plate

 

[Proinsias]

I knew there was a 5 foot long slab of polished marble form my mum's old fireplace at the side of my shed which I had used for lapping stuff a long while ago, forgot there was more manageable broken off chunk of the same material hiding behind it. It appears to be functionally flat.

Between that and the suggestion from Kentos about the back of the DMT I might manage flat stones without acquiring more stuff.

Thanks all, I suspect I will still be purchasing a lapping surface from the local place and a little further in the future picking up another diamond plate as I did so love my DMT.