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BB Surface Plate on Sale

@JustaDB since you mentioned Calgary - I got tired of the perpetual BB sale bait runaround so more out of principle I don't play their game. If a business can't figure out basic inventory in this modern era of computers, sorry, I have a problem with that. I ended up buying a Sowa Grade B through DMH Tools in Calgary. Probably you could source from T.Skinner & other Sowa distributers. They may already have stock where you just pick up. Or they may incorporate into shipments from Edmonton & you wait a week. They may charge you extra for weight shipping (but not postal rates). But they may offer a dealer discount over catalog list price. Mine was somewhere in between these factors, so call & inquire. I see the list price has also gone up since I bought.

Personally I'm glad I got this slightly larger size. It seems more practical real estate to get both common shop parts plus indicator stuff. At this price level they are all Asian made. But from people who have the testing equipment, they seem to generically be pretty good & within spec. My friend tested a bunch as a courtesy & only a few were outside of 'very official looking' specs. Happened to be Lee Valley but who knows, maybe Tuesdays shipment was different than Mondays.

12"x18" Grade B Black Granite Surface Plate - Inspection Surface Plates

12"x18" Grade B Black Granite Surface Plate - • Brand: STM<br>• Color : Black<br>• Material : Granite<br>• Overall Unilateral Flatness Tol. (Decimal Inch) : ±0.0001<br>• <a href="/INTERSHOP/static/BOS/Sowa-Site/Webshop_CA/Sowa-Webshop_CA/en_US/Catalogue-Pages/F20.pdf">Download catalogue page</a>
www.sowatool.com www.sowatool.com
 
PeterT said:
@JustaDB since you mentioned Calgary - I got tired of the perpetual BB sale bait runaround so more out of principle I don't play their game.
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Thx for the tip. I've never dealt w/ BB before, so we'll see how it goes. Told 'em I wouldn't be up for at least a couple weeks, they said it wouldn't be an issue. Time will tell.
 
Find a someone local BB that has one in stock to purchase for you, shipping across Canada is about $65.00 using Netparcel.com . I price checked from my place (ON) to @David_R8 place (BC).

BB doesn't know how to use third party shipping service.
 
JustaDB said:
Thx for the tip. I've never dealt w/ BB before, so we'll see how it goes. Told 'em I wouldn't be up for at least a couple weeks, they said it wouldn't be an issue. Time will tell.
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canadianhobbymetalworkers.com

Product - Brand New BusyBee surface plate with a scratch/gouge in it

First time granite surface plate buyer here. BusyBee is always out of stock on their B grade 12x18 surface plates, so I put in a backorder request in july for one. The surface plate came in last week and I picked it up today. The plate finished surface has a 8" long scratch/gouge in it. Easily...
canadianhobbymetalworkers.com canadianhobbymetalworkers.com
 
I got a piece of 1/2" glass free off FB marketplace. Cut it into 4 pieces 12" x 18". Lapped them onto the glass I was using for the top. $10 for lapping compound. Had the thinnest mortar already. Built a wooden case from scraps I had gathered over the last couple of years.

I haven't tested it for accuracy. But I mostly use it for marking/measuring small things. (couple inches in any one direction at this point)

Not trying to open a big debate. I'm sure this is accurate enough for me. IF you don't think so you haven't seen the work I do. ;)
 
Tomc938 said:
I got a piece of 1/2" glass free off FB marketplace. Cut it into 4 pieces 12" x 18". Lapped them onto the glass I was using for the top. $10 for lapping compound. Had the thinnest mortar already. Built a wooden case from scraps I had gathered over the last couple of years.

I haven't tested it for accuracy. But I mostly use it for marking/measuring small things. (couple inches in any one direction at this point)

Not trying to open a big debate. I'm sure this is accurate enough for me. IF you don't think so you haven't seen the work I do. ;)
Click to expand...
Doing this can actual get you a good surface to reference from, 1/2 glass does flex so keep the load to a minimum.
 
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