Flattening India stone on a cheap granite surface plate

S

ScottEnglish

Joined
Apr 11, 2020
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59
Hello.

I own a Norton IB8 combination stone. I intend flattening it by means of 80 grit silicon carbide powder on a cheap granite surface plate. Has anyone experience of doing this? If so, did it work?

I'll be using the block of granite mainly for leatherwork so am not overly concerned if it wears slightly.

Any relevant shared experience will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott
 
U can use 120 grit sandpaper on your granite block... u could even use the sidewalk...

but I think this was a good purchase

Ph2eJUR.jpg
 
Thanks for the reply HSC ///.

I'd rather use silicon carbide powder as apparently it will be quicker and more economical. My experience of using abrasive paper on a granite surface plate for flattening an India stone hasn't been positive.

The flattening stone is a good idea. But only if it is flatter than my India stone!

Scott
 
I have the same stone and I use a concrete block
At first I let mine dish badly and that took a bit of time and elbow grease to flatten
Now Ive learned to use all the stone and I rarely have to use it
 
Thanks for your comment John mc c. It's good to be reminded to use the entire surface of the sharpening stone.

Scott
 
Use silicon carbide paper 8.5x11 sheet, lay it flat on the granite, grit up. Use a little water or oil to keep the dust down and the eroded stone washed out of the sand paper.
DON'T breathe silicon carbide dust!!
Start with a course grit 80 and go till flat. Then use finer grits until you are happy with the surface roughness.
Run the stone in figure 8s to keep it wearing evenly and check progress occasionally. When you start again reverse the stone in your hand so the near and far ends are swapped. This will also help keep things wearing down evenly.
You will have to replace the paper when it is no longer cutting fast.
Try to use all the surface of the sand paper rather than just one spot.
You will have to experiment with the pressure you apply to o tain a smooth stroke.
Watch your finger tips, they wear away fast!
You can tape down the corners of the paper if you clean the oil off the flat surface. A little rubber glue will also work as do many other fast setting weak bond glues. Double back tape will also work used on the corners.

OR you can use silicon carbide belts on your belt grinder and run them wet and slow enough where the heat doesn't build up!
Don't wear dress clothes while using either of these methods. LOL
Jim A
 
Thanks for the reply 12345678910. I don't own a DMT coarse diamond plate so that's not an option for me.

Jim A aka DAMNENG, I don't want to use silicon carbide paper as my experience of it for lapping hasn't been positive. I'm grateful though for the tips on good technique. Thanks.

Scott
 
The trick to lapping anything is NOT to go back and forth. Use a "figure eight" motion. It works fine with abrasive paper. The heavy cloth backed sheets may be a good choice.

I would not use loose grit on your surface plate or it will be ruined as a flat plate. The silicon carbide grit and the stone are both harder than the granite and the one that will wear away the most is the granite surface plate.
 
I’ll second HSC, I have the exact same flattening stone and it works just fine, it will be flatter than your India stone. Also the powder would not work at best like Stacy said it will just eat away the granite and most likely the powder will just be pushed away leaving you with your India stone sanding your granite block, you could also just get a second India stone and use it to flatten your first stone. Bit redundant but it would work.
 
I use the same flattening stone HSC imaged. On a severely dished stone, I have used a 3X10" Extra Coarse DMT plate.
 
UPDATE: I tried flattening my India stone on the back of my granite surface plate using wetted 80 grit silicon carbide powder. The surface plate is 12" long and 9" wide. The stone was flatter afterwards. However, subsequent attempts with my Crystolon stone revealed that the underside of the surface plate was becoming increasingly dished. Consequently, the surface of the Crystolon stone started to become slightly convex. I've since obtained a piece of glass 21" long, 14" wide, and 1/4" thick for lapping my stones on. I continue to use wetted 80 grit silicon carbide powder. The difference is amazing. I think the larger surface area of the glass increases the effectiveness of the lapping process. I've used the glass several times for this purpose and it remains flat. My stones are flat to the point that I can't insert a piece of very thin greaseproof/baking paper between a stone and straight edge that doesn't deviate from true straight by more than 0.001" per foot, at any point along the length or across the width. Good enough even for fussy me!
 
I let a couple Cerax stones get a little to dished so i flattened them using SiC powder on an old Coleman cast iron flat top grill. Worked well.
 
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