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flattening stone with DMT XC???

mycough

mycough

Joined
May 20, 2007
Messages
3,368
My xxc got "misplaced" at work, can't afford another for a few weeks. Can I use my XC, or would I be better off with flat polished granite and SiC paper? Need to flatten a Norton SiC and a couple shaptons. Don't want to wreck my XC, can you clue me in? Thanks, Russ
 
It will damage the plate, only the XXC is rated for lapping duity. I would never lap a Norton SiC stone on a diamond plate, good way to ruin the plate.
 
If you want to continue using your XC on steel, you probably shouldn't use it to flatten. I have a DMT XC that I use to flatten my finer stones. Initially, the diamond plate lost a lot of its bite, but after about 7 flattenings, it has stabalized to a good (much less aggressive) surface for flattening.

If you are going to wait a while before ordering another XXC, wait a little bit longer and get an Atoma plate instead. They are VASTLY superior to the DMT plates because the diamonds on them are arranged into organized clusters that cut faster and don't bind up as quickly. You can find them on chefknivestogo.
 
Depending on just how perfectly flat you want it, a wet concrete block or concrete driveway works great for flattening the SiC stones. Just make sure there's no bits of concrete sticking up too far and go at it.
 
I've also found it easy to shape or flatten a SiC stone using an inexpensive 'tile rubbing stone' (very coarse AlOx) found at the home improvement center. SiC stones shed grit pretty easily, and it doesn't take much scrubbing to shape or flatten them. If you happen to have two SiC stones, the same can be done by just rubbing them together, maybe with some water.


David
 
Be careful with that tile rubbing stone. Since it's so small compared to a sharpening stone, it's hard to be consistent if you don't know what you're doing (like I didn't know). I ended up making my Nubatama 150 *less* flat than when I started with it. I'm sure with skill you can do a fine job. Just a little warning.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
Be careful with that tile rubbing stone. Since it's so small compared to a sharpening stone, it's hard to be consistent if you don't know what you're doing (like I didn't know). I ended up making my Nubatama 150 *less* flat than when I started with it. I'm sure with skill you can do a fine job. Just a little warning.

Brian.
Click to expand...

Small? The tile rubbing stone I purchased is ~6" x 2" or so, and actually larger (thicker, heavier) than the Norton Economy SiC stone I have.


David
 
^I'd call it small (yes, mine is 6 x 2 also) because i was trying to flatten an 8 x 3 waterstone. Ideally your lapping surface should be larger than the stone you are lapping.

As I said, I'm inexperienced at lapping stones. I've now done it exactly twice. :) Second time (with DMT XXC) was much more successful.

Brian.
 
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