To: atm{at}shore.net
From: Glenn Becker 
Reply-To: Glenn Becker 


Good morning, ATM-ers,

I thought I would type a small update for those who are following my tale
of a dank hydrostone tool ...

Last week I ordered a Dremel, partly out of a thought that I might be able
to grind down the bad area on my tile tool, but also out of a desire to
"get myself something nice" despite the fact that I am
perpetually poor and eat a lot of Peanut Butter Dinners. ;D

Then, while sitting around antsy this weekend, I recalled that I'd
purchased a grinding stone in case I needed to re-bevel my mirror. So
yesterday I manually ground away at the high tiles, tested, ground some
more, tested, and ground until I could no longer feel any grabbing.

Unfortunely, I picked up a few fragments of tile in the process and made
some *nasty* scratches on the mirror. Chalk this up as another lesson
learned!

I retreated to #500 carborundum and ground a sufficient number of hours to
make my 41 year-old lower back very stiff. The scratches disappeared and
then I ground 2 1/2 hours further, just to make sure. I am back where I was
before I went to 12 micron a week ago ... except for a couple of small edge
chips from banging into raised tiles.

I should mention that I am grinding exclusively tool on top. Did a sharpie
test and it revealed that the center of the mirror was slightly high - not
bad, but perhaps enough to contribute to the "vacu-drag" I
experienced. Also, tool on top means less dunking of the tool, since the
muck moves down and off the sides of the mirror instead of plugging up the
channels so much. And when you suspect your tool is degrading because it's
taken on water, the less dunking, the better.

I'm hoping to hold everything together through 12 and 5 micron and then
proceed to the polishing. Are there issues with my finishing out tool on
top exclusively?

Thanks for everyone's help.

Glenn

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