Flattening water stones
Dominic Greco at home in Richboro, PA
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Hi Everyone!
My wife bought me a nice set of Japanese water stones for Christmas and I have been sharpening my little heart out here. She got me the Cabinetmakers Sharpening Set by Lee Valley. Complete with the "Stone Pond", honing guide, and flattening plate. She also tossed in a nagura stone and a Veritas grinder rest. (ain't she cool?)
Never being one to leave well enough alone I added a 1200 grit, and 200 grit stone to go along with the included 800 and 4000 grit stones. So I'm pretty much set here. Armed with my trusty copy of "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" by Leonard Lee, I felt pretty prepared.
After flattening, and sharpening (5) chisels, (2) plane blades, and (2) block planes (flattening the sole, blades and lever cap) my 200 grit stone has needed to be flattened several times. This is not too difficult of a task. You just need some patience and a steady hand. But I've noticed something just today.
I have worn a small hole in the mylar (plastic laminate) that covers the glass lapping plate. Before I go out and order more laminate, or try flattening the stone with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper, am I doing something wrong? Am I applying too much force and wearing out the stone and/or mylar covered glass prematurely?
Thanks in advance.
See ya around,
Dominic