Originally Posted by
RayClem
I have found that CBN paste on basswood works quite well as long as the basswood is thick enough to avoid warping. I have also used CBN on kangaroo leather and on nanocloth. Either substrates is acceptable.
However, many of the strongest proponents of diamond pastes and sprays prefer balsa. Diamond is a much harsher abrasive than CBN both as diamond is a harder material and the shape of the diamond crystals makes it more aggressive. Balsa has a more open grain structure than basswood. Thus, the diamond crystals get embedded in the grain with only a portion of the diamonds being exposed. That reduces some of the harshness of the diamond abrasive.