Lapping a lapping stone - ceramic tile?

**jdto** · 10-28-2011, 12:45 AM

I am trying to get my Norton Flattening stone flat, as last night I ended up with a slightly uneven lap on my Norton 1k.

I picked up a ceramic tile and I was thinking about giving the flattening stone a go on that with a low grit paper like a 220. Would that work? Is the ceramic tile going to get it flat enough? The tile sure seems flat, but you can't really tell by eye, I suppose.

Has anyone tried this? My guru is reluctant, as he hasn't heard of anyone doing this, so I figured I'd ask opinions.

**ace** · 10-28-2011, 01:14 AM

How do you know your flattening stone is not flat? Did you use figure 8 strokes to lap the 1K?

**avatar1999** · 10-28-2011, 01:21 AM

I'd love to know the solution to this as well...My Norton flattening stone has not been flat for a long while. I just gave up on it and picked up a D8C and have been using that. I hate to have the lapping stone just sitting around collecting dust though :P

**markdfhr** · 10-28-2011, 01:25 AM

Instructions which came with mine state:

"With continue use, the flattening stone will lose its flatness. Use a coarse 220 grit waterproof sandpaper or diamond sharpening stone to reflatten."

-Mark

**jdto** · 10-28-2011, 01:47 AM

Originally Posted by ace

How do you know your flattening stone is not flat? Did you use figure 8 strokes to lap the 1K?

I used quite a few different strokes to lap the 1k. Circles, figure 8, up and downs, but mainly the 8 and the circles. I put a pencil grid on it and at the end, I have one corner where the pencil mark is still there and you can also see that it is a rougher area, not smooth like the rest of the stone which has been smooth by almost an hour of lapping. Maybe my technique was off on lapping, but it looks like that corner wasn't getting much action. I was advised to eliminate all possibilities, one of which is lapping the flattening stone.

Originally Posted by avatar1999

I'd love to know the solution to this as well...My Norton flattening stone has not been flat for a long while. I just gave up on it and picked up a D8C and have been using that. I hate to have the lapping stone just sitting around collecting dust though :P

I am tempted to pick up a DMT, too.

Originally Posted by markdfhr

Instructions which came with mine state:

"With continue use, the flattening stone will lose its flatness. Use a coarse 220 grit waterproof sandpaper or diamond sharpening stone to reflatten."

-Mark

Yep. I just want to know what surface to put the 220 grit on in order to ensure flatness.

**epd** · 10-28-2011, 02:05 AM

Jack,
My 4k still has a low corner (4 months of use)
Unless you got your stone used I would assume the fattener is flat, and over time with frequent flattening it (your hone) will become totally level. Your hone is most likely flat enough for use after an hour.
Ps, when I got home on saturday I ordered the htc 3d like yours for my wife, very impressed with it!
Eric

**jdto** · 10-28-2011, 02:47 AM

Thanks Eric.

And yeah, the phone is a lot of fun!

**csrund** · 10-28-2011, 03:02 AM

jdto,

I'm a noob, but I've also acquired the Norton stone set. No personal experience flattening the flattener, but I've heard guys say that you should get a slab of marble or glass, spray it down with water and adhere the 220 grit paper to it. Wet the grit side of the paper, and rub the stone on it to flatten. See an example here: Sharpening stones: How to flatten them - YouTube

**rodb** · 10-28-2011, 03:17 AM

I used a wet sheet of 220 wet/dry sandpaper and used my counter top. I checked often with a straight edge (metal ruler), checking all axis. It didn't take to long

**normbal** · 10-28-2011, 03:31 AM

I did this with an antique Franz Swaty stone this afternoon. Ebay "Mint condition" meant loads of steel embedded at both ends of the stone. I used a sheet of glass out of an 8-1/2 x 11 document frame (picture frame), laid that on a wet corian countertop, wet both sides of half a sheet of 400 grit silicon carbide paper (I didn't think I could use coarser grit) and, changing the orientation across the glass from time to time to more or less ensure I'd average out to a flatter surface, got what I think is a flatter, and much newer looking stone ready to try my hand at honing.

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