granite suface plate/height gage???

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
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I'm going to graduate from the school of a slab of micarta and a chunk of file ground to a point...to a granite surface plate and height gage for lay-out work.

I'm curious what you guys have and where you got it?

Grizzly seems to be selling the plates at the lowest cost and Enco seems to have the least expensive height gages. I'd like to come out of this in the lower cost range...not looking to spend $500 on a plate and $500 on a gage.

I'd really appreciate some input :)

Thanks,
Nick
 
Keep an eye on MSC, Nick. If you don't get them now, call and get their sale catalogs. I paid $23 for a 12x12" granite surface plate. It's not NIST traceable but it's flat!

They also had surface guages on sale recently at an attractive price, sorry, can't remember the price. Enco had em in their current sale catalog for $78.95 and 12x18 surface plate for $24.

If you look around, there is a little gizmo base that lets you use a
regular caliper as a height guage. If you have a spare caliper, it only costs about $25.

Hope this helps.
 
I was just looking through my Lee Valley catalog last night (for some riffler files) and saw they have a height guage for about $56 bucks, they recommend it for measuring depth of cut on table saws, but it looks like a good one.
IMHO, $500 for each, is more like the high end, most of the height guages I have seen were under $200. I got lucky and bought my granite at a garage sale-$8.
Brome
 
Here's my setup:

14166829-8b99-02000180-.jpg


The height gage is 12" and the surface plate is 12" X 18". Both came from MSC for about $200 total (on sale). I live close to the distribution center in Jonestown, so shipping costs weren't an issue. ;)
 
I got a 9x12x3 granite slab from HF for $20 or $30, forget which. Enco has them for similar prices, and they're within .0001. Don't have the height gauge, but this whole thing could be done for under $100, if you really want the gauge (or well over $1000). Personally I'd spend the $500 on something else, such as a small lathe, or whatever.
 
Call me dumb, but what do you use those things for? Don't tell me I missed something all these years :)

Hey, Tom, you cut it pretty close on the arc for the detent ball, doncha? :)
 
Originally posted by Kit Carson
Hey, Tom, you cut it pretty close on the arc for the detent ball, doncha? :)
Click to expand...

That's why I draw my folders using CAD! :D

Seriously - You don't need something like this to layout the centerline of a blade for grinding.

If you use precision ground 1/8" thick stock, you can use a piece of glass and a sharpened 1/8" welding tungsten (or pointed 1/8" drill shank). Same goes for 5/32", 3/16", 1/4" or whaterever thickness - just get the correct diameter scribe and make sure it's really ground on center!

Height gages are great for measuring flatness and laying out bolt patterns, though! ;)
 
I got my 12 inch dial height gage from Enco for, I think, about 80 bucks. It is precise and with the granite block you get a scribe that is what you see on the dial. I may have got my block from Enco too but it may have been from Grizzly.

Roger
 
Some of you must have misread my post, if you look, I said "NOT looking to spend $500 on each."

Thanks for the advice guys :)

Nick
 
Originally posted by Kit Carson
Call me dumb, but what do you use those things for? Don't tell me I missed something all these years :)

Hey, Tom, you cut it pretty close on the arc for the detent ball, doncha? :)
Click to expand...

Kit, the beauty of these things is, you don't have to do anything with them. You just set them at the far edge of your workbench, and customers seeing them are so impressed, that you can add at least $200.00 to the price of their knives. Submit a few knife shots to magazines, with these items in the background, and you can charge everybody more. ;) :p :D :eek:
 
Geez, I hardy ever use my micrometer. So are these gizmos mostly for folder work? When I need something fairly flat I use a polished marble tile I got at Home Depot. Seriously, I'm sure a granite plate and height gauge would be VERY useful if you do a lot of precision folder work, espcially if you have a milling machine/surface grinder.
 
Hi Mike,


Originally posted by Mike Hull
Nick, don't forget Harbor freight. They carry these, ...
Click to expand...

If you could post a link to the item on the Harbor freight site or have an item number for in store sales I'd appreciate it. I don't find it online and my local Harbor Freight doesn't seem to carry these.

All surface plates I've priced online seem to have at least a $35 shipping fee attached. Anyone else know where to get one for a good price including shipping?

-Darren
 
Darren, call customer service at HF. The sales girls won't be much help. They are not in every catalog.
 
Granite slabs are limited quantity, but shipping is free if you spend over $50, so see what else you need. I'll try to find the part number, HF's search engine isn't the greatest.
 
used machinery business will sell you both for less than $200.

both of those items do NOT wear out.
 
Nick-This may be off the wall,but at my workplace they hold several govt. surplus auctions every year.At these auctions they auction granite slabs and the big granite tables for only a buck or two! A couple of years ago I bought 5 of the big granite tables which are 3 big slabs-the two sides and the top.I have one left.They weigh several hundred lbs.,but just lift apart because the top is drilled on the underneath side and sits down on copper studs that sit in drilled holes on the top of the side/leg slabs.Pretty neat and simple.If You guys are interested,I can keep my eys open at the auctions if you want one of these or one of the regular small table top slabs.I beleive the most I ever paid for one of these tables is $2.50 , got some for $1.00. Nobody wanted them at the auction! Let me know.I might add it takes two guys to lift each of the 3 slabs,unless you are a really BIG GUY! Also,the auction is a PUBLIC AUCTION at Middletown Iowa ,at the IAAAP. I'll post the auction info on the forum when I get it,folks. The next auction is probably this spring,and about everything except hand tools is really cheap!
 
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