Graphite Platen Backer

J. Hoffman

J. Hoffman

Dealer - Purveyor
A friend gave me a piece of graphite platen backing that he had for his edge sander. The stuff has a peel/stick backing and hard bits of graphite on the front for the belt to ride against. He stated it is a huge help for sanding wood. Has anyone tried this stuff on a grinder platen. Is there something I should be concerned about before I try it? It's suppose to reduce friction, heat and wear on the platen.
 
My Grizzly grinder came with a graphite covered platen and I removed it. The problem with it on a knife grinder is that it wears unevenly and has minor give to it. Makes it almost impossible to get a perfectly flat grind. It does reduce friction but even on my 36" wide belt at the cabinet shop, I have to change it out because of wear and uneven sanding.
 
GeneK said:
My Grizzly grinder came with a graphite covered platen and I removed it. The problem with it on a knife grinder is that it wears unevenly and has minor give to it. Makes it almost impossible to get a perfectly flat grind. It does reduce friction but even on my 36" wide belt at the cabinet shop, I have to change it out because of wear and uneven sanding.
Click to expand...
36"! Pictures please.
 
Go to the box store and look through there granite tile. If you can find one that has been used as a sample, or one that has a chip, they will discount it. If you don't have a wet saw a right angle grinder a water hose and diamond blade works fine!! Check out these photos.

Here is a pic of the tile. They sold for $11.00 @ sq ft. so $11.00 dollars a tile. It had been on display so did not have to get it from a whole box. I took it too customer service and told them my wife was wanting to retile the bathroom and I wanted this one for a sample to take home to her! It has a scratch and so how about $3.00 dollars off. OK so I walked out with a 12 x 12 granite tile for $8.00. So I figure even with waste for cuts I can get 5 cuts from each tile! Not bad for $8.00! Here is the flaw it was so minor it was hard to see but a flaw is a flaw!! :D

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137270589@N02/28498103314/in/album-72157660303660836/

This is my primitive set-up for a wet saw. I clamped a piece of angle iron to the tile to use as a straight edge when making the cut. Don't laugh it works!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137270589@N02/28833231390/in/album-72157660303660836/

My platen is custom made by me. It has a keeper top and bottom so, this is the tile bedded with JB Weld

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137270589@N02/28498096294/in/album-72157660303660836/

This is a shot of the platen, as you can see all I do is clean the residue build up off the back of the belts each time I stop to change belts and it is working well. Sorry this shot was a bit blurry but you can see the only thing you get is from the back of the belt and a rag and some acetone knocks it right off!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137270589@N02/39339376074/in/album-72157660303660836/

And I still have the rest of the tile anytime I need another!!
 
It doesn’t work well (at all) for grinding a blade with a clean grind line. It’s too uneven.
It can work for convex bevels and wood sanding - kinda.
It is very slippery as a belt backing
 
It doesn’t work well (at all) for grinding a blade with a clean grind line. It’s too uneven.
It can work for convex bevels and wood sanding - kinda.
It is very slippery as a belt backing
Click to expand...

DITTO! I will also add that it wears quickly during use, and you never are grinding the same from pass to pass..... in other words it changes shape with each pass (when trying to grind a blade or steel). Until somebody finds something better, "glass" is the way to go for a platen face.
 
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