Dr.Al
Old Oak
At the risk of getting a bit close to a banned topic, I thought some people on here might be interested in a cheap source of HUGE diamond plates. Big plates make things a bit easier in my (limited) experience. DMT diamond plates are bigger than most (8" x 3", so about 200 mm x 75 mm), but they're very expensive.
After spending an unreasonable amount of time searching ebay, I found these thin diamond plates for less than £9 each. They're 230 mm x 80 mm, so even bigger than the DMT ones, but only about 1 mm thick, so can't be guaranteed to give a flat surface. However, you can either stick them down to some plywood or, as I did, buy some 10 x 80 mm aluminium flat bar, saw it to length and stick the plate down with some Loctite 603 or similar. For about £55 (or £26 if you don't buy the aluminium), you can get three huge diamond plates in whatever grit sizes you want.
There are cheaper versions (about £6 each) that are a bit smaller (170 mm x 75 mm) and very easy to find on ebay (search "diamond plate"), but I wanted something a bit bigger and they're harder to find.
I've been using mine for a month or so now and they seem very good. I don't know how long they'll last compared to DMT's ones, but as a hobbyist I suspect they'll probably do me for a very long time.
I wasn't sure whether to post this as I was worried it would turn into a sharpening thread; if mods think I've gone a bit close to that topic, then feel free to close the thread!
After spending an unreasonable amount of time searching ebay, I found these thin diamond plates for less than £9 each. They're 230 mm x 80 mm, so even bigger than the DMT ones, but only about 1 mm thick, so can't be guaranteed to give a flat surface. However, you can either stick them down to some plywood or, as I did, buy some 10 x 80 mm aluminium flat bar, saw it to length and stick the plate down with some Loctite 603 or similar. For about £55 (or £26 if you don't buy the aluminium), you can get three huge diamond plates in whatever grit sizes you want.
There are cheaper versions (about £6 each) that are a bit smaller (170 mm x 75 mm) and very easy to find on ebay (search "diamond plate"), but I wanted something a bit bigger and they're harder to find.
I've been using mine for a month or so now and they seem very good. I don't know how long they'll last compared to DMT's ones, but as a hobbyist I suspect they'll probably do me for a very long time.
I wasn't sure whether to post this as I was worried it would turn into a sharpening thread; if mods think I've gone a bit close to that topic, then feel free to close the thread!