Aluminum Oxide???

[I J Walton]

Howdy. I'm going through a tutorial on the net on how to make your own ground glass. They say the best grit to grind with is Aluminum Oxide 1000 Grit.

This is almost impossable to find!! I can find it in the US but not in the UK.

Does anyone know where I can find a UK supplier who sells this stuff?

Thanks.

[Seppo.T]

There is two common ways to indicate the "fineness" of this kind of abrasives. Either grits (the american favorite) or microns. High grit number corresponds to fine abrasive but with micron numbers it is the other way. I think 1000 grit is pretty close to 15 microns, but look around and You will find more precise information than this.

[MovieStuff]

Actually, just use aluminum oxide based fine grit sandpaper. I've made plenty of ground glass that way and it works fine.

Roger

[I J Walton]

Thanks for the replies.

So the paper works too, I will look into that, thanks.

Just one question, how fine is the paper that you use?

[monobath]

Here is an excellent Photo Techniques article by Dick Dokas on Making your Own Ground Glass, and it includes a US source for grinding compounds. The author of the article tried several grinding compounds, and then ended up recommending Aluminum Oxide in 5 micron and 3 micron grades.

Here is another source for aluminum oxide, this time from Canada ASM Products

Here's another How to make ground glass article that might be of use, although I didn't notice any list of suppliers for grinding compounds.

Finally, you might post on the Large Format Photography Forum at http://www.photo.net or on Q.T. Luong's Large Format Photography Q&A forum or on the APUG forums to see if anyone knows of any suppliers of Aluminum Oxide in the UK. The first two forums are devoted to large format photography, and LF photographers often make their own gg. APUG is all formats, but there are many LF photogs who post there.

I bought some acid-etched gg for my 8x10 and my 8x20 cameras that is very fine and makes for excellent image resolution. It's very bright and easy to focus. However, it was expensive. I think I paid $60 for the 8x20 piece of glass. Next time I break one, I will grind my own replacement with the 5 micron and 3 micron Aluminum Oxide.

Good luck.

[christoph]

Howdy. I'm going through a tutorial on the net on how to make your own ground glass. They say the best grit to grind with is Aluminum Oxide 1000 Grit.
[snip] Does anyone know where I can find a UK supplier who sells this stuff?

very cool, i was just thinking about how to get a clear, bright groundglass for a 6x6 camera for a documentary project.. can you post the link to the tutorial you found as well? (the ones posted by monobath are a good start as well).
if you find a supply for the aluminium oxide, let me know.. i might jump in if you order some so we could split the cost.
if anybody knows about a supply in germany, i'd offer to order some for other ppl as well ;)

++ christoph ++

[edit: fixed spelling annoying errors]

[MovieStuff]

I have also seen stellar results from valve grinding compound. Just add a bit of water with the stuff between two pieces of glass and begin a gyrating motion with some pressure. I have never actually done it myself but I have seen it produced right in front of me. The interesting thing about valve grinding compound is that the more you work it, the finer the results because the grit breaks down under pressure over time. The work area needs to be bigger than the finished piece of glass because of the gyrating action of grinding one piece of glass against another but the results are first rate.

Roger

[VideoFred]

Here's a Belgian supplier:

http://www.centre-des-abrasifs.com/Menu_uk/Menu.htm



Fred.