12" x 12" Tile for Flattening Planes

[Jonathan Martell]

I haven't been able to scrounge up a large piece of glass like some people use. Paul Sellers uses a tile for flattening. Is there something readily available that works better? One of my planes is all of 12" long, and would need something a bit bigger I think.

Thanks

[Dave Parkis]

I think that would work for block planes, but I'd prefer something larger for bench planes. I would check and see if there are any places nearby that do granite counter tops and see what they have in their scrap pile. A lot of us have obtained leftover pieces out of a counter top for free.

[Jim Matthews]

The local home center or flooring supplier might have larger 24x24 tiles.

I went to the kitchen countertop maker and bought a granite sink cut out for mine.
If you go with a large tile, make sure to put a drawer liner under it,
so it can't slide around.

[Frederick Skelly]

I agree with whats said by others above. I think I paid $20 for a piece thats 8" x 30", and that was more than I should have paid,but I needed it that day. 8" wide lets me glue two different grits of abrasive down at the same time. If I had it to do over Id get it wide enough for 3 strips. I like the 30" length because I can take very long strokes, thereby speeding the process.

I use a 12"x12" granite tile like youre thinking about for flattening my shapton ceramic stone and certain shapening tasks. Got a nice flat one at the box store. (Be sure to check for flatness with a good straight edge.)

Fred

[Jim Koepke]

I went to a monument maker (tombstone carver) and bought a 4' long hunk of granite for $25. It is flat but only wide enough for one width of abrasive.

I built a tall saw horse to hold it.

My advise is to leave the sole of a plane alone unless it is causing problems. Without extreme care and regular removal of filings from the abrasive you can end up making the plane worse than it was when you started.

I keep a magnet covered in paper nearby to remove the iron filings every few strokes.

jtk

[ian maybury]

Watch out if using a tile for flatness - the glazed clay variety is unlikely to be very flat. Even the ground/polished vitrified (fired though) tiles are not necessarily as flat as you might think.

Before buying anything it's maybe worth digging about for one of the budget Chinese granite surface plates now coming in - they cost a bit more than glass, but not as much as you might think and it's a lifetime job...

[Jonathan Martell]

Thanks for the warning. The tiles are polished granite instead of clay tiles. I think I'll see if I can find a granite counter place that has some sink cut outs that they would let go for cheap. A piece of tile would be ok for chisels and irons though. At least until I can afford some decent diamond sharpening plates.

Thanks guys.

[ian maybury]

Shop front facings etc are another source of material. If you could find a job in progress or a company specialising in the work you might even be able to bum some offices. ;) You might even be able to help yourself late at night on some street or other - it came as a bit of a shock to see in the case of a recently constructed local bookshop (when a panel fell off) with polished marble facing that it was only secured with construction adhesive over timber battens...

[Paul Sidener]

The top of a table saw would work as well, if you have one. Or get a piece of granite from Woodcraft. They come with documentation for flatness. I bought one after I broke a second piece of glass.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/153109/Granite-Surface-Plate-6-x-18-x-2-A-Grade.aspx

[Curt Putnam]

I have some granite 12 x 12 tiles. I trust them to be flat enough for 80 grit work, no more. Further, unless you are talking about block planes leave the flattening to TablesawTom or any other local professional who has a surface grinder and who is familiar with planes and cast iron. Since there aren't any, talk to TablesawTom who is resident here on the the Creek. Seriously, Tom is a straight up guy; I have two of his planes. Equally seriously, don't try to flatten anything larger than a block plane youself. The pain, strain and failures just aren't worth the $40 he charges for a .0015 grind on the sole and sides with sides square to sole within .0015.

JMO & YMWV

[ian maybury]

Ta Paul. The Woodcraft link above is a nice example of the sort of low cost surface plate i was thinking of...

[Larry Edgerton]

The top of a table saw would work as well, if you have one. Or get a piece of granite from Woodcraft. They come with documentation for flatness. I bought one after I broke a second piece of glass.
.x (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/153109/Granite-Surface-Plate-6-x-18-x-2-A-Grade.aspx)

This is what I do as well. I use 3M stickit paper right on the jointer table, peel it off when done. Works well for planes and miter fences, etc.

[Jeff Heath]

I think that would work for block planes, but I'd prefer something larger for bench planes. I would check and see if there are any places nearby that do granite counter tops and see what they have in their scrap pile. A lot of us have obtained leftover pieces out of a counter top for free.

Yep. This is what I've always used. I kept the sink and cooktop cutouts from our kitchen countertop job.

[Tom M King]

Ta Paul. The Woodcraft link above is a nice example of the sort of low cost surface plate i was thinking of...

I've bought two at different times, when they were on sale for 25 bucks. One I cut up on a brick and tile saw, because I like the height and heft, to use with the diamond lapping films. I had four of the films on one plate, and decided I'd like it better if cut into individual pieces, which works great for me.

A splash of water really will keep wet-or-dry paper or film in place with nothing else. I use two light aluminum bars to hold down the sides, because some of the coarser papers want to roll their edges up.

I liked these so much that I bought a big one off of craigslist. No question about how flat they are.

I'm waiting for TfJ to reopen after the holidays to order an Atoma film to go on the other small surface plate. I don't really have a use for it since I bought the larger one. They're a lot of fun for the 25 bucks.

[Stew Denton]

Here is one more for Tablesaw Tom. He recently did a plane for me. I would recommend his work.

I also recently bought a piece of Granite of guaranteed flatness from Woodcraft. I think the 9X12X2 piece that I paid about $35 for is currently on sale for $25, of course it went on sale 3 days after I bought mine. Mine is for sharpening work, and for flattening the backs of plane irons with sandpaper, not for use on my planes. I will send them to Tom, if they need flattening.

I should add that Tom advised me to try the plane first before sending it to him. He said to clean it up, sharpen it, and try it. He advised that it may work fine "as is" without any flattening.

I have checked some pieces of granite that we had left over from our counter top, I used a machinists straight edge to check the granite pieces. What I found was that the granite counter top pieces we had did not even remotely qualify for being called "flat." I also checked a couple of pieces for my Son-in-Law. He and our daughter had very expensive granite compared to ours. One piece of his was not very flat, and the other piece had one section that turned out to be pretty flat, but the other half of the same sink cutout was not very flat. So the pieces I have checked varied considerably.

Stew

[John Dougherty]

If you have a table saw, you can adhere cut sander belts to the surface to flatten a plane. The only things that is a nuisance is making sure that there's no adhesive on the table afterward. Alternatively you can either go to a company that supplies glass and get a sheet to order, or you can scavenge glass from a glass topped table (there're are some gosh-aweful 1950s tables to be found in used stores). There's also leftover waste from a granite or other stone counter. A neighbor gave me a piece that is nearly four-feet long and three wide.

[Michael Ray Smith]

I don't recall if this suggestion was from another 'Creeker or if I heard it somewhere else, but if you can lay your hands on a printer or copier ready for the recycling center, try scavenging the glass. Supposedly, the surfaces have to be very flat to avoid optical distortion. The glass isn't all that thick, so I think you'd want a reasonably flat, solid surface underneath to keep the glass from flexing. I pulled the glass out of a printer I got rid of a few months ago, but haven't tried it yet.