Thread: Lapping a Norton Stone?

A short while ago, I acquired a Norton 4K/8K Combination Stone. However, I soon learned from the forum gurus that before I could/should use it that it needed to be flattened. Well, that blew me over, but I figured it was par for the course. It's sort of like the tiny disclaimer on a box reading"batteries not included." Oh well, my Norton Flattening stone arrived about an hour ago sans directions other than to "take the water stone to the flattening stone after drawing a line grid on the water stone. My question is this. Should the water stone be soaked and kept wet for this process just as you would if you were honing a blade on it? If kept wet, won't the grid lines be removed by virtue of the water alone thus providing a false indication of flattening? Also, since you are taking the water stone to the flattening stone, what honing technique should be used? Hope these questions are not too elementary, but if they are, please excuse my ignorance.

grags

Norton recommends using a light touch figure 8 pattern using plenty of water....
No the grid lines will not just come off with water.... USE A PENCIL !!!!!! a construction pencil is what I use...

Oh yeah do the 8k side rinse throughly then do the 4k side....Always start with the highest grit stone you have then work down, this keeps grit transfer problems to a minimum....

Thanks. That makes perfect sense. Norton should consider including that info with the stone.

Norton sells a lapping plate for their stones. When I bought mine it came with one and a DVD which actually showed you how to do it. PM me.

I make sure my stones have soaked for a while before lapping, it just seems logical to have them in a wet state so the intended break down of particles can occur. This will produce abrasive in the slurry produced, which will accelerate the flattening process.

You can lap on specialized lapping irons, very expensive. You can lap on diamond sharpening/honing plates, expensive and generally preferred.

You can also lap using wet/dry sand paper on a flat surface. You will save money, get a feel for what is happening as you lap, and get great results. A flat surface can be a tile or glass plate.

Water soak a full sheet of 600 grit wet/dry sand paper, the black stuff you can get at any auto supply store. Slap it down grit up on the flat surface.

Place the pencil marked grid side of your stone down on the grit. Gently rub the stone up and down, back and forth, figure 8 as suggested, you’ll see just what the doctor ordered as soon as you start. Keep pressure even and keep enough water in there so the stone glides easily. The weight of the stone itself is all the pressure that should be involved.

High spots will come off first, as will the pencil marks on the high spots. Keep going until the low spots and their pencil marks disappear, this means they have all been ground down to one level and there are no more highs or lows.

You can keep doing the above routine using higher grit sand paper if you feel the need to have a smoother finish on your stones. You should do this routine on both sides of a Norton 4000/8000. While you are at it, round off all edges of the stone a little bit. The hone’s edges will be less apt to get chipped or nicked. The rounded edges will also be less apt to hurt your blades should you pull them off the stone or slip and gouge a little.