Granite Surface Plate

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Deanimator
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Granite Surface Plate

Post by Deanimator »

I've found a good source for granite surface plates that's quite near to my home and has what I consider reasonable prices. I'm looking at an 18"x24"x3" plate.

Any suggestions for where I should go from there? I've still got my wooden cutting board horizontal/vertical cutting board rig, although at some point I'd like to replace it with something a little more sophisticated, at least if I can do so for a reasonable investment.

I work nights, so in between phone calls telling people how to work cash registers, I have lots of time to do research. I've been looking at extruded aluminum pieces. I've been thinking about combining a wide bottom (three slots?) base with a single slot (per face) vertical post, making it convertible between vertical and horizontal.

I'm still using the Wemacro, which has been great.

If I go with the combination of the Misumi type components and the surface plate, how do I interface the two, and interface the combination to my industrial pipe photography table? The latter has worked out great both for macro and still life photography.

Ichthyophthirius
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Post by Ichthyophthirius »

Whatever you do, cover all of the granite surface with a softer material. While granite looks great, it kills lenses of all kinds ("Murphy's law").

elf
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Post by elf »

Cover the granite with a steel plate, 18 gauge or thicker. This allows you to use magnets to position lights, diffusers, etc.

Granite can be drilled with masonry drills. It's best to do it outside and use running water to keep the dust down. The dust can cause silicosis, a serious disease. You can either drill through holes or embed inserts in the hole using epoxy.

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

Just a warning, perhaps needless to say: Granite is hard!! The drill bit will get red hot and the water elf recommends will also help to keep it cool. Use eye protection too.

You might consider whether drilling is really necessary: if you have a thick plate of steel to lay on top of it, epoxy or clamps might be sufficient to fasten them.

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Post by enricosavazzi »

Lou Jost wrote:Just a warning, perhaps needless to say: Granite is hard!! The drill bit will get red hot and the water elf recommends will also help to keep it cool. Use eye protection too.

You might consider whether drilling is really necessary: if you have a thick plate of steel to lay on top of it, epoxy or clamps might be sufficient to fasten them.
If the drill gets red-hot, it is far too hot and something is wrong. This is why the borehole and the tip of the drill must always be in contact with water.

Also, masonry drills are not the right tool for this job. You need a diamond drill with a hollow core. This leaves a "pillar" of stone in the middle of the drill hole. It may be necessary to break it off (e.g. with a blade screwdriver) and remove the pillar from the hole whenever it gets 1-2 cm high, because the hollow space at the tip of the drill bit has only a limited depth.

I would recommend that you use a drill press (not a hand-held drill) and that you start by attaching a ring of plasticine or modeling wax, about 2-3 cm in diameter and 1 cm high, around the place where you will drill. Fill the ring with water before starting to drill, and keep adding water to prevent the drill from running dry (if it runs dry, it will be ruined in seconds).

Don't use the percussion function of the drill, only rotation. Don't apply excessive pressure to the drill bit.
--ES

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

Lou Jost wrote:Just a warning, perhaps needless to say: Granite is hard!! The drill bit will get red hot and the water elf recommends will also help to keep it cool. Use eye protection too.

You might consider whether drilling is really necessary: if you have a thick plate of steel to lay on top of it, epoxy or clamps might be sufficient to fasten them.
I agree about the drilling. I don't have the outdoor facilities for it anyway. I was thinking about epoxy.

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

Does anyone have any comments regarding the use of the two types of aluminum extrusion and whether something needs to go between the wide material on the bottom and the surface plate? I've done some reading and watched some YouTube videos, but I have no experience with aluminum extrusions and don't know anyone else who has.

Also, what (if anything) should go between the plywood table top and the bottom of the surface plate?

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

I don't have any experience with aluminum so can't help you with that.

Sorbothane should go between the granite and the table.

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

Lou Jost wrote:I don't have any experience with aluminum so can't help you with that.

Sorbothane should go between the granite and the table.
That's what I thought, but I wanted confirmation.

Thanks.

As a general concept, would you recommend sorbothane between the aluminum profile and the surface plate?

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

What I'm looking at in terms of the aluminum extrusions:

For the horizontal portion:
Image

For the vertical portion:
Image

Does anyone have any advice regarding interfacing the horizontal portion to the surface plate? Do I need a steel or aluminum plate between them?

Macrero
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Post by Macrero »

Marble > Granite. And also easier to work, drill, polish, etc.
https://500px.com/macrero - Amateurs worry about equipment, Pros worry about money, Masters worry about Light

Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

Sorry for my "noob" question... but what is the big advantage of the stone slabs? They look to be very popular lately... I suspect it is not for the weight, because the density of the iron / steel is much bigger than the granite ...

I'm intriguishd because the granite in my area is of good quality (for home decoration at least) ... the biggest part of it is exported. I own a few boulders in a plot in the mountain in a place named "The raven's nest".. :) I think I could get easy a drilled slab in one of the many quarries or in those places who do work in stone for the graveyards...

3 years ago when my dad passed away we wanted his grave decorated with granite from our home village .. just the main slab was like 2m^2, and the entire work costed like 1.000 euros.. so I imagine a small slab with a couple of holes will not cost very much.
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Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

A big chunk of iron or steel is hard to work with and can be hard to find. As you said, granite is often just laying around.

Yawns
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Post by Yawns »

Lou Jost wrote:A big chunk of iron or steel is hard to work with and can be hard to find. As you said, granite is often just laying around.
thank you ... I'm asking because I am using 15kg of Gymnasium disks between 2 wood boards. (did not use 20Kg because 5KG disks were out of stock in the shop at the time).
It was a quick , cheap and easy "solution", but I'm not sure if it is a good solution, and I bet i can get a granite slab easy and at reasonable cost, if there is a good reason to change.

EDIT: I had a quick look.. I can buy a smooth slab of 60x60x5 (24"x24"x2") for 15 Euro (17 USD maybe)..

ImageFLK_000063 by antonio caseiro, on Flickr
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Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

That's not a bad solution you have there. The only thing about wood is that it is slightly compressible, which can allow microscopic movements of attached vertical structures.

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