[ATM] Will Alum Oxide fine grind quartz blank?

[Mark Cowan]

Al2O3 is only a little harder than SiO2 and it will grind it, but very slowly.  For quartz I use SiC through 500 grit and then switch to the (similar size) 25 micron aluminum oxide and finish with 15 micron before polishing.  On quartz it's really only good for smoothing the 500 grit surface, in my experience, but it does a fine job of that given a fairly smooth surface to work with. 

Best,
Mark

--- On Wed, 10/7/09, Shane LaPierre <shane at ct-astronomer.com> wrote:

> From: Shane LaPierre <shane at ct-astronomer.com>
> Subject: [ATM] Will Alum Oxide fine grind quartz blank?
> To: "ATM list" <atm at atmlist.net>
> Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 7:41 PM
> For my fine grits, Or do I need to
> use Silicon Carbide through all the grades?
> 
> Thanks,
> Shane
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