Hi all. I've been working out some kinks on my new diy grinder. I made the platen out of a piece of old fireplace lintel. It happened to be 2.5"x3" or so so it was the ideal size. But, i'm starting to wonder if the surface is an issue (i did grind, sand it as flat as i could) and if there's too much friction. Should I have something facing the platen? Is the raw steel not a good idea? If so, is there a budget option that will work okay? I still need so many pieces, parts and tools to get things up and running - I need to pinch some pennies (or start printing money - maybe that's the next machine i'll build....)
Yes you can buy a glass plate to put on you plate. USA knifemaker sells them cheap. Weld on a little piece of steel at the bottom of you plate for it to rest on or you can put a small bolt there then glue it on with JB weld. For me mild steel won't last even the glass will wear out after awhile but it will take a lot more and it's perfect flat.
yes the ledge helps and make sure there are no air bubbles in the epoxy. Had a platen snap right at a air pocket although it was pretty large
Ya. The ledge supports the glass and keeps it from getting sucked down between the belt and wheel and getting scattered throughout the shop. A couple years ago I picked up some ceramic high temperature glass at princess auto for very cheap. It was surplus fireplace window glass. Unfortunately I haven't seen any there since I bought mine. If you can find some, it works great.
Thanks for the advice everyone. What about a ceramic or porcelain tile? Might even be a subway tile 2" wide. Anybody try this before?
