Who owns a Microflat???

J

J. MacDonald

Joined
Jun 8, 2000
Messages
3,140
My original teachings tell me that to do this stuff right, I'm going to have to have a big flat (very flat) piece of granite some day. Just wondering who out there has a microflat, and is there a good used market for these things. I'm guessing that they're sort of like used anvils, but cost more per pound.

Let me know what you think?

jmx

BTW,

Merry Xmas To All an to All a Good Night!
 
I went down to a local granite counter shop and asked for some sink cutouts. I got some really cool pieces, some big enough to make a bench for my front porch, all for free. The piece that I use for the shop is really beautiful and all the pieces that I got are flat amd polished. Honestly, how flat and precision does it need to be? I think these pieces are just fine and plenty flat enough for knifemaking. ;)
 
I bought a granite plate about 3 years ago from Wholesale Tool. It is 9 X 11 inches. It is one of the ones made in China and it is .0001 accurate. I believe I payed less than $30 for it.

C Wilkins
 
Machine supply companies like MSC and Enco usually put granite surface plates on sale every now and then.

My motto for purchasing any inspection tool is to buy the best you can afford. ;)
 
thanks for the tip Pete... the counter top cutouts would work great!.... the search begins...:)
 
Wow Tom!
You won't impress anyone with just a plain ol' piece of glass! Anybody can use that! But a surface plate??? That is part of the "cool stuff" we keep around in our shops!

(Actually, a piece of glass works just fine and is priced right, too)

C Wilkins
 
Ok.....how about......I have a window from a BATTLESHIP sitting in the corner of my shop!!!!
Just in case I get in a serious firefight.....I can pull it out and get behind it while I shoot back!! :p:):p:):p


santa0.gif
 
Flat piece of glass is probably sufficient for my needs at this time (I'm actually using a polished ceramic tile mounted to a piece of plywood for clamping with liquid nails). I probably wouldn't need something as precision as a Microflat for sometime (if ever). If you're doing your TNTs on a piece of glass and getting those results, who am I to argue (those TNT's are smoooth)?. My knifemaking skills have quite a ways to go before a Microflat is an issue.

Always a curious mind.

jmx
 
I put my centerlines on my blades on my bandsaw table.
Any kind of flat surface that is fairly precision will work. Mostly I use a LED calipers to measure stuff.
 
Plate glass works good for me. After two years of use I dopped my last one on the floor. Four dollars later I was back in business. Nice thing about a piece of glass is that it is light and can be put away when not in use. Only have to avoid dropping it. :rolleyes:
 
Wow, talk about dredging up an old thread.

jas, it would help with this sort of thing if you had some info in your profile, like where you're from as shipping granite ain't cheap, so this is most likely a local pick up item for most. How about some details as well like size, condition, etc?

As it happens, since this thread was posted nearly FIVE years ago, I've aquired two granite surface plates. One's a shop grade 18"x24" that was given to me and the other's only a 12"x 18" that's got an old cert attached that says it's good to .00004 in all directions.

I've also found that the used market is way different on these things. Unlike anvils, most of the time people are willing to give away surface plates, or at least sell them cheaply. I had a chance to get a 3'x4' oe that would have made a fine kitchen table (great for the wife to use for pastry work) but didn't want to pay someone to move a 12 sq/ft x 10" thick chunk of rock!

I didn't realize I'd been hacking at this stuff that long, I HAVE to find a way to spend more time in the shop and actually make some stuff!
 
If you are dying to get one!

Head stone cutters ocassionally make mistakes and sell off the otherwise useless headstone for a reasonable price. Call your local headstone cutting companies.

Jim A.

PS put the engraved side down!
 
One of my coworkers gave me a tempered glass plate from an old photocopier. He used to go to places that serviced photocopiers and pick up a few dead machines and take them apart for the gears and belts in them.

Phil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top