Thread: Lapping

I've never had luck getting stones dead flat with SIC. Lots of people do, so maybe it's just my technique. I use SIC on the back of my DMT for heavy work on stones that are badly dished or if I'm trying to remove a chip or a deep scratch. Once the heavy work has been done I move on to a diamond plate for the final truing/conditioning.

This worked for me. I thought I had trashed my DMT 325.
1) I soaked it in Simple Green cleaner over night, Just enough to cover lapping side, Soak side down and you dont need much.
2) Took plate directly out of SG and made a paste with Bar Keepers Friend.
3)New wire brush Dollar store
4) Elbow grease a plenty. When in doubt repeat step 2 and wear out your other arm.
This fixed mine right up.

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

This worked for me. I thought I had trashed my DMT 325.
1) I soaked it in Simple Green cleaner over night, Just enough to cover lapping side, Soak side down and you dont need much.
2) Took plate directly out of SG and made a paste with Bar Keepers Friend.
3)New wire brush Dollar store
4) Elbow grease a plenty. When in doubt repeat step 2 and wear out your other arm.
This fixed mine right up.

Yup. I think a lot of the guys who think they killed their plate simply plugged it up with grit. I'm not sure of the benefit of the Simple Green in the sequence but you got the job done anyway!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

How do you guys wreck a DMT 325 ???

Seriously

Get so drunk that you wrap 120 grit paper grit side to diamond side and try to lap a Zulu grey. While it slides all around and you just cant figure out why. So you just keep pushing harder and longer till you wear through the paper. Not that I ever did such a thing, just saying.

I must have the "Super DMT 325" the only one made of very special unobtainium

Now granted Lapping a few Hundred Arkansas stones might be a bit out of it's purview but I doubt any Diamond plate would do that nor would I ever ask one to,, wrong tool for the job..

Simple

Never lap anything under about 1k
Never ask a 325 plate to do the heavy lapping that you need a low grit plate or another media to accomplish
Clean it every now and then, DMT actually makes a kit for it but as already mentioned Bar Keepers Friend works wonders

I have the DMT 325 and the Shapton DGLP I baby that expensive Shapton I only use it to make slurry on certain stones,, The DMT has been abused, can't even count the Barbers Hones it has lapped, or the thousands of razors it has removed chips from, and fixed the heels on, besides the fact that it is used nearly every day to refresh/true the Hones I am using before every razor

Yeah I'll keep my "Special" one of a kind DMT

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

Get so drunk that you wrap 120 grit paper grit side to diamond side and try to lap a Zulu grey. While it slides all around and you just cant figure out why. So you just keep pushing harder and longer till you wear through the paper. Not that I ever did such a thing, just saying.

Nooooooooo that actually made my teeth hurt like fingernails on a chalk board hurt just thinking about that

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

Get so drunk that you wrap 120 grit paper grit side to diamond side and try to lap a Zulu grey. While it slides all around and you just cant figure out why. So you just keep pushing harder and longer till you wear through the paper. Not that I ever did such a thing, just saying.

Don't worry, with more practice you will be able to lap and hone and shave while drunk.

Yes, often they are just clogged, I use Bar Keepers Friend make a paste on the plate and let it sit 15 min then scrub with a stiff nylon brush or brass paint brush cleaner.

For hard stones like arks, do the heavy lifting with loose Silicone Carbide, grid marking the stone with a sharpie, so it won’t wash off, then finish on wet & dry or diamond plate with lots of water or under water.

A good cleaning with Barkeepers will refresh a diamond plate quickly, they really can take a lot of abuse, unless you rip the diamond out. As said Simple Green is great stuff for cleaning stones and plates just soak it, the longer the better and scrub.

How quickly the grid is removed is a good indicator of how flat the stone is, and they don’t have to be dead flat, just smooth and no unlapped dips in the middle, besides dead flat is a myth and doubt most of our stones are close to dead flat, it just does not matter.

Dcaddo I use sic but keep in mind it is loose and not fixed in place like a diamond plate.
I also have a machinests straight edge to keep an eye on what is going on.
If the stone is saddled I use a length of the stone movement until it is flat then I use figure eights to maintain the flatness.
If it is a bowed stone I use large clockwise and counter clockwise circles to flatten the middle and focus the loose grit there swapping end to end.
Then when it is flat I go to figure eights .just what works for me. Best regards, -cam-

I have been using one of those titanium diamond plates from 330mate and it seems pretty strong. The 300/400 side is aggressive and the diamond pattern (of blank areas) helps avoid build-up. The 1000 side is nice for light surface prep on my jnats... at least so far.

I have also been abusing it with my homemade metal creations and although I have worn off some areas at the edge, I like it.