Waterstone heresy

I am looking at the grooved product from Shapton. Following the Shapton instructions, it occurs to me that after one pass all the grit will be in the grooves. Whereas if the grit is on top of the stone, some will be forced into the grooves, but gravity will return it to the milling interface. Is this a ploy to sell more grit?
 
IMG_2683.jpg I do not care if loose grit is free. Will I not get a better result if I place the slotted/grooved bit above the stone to be flattened? I have the pond and a rubber brick. Anything can go above or below and be wet.
 
I'd use the grooved surface over the stone. You want the loose grit to stay on the surface as much as possible, with a grooved plate or stone, use gravity to help. On a smooth stone, you can do it either way but normally the lapping plate is larger/heavier than the stone, makes more sense to bring the stone to the plate.
 
I agree. I just wonder why Shapton recommends putting the grooved lapping plate underneath. For an ungrooved lapping plate, it makes sense to put it below.
 
It’s been a long time, but if memory is right, the powder sorta “embeds” itself between the stone and plate... and laps the stone. It doesn’t immediately just fall into the grooves.

Personally, I tried the “loose grit” lapping setup... never really cared for it. An XXC DMT has kept my stones flat for years... and much easier to use.

If you go the loose grit route, you might consider using it on a ceramic tile you can get at a local home improvement store.
 
The Shapton DGLP should never be used with lapping powder and on stones no lower than 500 grit. The Shapton Puck and lapping grit can be used to clean the DGLP but that is only needed maybe once in the plates lifetime. The Puck and Lapping grits main purpose is to flatten and texture the 120-320 Shapton Glass stones. I tend to use my Atoma 140 to start the flattening then use loose grit for just a minute to texture the surface, mainly on the 120 though, the 220 and 320 are not bad off the Atoma.

I've used the DGLP both in its base lapping with the stone on top and with the stone in the holder holding the DGLP. It seems to work faster when the DGLP is in the base but I feel there is so little purchase on the stone it makes it difficult to apply even lapping pressure. With the stone in the base and lapping with the plate in hand its easier to control pressure and you can see where more or less is needed. Being over the stone the grooves push the excess grit off the sides of the stone allowing you to lap longer before a flush is needed. I find it to be the most efficient this way.
 
Jason... you’re right... but I don’t think anyone is suggesting using the powder on the DGLP. Pretty sure he’s referring to the older grooved plate that was used with the powders.
 
The Atoma 140 (100u) has already been mentioned twice in this thread. Consider this a third mention in favor of it being able to effectively lap and condition a Shapton Glass #220 at 67u. The Atoma 140 occupies a happy medium between lapping efficiency (twice the micron rating of the stone) and effective conditioning (just over the micron rating of the stone) without having to consider the breakdown of SiC powder in use.
 
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