Surface plate

[Freds Edge]

Opaul I have the same one on my work desk , use it all the time.

 

[Bruce McLeish]

Opaul I have the same one on my work desk , use it all the time.

Me too

 

[Drew Riley]

Last year Tim Zowada and I visited a guy who laps those things to certify them for incredible tolerances. It was a real treat to watch him work because, believe it or not, the most accurate lapping is still done by hand with a cast iron plate and carefully applied diamond powder. He checks it with a laser collimator type device until it is true to almost unbelievable tolerances. My plate for laying out swords is 5' long, so it would be too much to move, but it would be fun to have it worked and certified.

Tom Lipton showed a little bit of the process on his channel a while back. Fascinating stuff for sure.