Craftsman 2x42 defective?

[trailrunner531]

I'm sure I'll end up making a new platen and ordering a ceramic liner eventually, but I went ahead and made a simpler and cheaper solution for the time being. Lowe's had a 6"x6" ceramic tile for $0.48 and they cut it to width for me. I had them cut a swath from the middle so both tapered sides were removed and I'm left with two square edges. I marked it a little wider that 2" in the store and then used the grinder's wheel to fine tune it at home and also make the edges more square. It's clamped to the stock platen now and the JB weld is curing. Hopefully this fix will get me through my first two or three practice knives.