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Thread: My cheap DIY diamond plates
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22nd October 2018, 07:54 AM #1New Member
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My cheap DIY diamond plates
I thought I would share a sharpening system I pieced together that has given me results that I am very satisfied with at a very good price.
To give a quick background - I am relatively new to the hobby and do woodworking in my small, inner suburb apartment and I also have very young children so all power tools (noise) are out of the question. I don't have a dedicated space to work and I usually end up working on my loungeroom floor or on our 2.5x1.5m balcony so cleanliness is also a concern.
I started my attempts at sharpening with an oil stone that was included with a set of chisels that I bought. The oil stone was very, very slow for me and was a little too messy for my situation.
Next I moved on to the "scary sharp" system of sandpaper on glass. I never really like that as the paper tore quickly and the paper didn't seem to last very long.
Paul Sellers has made his system of sharpening (diamond plates) look so easy and I was close to biting the bullet and purchasing a set of plates but the cost was too high for me. Eze-lap plates were going to cost me at least $140AUD each and I wanted at least 3 of them. That added up to more than I've spent on the rest of my tools combined.
While I was looking at the Eze-lap plates on eBay I found the 1mm thick Chinese-made diamond sharpening plates that are discussed in this thread and I decided to give them a run.
I bought 5 grits - 240, 480, 800, 1500 and 3000 for about $7AUD each and glued them to some 8mm thick x 80mm wide flat aluminium bar that I bought for about $40AUD. I also made a strop with some scrap plywood and leather I harvested from an old couch. The compound for the strop cost about $8AUD.
I could not be more satisfied with this setup. Taking a blade from totally dull to shaving arm hair takes 5 minutes max and requires no real skill and little effort. If I just need to give a blade a touch up it takes about 2 minutes. I use a spray of window cleaner for lubrication and a honing guide (included in the set of Trojan chisels I bought) to make sure I get consistent results.
I have been using these home made plates for a couple months now and they seem to be very durable. I think I'll easily get 5+ years out of them. If at any point I do need to replace a plate though it's only about $7AUD.
I encourage any budget-conscious woodworker to give this kind of setup some consideration. I'm very happy with it and I think you will be too.
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22nd October 2018, 09:22 AM #2GOLD MEMBER
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I have been looking at these for some time now and wondering how good they are so I guess I might give them a go. BTW did you buy the aluminium flat bar new and is so from where?
CHRIS
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22nd October 2018, 11:06 AM #3New Member
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Yeah I bought it new from a local aluminium supply company. I bought 1 metre of flat bar and cut it to length. Just make sure its flat. It's easy enough to sand if it's not though.
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22nd October 2018, 04:10 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Welcome to the forum.
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22nd October 2018, 05:22 PM #5Woodworking mechanic
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I bought the same units based on that other post. Mine are mounted on thick glass plate.
They work fine and are lasting well.
I have a range of fine (40 micron) to very fine (1 micron) wet and dry on the other side of the glass plate - I was using those before I bought the plates.
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22nd October 2018, 05:35 PM #6
Considering the situation your in
I think that’s a great starter kit.
I’m not going to go in to the debate on sharpening.
But what you have created works for and that is all that is important.
Cheers Matt,
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22nd October 2018, 09:42 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Thanks for the tip as I cannot afford/justify cost of high quality diamond plates.
Just checked out some of the ~$7 plates on eBay & noticed they state “in order to avoid rust, please wipe the surface of water stains after using”. Are the plates you purchased the same or should I keep searching?
Thx
Peter
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22nd October 2018, 10:12 PM #8SENIOR MEMBER
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In my limited experience, even the more expensive ones will rust if you leave them wet.
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23rd October 2018, 10:10 AM #9New Member
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Yes they sound like the same plates. I give them a rinse and wipe them dry after use and that seems to be keeping things under control. If you leave them wet they would rust a bit. The steel that you remove while sharpening would rust too. It's just a minor cosmetic thing, doesn't affect use at all.
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23rd October 2018, 10:15 AM #10New Member
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Yes, I make no claims that this is the best option for everyone but it meets my needs of affordability/cleanliness/speed. I have stopped looking at other options for sharpening which is a solid indication to me that I'm satisfied. Hopefully this helps someone else too.
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23rd October 2018, 08:07 PM #11
I have a similar set of “stones” recently purchased and waiting to be incorporated into my sharpening station. Mine arrived with a couple of rust spots on the reverse side but they rubbed off quickly.
I’ve never used water as a lubricant in my sharpening systems; I prefer to use WD40 in a trigger sprayer. The filings float off quite happily and the Rust Fairy never pops round for a visit when I get distracted by SWMBO and have to leave the job for two minutes... which usually takes the rest of the afternoon.
The Big Green Shed sells WD40 in the tool section in 4L containers.Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.
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24th October 2018, 09:46 AM #12GOLD MEMBER
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Excellent news. You built up a system that's fast and economical as well.
Can't beat something that works consistently!
I have mostly curved wood carving edges, adzes and smaller.
I use sandpapers on mandrels, even a tennis ball.
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26th October 2018, 06:55 AM #13Novice
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I've done exactly the same thing Herbonius and I completely agree. It's an excellent cost-effective sharpening system and I couldn't be more satisfied.
I did lap my aluminium plates on some sandpaper-on-glass first to guarantee flatness and I used a thin coat of spray adhesive to glue on the diamond plates. I haven't needed to replace the plates yet but I expect when that day comes I'll just lever off the diamond sheet with a paint scraper blade, sand the plate flat again and glut the next sheet on. Far more economical that buying another EZI-lap plate.
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26th October 2018, 08:06 AM #14New Member
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I've been looking at these cheap plates for some time... they're still in a shopping cart for one of the online sellers
What I've used for some time now is an Aldi special! Four diamond plates mounted on a block. The grits are 200, 300, 400 and 600. They're 10 bucks a throw which is ridiculous cheap and they stock them at least once a year (AU). Now that's not quite enough to get to arm-hair-shaving-sharp but it quickly brings a dull or chipped blade back to life. The plates have oval perforations in them - holes - which makes them unsuitable for chisels under about 12mm, although it can be done.
After that I move to my scary sharp board: A piece of laminate benchtop that was originally the cutout for a bathroom basin! If the laminate isn't textured it should be quite flat. The 38mm top is a two piece laminated chipboard. Cheap - yes! Flat - yes! Four strips of 800, 1200, 1500 and 2000. The paper will tear but I find as I've improved my technique I only change them out every few months or so. (I usually sharpen my set of chisels weekly on average.) I don't use a sharpening guide.
I've used water for lubricant and the issue with rust is simple: steel rusts, diamond does not. So a rusty plate really cleans itself once you work up a slight slurry. Then again, WD40 as Chief Tiff suggests works - I just can't stand the smell of it that hangs around on my hands afterwards. I like Paul Sellers method and I've tried windex but water is just more convenient for me.
For a strop I glued a piece of leather to a strip of plywood. MDF is arguably better but for a strop it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I have three of these, one plain, and two loaded with abradant: green and white. I usually use the green and I find that a few hits of the board is all it takes to get a mirror finish that's responsible for the bald patches on my arm! One tip here, stretch the leather a little when gluing it.
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