How to flatten a water stone without a diamond lapping plate?


Nick2cd

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When I went to the Sigma stones, sandpaper didn't last long.  I now have Atoma 140, and 400 diamond sheets mounted to a granite surface plate for stone flattening.  The sheets have adhesive on one side, and are sold in Japan as replacement sheets for Atoma diamond plates.  I don't know where you would get them now that Tools from Japan is out of business.

Woodcraft used to put 9x12 granite surface plates on sale several times a year.  Haven't checked in a few years though.

It is possible to produce a flat surface with only two pieces.  When we built optical flats, when I was a teenager building telescopes, there was just the blank, and the tool.  Both pieces started out as not unusually flat,  round pieces of glass.  We could get them flat to less than a 1/4 wavelength of light.  My friend that used to do that with me was one of the lead Scientists on the James Webb Telescope, and some years earlier was on the team that fixed the Hubble.

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