Thread: Checking stone for flatness?

Originally Posted by RezDog

We are honing with them and not building pianos. The pencil grid gets you pretty flat and honestly that should be ok. Presuming of course you lapped the pencil grid of on a flat surface like a DMT or granite slab. There are some really soft lapping stones out there that themselves need to be flattened every now and again.

Yeah I recently ordered one of those norton flattener stones. Hoping it'll cut faster than my dmt, even if I have to lap it semi-frequently

Sandpaper on a kitchen worktop will achieve the same at a much lower price. And yes: it does not have to be 110% flat.

Originally Posted by Kees

And yes: it does not have to be 110% flat.

A hundred and ten percent flat?

The flatness of your stone does not have to be within NASA tolerances. The pencil grid method has served us well. I think if you were to use a straight edge test, you would end up chasing your tail, and eating up too much of your stone.

I never really tried to use mine on anything other than the Norton synthetics. Once I got that rubber that came with my Chosera 1K, that's all that I used on the Nortons. It worked so well that I didn't need the flattener any more.

Originally Posted by kelbro

I never really tried to use mine on anything other than the Norton synthetics. Once I got that rubber that came with my Chosera 1K, that's all that I used on the Nortons. It worked so well that I didn't need the flattener any more.

Yeah, it certainly works a treat on the Chosera. Think I will try it on my Norton hones as well for a while!

Loose grit on a cookie sheet will get flat in a few minutes with loose 60 grit Silicon Carbide and an assortment up to 500 grit, for $15.

For large stones, you can get large commercial cookie sheets or a large marble tile or slab from Habitat for Humanity and make a dam with folded Duct Tape. It will contain the slurry.

I have a 20X18 in marble slab, I paid $2 for.

No need to trash a diamond plate, Arks will pull out diamonds.

Originally Posted by kelbro

I never really tried to use mine on anything other than the Norton synthetics. Once I got that rubber that came with my Chosera 1K, that's all that I used on the Nortons. It worked so well that I didn't need the flattener any more.

I've been wanting to get one of those, or the one made by Norton for my synthetics.

Originally Posted by Utopian

A hundred and ten percent flat?

Flatter than flat or supadupa flat if you like.

Originally Posted by KenWeir

Yeah I recently ordered one of those norton flattener stones. Hoping it'll cut faster than my dmt, even if I have to lap it semi-frequently

I dunno, Ken. I rather like a worn DMT325 better. I found the Norton flattener needs flattening ITSELF after a bit.
TBH, as long as a stone is close, absolute flatness is overrated, JMO.
On my synthetic waterstones, I mostly have taken to hitting the DMT for maintenance purposes only. To get them cleaned-off and auto-slurrying properly again. I can look at the stone and tell when I am there. No need for the aggressive grid.
On ,say, my Escher hone. Since It is lightly slurried every time I use it and it is used so lightly, it only saw flattening as I first received it.
Never since.... Just me!