Shapton Compact Lapping Plate

[John Dykes]

I think about a year ago Woodcraft dropped the Shapton line. I was in the store by my office at lunch; and on the clearance rack, they had the Shapton Compact Lapping plate for $90 (but the box is open, and there aren't any powders with it).

I've been using the large DMT coarse\x-coarse (set on the kitchen counter) too rub my Shaptons across. Seems to work pretty well - but I've been a little worried about the flattness of the DMT (thin plastic plate laying on a coutertop).

Now I don't have money burning a hole in my pocket - but Woodcraft is having 15% off sale the morning of March 1, and I'm tempted to try it. But again, I'd have to buy powders... Or I assume I would, I don't use powders on the DMT. (?)

Keep truckin' on the DMT or make a move on the Shapton plate - and start looking for powder?

Thanks -
- jbd in Denver

[Mike Henderson]

I've been using a DMT to flatten my Shaptons. Works fine. The DMT will stay flat. Check your Shaptons with a straight edge after you flatten them on the DMT. If they're flat (and I expect they will be), don't spend any more money.

Use that "found" money for something else

Mike

[Wilbur Pan]

Hi John,

The quick and easy way to see if your diamond stones are doing the job for you is to lay a straightedge across your waterstones after you finish flattening them. If that tells you that the surface is flat, then your diamond plates are good enough.

I use Shapton stones, and I bought the compact lapping plate when I first started, and it does work very well. You can get the powder separately, and you have to make sure that you get the right powder for the grit of your stone. If I were to do it over again, I might have gotten a coarse DMT diamond stone instead, as they still will flatten the waterstones, and I could also use it as a coarse stone for grinding out nicks. But I don't regret having bought the compact lapping plate.

On the other hand, the one thing to worry about is the theoretic possibility of a diamond coming off the diamond stone and embedding itself into the waterstone. But if this were to happen, you probably would have noticed it already.

Overall, if the diamond stone is already doing a good job flattening your waterstones, I'd go blow the $90 on something else. If not, then I'd get the lapping plate.

The powders are available from many mail order sources: Hida Tool, Japan Woodworker, and shaptonstones.com

[Wilbur Pan]

And again Mike says what I was trying to say, only much more concisely and eloquently.

He types fast, too.