Originally Posted by
JimmyHAD
The DMT D8C continuous plate has been good for my lapping my Nortons. I recently got an XX and it left a noticably rough feel so I followed up with the D8C and the D8F and it became plenty smooth. A little back story on the DMT versus the GDLP, I had put together a set of Shapton pros one stone at a time. I was using a D8C and thought the GDLP would be better for the Shaptons. I spoke with the USA distributor,Harrelson Stanley, because I was undecided between the GDLP and the more expensive DRLP. Harrelson recommended the glass plate as the more expensive one is for chisels and plane irons.
I told him I was using a DMT D8C and he immediately told me,"They are not flat". This really irritated me. Sour grapes from a competitor I thought. So I bought the GDLP from another vendor and began using that on my Shaptons. It is a killer lapping plate. Meanwhile I also ended up buying a Starrett machinist's straight edge. This is a precision tool and very accurate and heavy. After lapping hones I found that my DMT wasn't flat. I ended up sending it back and they agreed and replaced it. I have DMT XX, C, E, F, and 8000. Only the F is right on the money flat. All the rest of them are close but no cigar. They are however within tolerance of DMT's specifications.
The GDLP is absolutely flat and Harrelson was just telling it like it is. As for the DMTs, I showed a machinist friend my DMTs and we applied the straight edge to them and he said that he couldn't believe that they got the plates so flat and that they would be good enough to lap any hone. They are plenty flat. So that made me feel better and I use my XX and C on various hones . If the surface feels rough I hit them with the F afterwards even though I know DMT doesn't recommend it. The GDLP is reserved for the Shaptons.