A lot of users of the WE use sandpaper for taking out the aggressive scratches from the diamond stones. I figure, if I use sandpaper I’d attach the strops to my 1k grit stone.
What adhesives or methods do you all use for modifying stones in this way?
Sand paper, by its very nature makes scratches… that why they use water on the final finish and color sanding to be a lubricant. all of the micron pastes have a lubricant in them… you would not want to use water ( wet-n-dry sandpaper ) on your W.E. They sell these pastes that are designed to be applied directly to a W.E. strop… 0.5 micron is the same as using 50,000 grit sand paper. 1.0 micron is the same as using 10,000 grit sandpaper. you can buy micron paste in any flavor ( grit ) 1.5 micron, 2.5 micron etc. and it has the lubricant already in it. dry sand paper is not the way to go if you are looking for a mirror finish.
I know I did not answer your question, I was just trying to help you avoid a problem.. they also sell lapping tapes with an adhesive back .
The aluminum platens sold under the “Accessory Stones” menu make for a very nice basis with any of the PSA-backed abrasives available at any number of sites. The diamond film sold here is already cut to match the WE platens. They also offer glass platen stones. I started out with glass but have migrated to brass, as I think there’s less chance of scratching. Brass and aluminum are much softer than steel and glass is much harder.
Not really broken glass, but sharp corners or edges which can accidentally scratch the main bevels. I made my own glass platens before WE offered theirs and I had a lot of scratch problems.
A lot of users of the WE use sandpaper for taking out the aggressive scratches from the diamond stones. I figure, if I use sandpaper I’d attach the strops to my 1k grit stone. What adhesives or methods do you all use for modifying stones in this way?
Aloha Brad, Ive used a variety of different sandpaper strips simply cut & taped onto a 1000 grit paddle to great success from the beginning. One of the Key Advantages of this approach is there is no change in the angle since I am using the same paddle.
Just last week I saw someone post about double sided sticky tape and had to check it out. Short answer is it rocks! I removed and replaced well over 30 strips without it losing its adhesion.
For those on a tight budget this is certainly a way to get there but AlO2 lapping films are single use items not like the more durable diamond films available. I personally count that as an advantage since every time I tape a fresh one on I know exactly what the grit will do.
~Cliff