Friends! Flatten your Platen!!!!!

rhinoknives

rhinoknives

Well-Known Member
We have had many threads lately concerning plunge lines & other points of symmetry concerning our grinding results.

I just caught myself again today, Being frustrated with waves and chatter and a lack of a clean grind today. Then it dawned on me as it does every so often since I am a fast learner and a faster forget-or sometimes.

Today I realized that it wasn't the belt, angle or my hold, It was time to!
Flatten My Platen!
Even though I use ceramic glass and tile most of the time as a fixure, I grind a lot of knives and don't always have the next piece read to superglue up to my platen and end up using the plain steel.

I use my 6 x 48 with a 120 grit belt to flatten both directions until there is no more hollow in the middle and then roll each side lightly to soften the shoulders.

So this is my contribution for the evening for you new makers or other sometimes forgetful ones like me.

Cheers and have fun!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Laurence,
Great reminder ! The same goes for contact wheels too, I have been struggling with the finish on my hollow grinds lately and come to find out my wheel is not flat anymore across the surface. Kicking myself for having my wheels recovered with poly, been nothing but trouble since I had it done. My last rubber wheels lasted for so many years trouble free. It is time to shell out the big bucks and get my rubber wheels back.
Clint
 
Clint,
I always say,
Only cry once! Buy the best and you won't be sorry every time you use it.

Remembering to release the belt tension helps keep you from getting flat spots on your wheels.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Laurence brings up a good point.

Do yourself a favor. Go to a home center and pick up a granite 12"X12" tile. Have them cut it into 2" wide by however long your platen is long then JB weld the granite to your platen. Special glass, hardened steel, titanium...I don't know of too many things more stable and tougher than granite:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks Jeff,
Yes Granite is hard, but it can also be porous and then not always a consistent hardness for backing. I have done well with the ceramic glass & many different kinds of Ceramic tile.

Sometimes if I have just one or two smaller blades to grind out I am too lazy to break out the tile saw to cut a few up. That's when I go back to a naked steel platen.

I personally just use about 4-5 drops of superglue to adhere the Glass/tile to the platen.

I have been able to pop the liner of ceramic glass off with just a few smacks of a rubber mallet and after cleaning off the glue with Acetone been able to use the other side which is very helpful considering the cost of the ceramic glass.

The tile usually just breaks but the platen clean up is still faster that using J.B. weld.

Thanks for the responses!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
FWIW, I use double sided carpet tape. I'll stick a piece on my platen, and then a second piece on my ceramic glass platen liner, making sure to smooth them out and use plenty of pressure, then I'll remove the backing on each and stick them together.

One VERY CRITICAL SUPER IMPORTANT detail, however, is that I have a small ledge at the bottom of my platen that the liner rests on. Theoretically, belt tension alone would keep the liner in place. I wouldn't trust ANY adhesive without that ledge there.

When it's time to change the liner, I just hit the glass with a torch to loosen the adhesive on the tape. A little putty knife helps too. Then I clean everything with acetone, and apply new tape.

I've run my flat platen for hours, so that it was almost uncomfortably warm, and the glass hasn't budged. Works like a charm.
 
ARCustomKnives said:
FWIW, I use double sided carpet tape. I'll stick a piece on my platen, and then a second piece on my ceramic glass platen liner, making sure to smooth them out and use plenty of pressure, then I'll remove the backing on each and stick them together.

One VERY CRITICAL SUPER IMPORTANT detail, however, is that I have a small ledge at the bottom of my platen that the liner rests on. Theoretically, belt tension alone would keep the liner in place. I wouldn't trust ANY adhesive without that ledge there.

When it's time to change the liner, I just hit the glass with a torch to loosen the adhesive on the tape. A little putty knife helps too. Then I clean everything with acetone, and apply new tape.

I've run my flat platen for hours, so that it was almost uncomfortably warm, and the glass hasn't budged. Works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Andrew,
Thanks for the carpet tape idea. I have always just used superglue without a ledge on the bottom for the glass to sit on and haven't had a problem.

Carpet tape sounds less messy and easier to use along with not risking breaking the glass to use the other side.

My platen gets hot enough to burn me after I have been grinding for say 30 minutes.

Thank again.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com

I do 90% of my bevel grinding after heat treatment.
 
Wow.... I'm VERY surprised to hear that a few drops of super glue is all that's keeping your platen on.

What kind of glue are you using?
 
ARCustomKnives said:
Wow.... I'm VERY surprised to hear that a few drops of super glue is all that's keeping your platen on.

What kind of glue are you using?
Click to expand...

Andrew,
Just regular run of the mill Hardware store superglue. Nothing fancy.

Like you said, the belt tension does most of it I use about 5 drops at the most. The corners and one in the middle.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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