Great post with good-to-know information
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Great post with good-to-know information
Using the information here, my latest sharpening kit cost me about $15. This was for 3 diamonds plates off eBay, each about $5. They are 800/1000/3000 grit. I have no idea how long they will last, but that is not a big concern as they are for travelling to wood shows when I do demonstrations. The use I have had in the shop at home was favourable.
The diamond plates are about 2mm thick, and I epoxied them to UHMW sheets. Of course the UHMW is not stiff like hardwood or glass, but it is waterproof and unlikely to get damaged. The plates remain flat (enough) when pressed on top of a flat bench.
They certainly cut well. I have a similar sized piece of hardwood with LV green compound for final polishing. The plates are 8" x 2 1/2" (or thereabouts).
https://i.postimg.cc/15FFwRfh/Diamond-1a.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/2SfZwpZq/Diamond2a.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/L5cZwwQb/Diamond4a.jpg
Regards from Perth
Derek
Looks very practical, even as a main sharpening solution for those on budget. Does LV compound leaves mirror-like finish?
Atoma diamond plates use a thin plate on a Aluminium substrate and if the plate gets to the point of needing a new one it is simply replaced on the original substrate using supplied double side tape. There is nothing cheap or nasty about Atoma plates, they have a very good reputation. I have given what Derek has done some thought in the past but I don't need any extra methods to sharpen at the moment but if I was starting out or wanted to convert to diamond it would be a very cost effective thing to do. I have some glass Shaptons and even thought of gluing diamond plates to the underside of those. The Shaptons would then not slide around on the bench and I would have a dual purpose "stone".
Ilya, the green compound can leave the surface like a mirror. Of course it depends on what you do beforehand - diamond is apt to cut fast, but the coarser grits leave deep scratches to remove. This is important if you are honing by hand - power is another matter. If by hand, keep the grits closer together (hence my choices).
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek and Ilya,
Any update on how these diamond plates worked out for you? At those prices they could almost be used as sandpaper! Would it be a reasonable system to go from a CBN wheel hollow grind to the 3000 diamond stone and then green compound on hardwood or are the scratches from the 3000 still too deep causing it to be more efficient to use a Spyderco or something in between?
Are the 3000 grit diamond scratches deeper than the Sypderco medium?
Thanks!
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
I am off woodwork for a bit now, so didn't use this extensively. What I did before, I was using the diamond lapping films from the leevalley that I attached to a piece of glass. And after going through all of them, I was getting the sharpness that I was happy with. I also put those films under microscope some time back - Lee Valley Diamond Lapping Film under microscope
Thanks Ilya!
Hi,
I bought these two plates from Aliexpress for about $5 incl. shipping. They are now in use for about 6 months.
They are only 1 or 2 mms thick with some foam backing. I stuck some aluminium profile and an old plastic ruler on a granite tile to hold them and provide a flat surface.
The profile I had lying around and the tile I got for $2 from a recycle shop.
I know it's not the best set up, but works for me for now and I do get the blades sharp enough to shave my arms and legs ;-)
For the price I think it's better than sandpaper stuck on glass and definitely more durable. But eventually I want to upgrade to proper plates.
Just sharing my 5 cents worth in terms of experience. They do show some rust so not sure when I need to replace them.
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