Thread: Proper tool box

I actually have a shapton lapping plate that I used once to lap my 15k shapton. For the norton I prefer wet/dry sandpaper on artificial marble.

Originally Posted by mparker762

I actually have a shapton lapping plate that I used once to lap my 15k shapton. For the norton I prefer wet/dry sandpaper on artificial marble.

Hey mparker, where did you get your marble? I was thinking about getting a piece, but I'd want to be sure to get a piece that was flat. Maybe a tile supply store?

Home Depot. It cost about $1.50 or so for a 1 ft square tile.

I'll put in a plug for the marble + sandpaper approach. Works great and the price is right.

Would it work well to cut one of those tiles down to 3"x12" and contact cement on some leather for a bench hone?

Seems it would be a nice stable/flat base for such.

-Geoff

Geoff, check out my gallery. Mine was made with a piece of marble that I got gratis (thanks Jason ). Actually the pic doesn't do it justice. It's exactly as you described with three qualifications:
1) Use a dough roller after you attach the surfaces to evenly distribute the adhesive
2) Press it flat with a flat surface and a heavy weight
3) Leave it like that overnight to cure
I used a small amount of chromium oxide abrasive powder that came from Randy (thanks Randy ) mixed with strop dressing that I got from Tony M. You can also use a 50/50 mix of lanolin and glycerin.
With the investment of materials and labor, it's cheaper/easier to just get a ready-made one from Tony, but I like fiddling with things.

Thanks for the info and pic.

I wanted two seperate bench hones; figure I will order some abrasive pastes and leather from handamerican.

I have free access to a tile saw and the tiles are apparently only a couple buck. I think I can come out pretty cheap this way.

Not a huge savings by any means but I too like building stuff so what the heck

Nice to see it worked for someone else!


I plan on picking up two of the tiles; one to chop into 3" strips and a second for use in lapping with sand paper.
I will glue the leather and then place the flat side of the second tile on top with weights. Provides a nice flat surface to compress the glue/leather overnight.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Geoff, check out my gallery. Mine was made with a piece of marble that I got gratis (thanks Jason ). Actually the pic doesn't do it justice. It's exactly as you described with three qualifications:
With the investment of materials and labor, it's cheaper/easier to just get a ready-made one from Tony, but I like fiddling with things.