Gallery, Projects and General > How do I??
Quartz Surface Plate?
sparky961:
I've been keeping my eye open for some used granite countertop pieces or a sink cutout or 3 so that I can make up a cheap surface plate (or 3). Tonight I saw an ad for some pieces of Quartz; any thoughts on whether this would be suitable for a surface plate? Or rather anything that would definitely exclude it?
In doing some quick searches I learned that apparently the better quality pink granite surface plates have higher quartz content which yields more abrasion resistance.
There's probably enough there that I could make like 10 plates for $40 or less. Waste of money or good project?
jcs0001:
Interesting project - I have no idea how flat they are.
I bought a granite surface plate from Busy Bee some time ago for around $35 - they were selling lots to people as headstones because they were inexpensive. I guess I should have put that in my will :doh: So you may be able to recoup your investment if they aren't flat enough - just approach the local funeral home.
John.
sparky961:
A lot of my early tool purchases, including the mill/drill I use were from Busy Bee. It's a convenient place to get your hands on various grades of Chinese equipment. Some crap, some stuff that's stood the test of time so far. Unfortunately I've come to realize just how much a trip to Toronto ends up costing me when I do break down and go there for some reason. I haven't even bothered to check out the shipping price for a surface plate because I'm afraid to know.
Still, the current perma-sale price of $49.99 for a 12 x 18 x 3 black granite surface plate at Busy Bee doesn't seem that bad. Specs say it has an "accuracy" of +0.0001, which is questionable to say the least. Though admittedly it would probably be more than adequate for my home use.
I guess if I go the countertop route I could try my hand at hand engraving my own headstone.... :)
gerritv:
I was looking at using some marble tile from ReUseit but now that you mentioned the price at BB I might risk a trip to smoky Toronto.
Even if it is good for .001 it will suit my needs.
Gerrit (recently moved to St Catharines)
BaronJ:
I must admit that I use a cheap 13" square porcelain tile for my surface plate. Since I have no desires to do any scraping and this would be for me the only reason to spend any money on a surface plate, having a flat surface over a relatively small distance as a measuring reference is all that I need.
Having said that, If I did need to use a surface plate there is a couple that I have access to. In one case a skilled instructor to teach me how to not to use it. :bugeye:
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