Thread: Lapping a Norton

Absolutely soak the stone prior to lapping. As far as silicon carbide vs. wet or dry paper, they're the same. The wet or dry sandpapers typically are silicon carbide. The brand usually indicates the quality, though. 3M and Norton papers (not familiar with the McGuire's, Randy) typically have a better resin bond than the cheapie papers. Translation: you get less grit contamination off the good, quality papers than the generic brands. And usually the price difference isn't that much.

OK, you guys answered all my questions, but I have one more. I've been told to use 400 grit paper on the 4K side and 800 grit paper on the 8K side. I've also read of some people using 1000 grit paper on both sides. What is the absolute best grit to use on each side of the Norton? Thanks.

The directions that come with your norton should give the "official" recommendations, which work quite well. As I recall it's something like 320 for the 4k and 600 for the 8k. But check your directions to make sure.

The instructions that came with the Norton states: "The 4000 and 8000 grit stones should be finished on 400-600 grit waterproof paper to leave a smoother texture on the stone surface." I interpret that to mean that both sides can be lapped with any grit paper within the 400-600 range. Yet I hear experts talking about using different combinations than the "official" recommendation. That is what has me confused. Maybe these experts have found other grit size paper to be even more effective than the manufacturer's recommendation. Right now I'm leaning toward using 600 grit paper for both the 4 & 8K sides. Does anyone wish to offer a different solution? Thanks.

I have a 4000/8000 on order, so if you have to prepare the surface with wet/dry how do you ensure you keep it flat ?

I've searched through SRP but can't find the answer.

Gary

You wet the sandpaper and soak the hone, and put the paper on a thick sheet of glass or some such flat surface, then rub the hone around on top of it. The paper sticks to the glass due to hydraulic lock. The primary purpose of this procedure is to make sure the hone is perfectly flat, though it will also deglaze the hone while it's at it.

Does using a Norton Flatening Stone accomplish the same thing as lapping with wet sandpaper?

Originally Posted by mparker762

You wet the sandpaper and soak the hone, and put the paper on a thick sheet of glass or some such flat surface, then rub the hone around on top of it. The paper sticks to the glass due to hydraulic lock. The primary purpose of this procedure is to make sure the hone is perfectly flat, though it will also deglaze the hone while it's at it.

If you're using a sheet of glass there's a shure fire way to determine when the stone is flat. Put the stone a clean, wet glass surface and lok at the interface between them, not only will it stick, but you'll see a pattern of waterbetween the stone and glass. You'll have a spotted pattern until the stone is flat, then it will be all even.