Safely Moving A Surface Plate

Just out of curiosity, how flat is it now? Could it have been done that way to cut down on vibration while checking items for accuracy? Vacant minds want to know.:D Mike
 
Well I have an update, and fortunately it goes beyond managing to live past flipping the plate on it's side. Unfortunately it's not good news.

What I thought was silicone appears to actual be an epoxy of some sort.
IMG_20150221_160338_zps7zvaicuy.jpg
Not sure if that groove was an attempt by someone to saw them from one another, or just something cut in before the epoxy set up. At any rate I tried to make some head way with a piece of metal band saw blade, but got nowhere in a hurry.

I honestly don't know if I have any options at this point, so again please feel free to suggest something. For sake of making the larger plate functional/practical for me to use I'd even entertain breaking up the smaller plate. However I have no clue how to even make a dent in it. Let alone completely remove the bits and pieces from the underside.

FOMOGO: I have no means to check the plate at the moment. As it stands, it's got a semi permanent home in the back of the truck until I find a way to slug it around. At this point I can't even say if my basement stairs could handle the weight of the move..lol

edit: Forgot to add that the larger plate on top is a "micro-flat" made in California, and the bottom is a "rock of ages" which I think is from the Vermont area.
 
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methylene chloride is extremely toxic and if you should decide to use it, put the unit somewhere away from the house!!! Also, if you heat it, it will evaporate very quickly. What you would gain by heating it would be lost by evaporation.
 
methylene chloride is extremely toxic and if you should decide to use it, put the unit somewhere away from the house!!! Also, if you heat it, it will evaporate very quickly. What you would gain by heating it would be lost by evaporation.

I wasn't suggesting heating the methylene chloride. I was suggesting heat as an alternative to solvents. Trouble is, that would mean getting an object he can't even move into an oven.
 
I have no idea what your first photo represents. It's best to show "the big picture" along with the close up shot so that viewers can understand what's going on.
Please post a picture, or two, of the entire unit.
You have written that the 24 x 36 is adhered to a smaller plate. What size is the smaller plate?
Which plate is on top? A couple of decent pictures are worth . . .

I'll hold off on suggestions/speculation 'till the pic show up.
 
Are they both made of granite?

Stuart

Yes... Well as best as I can tell.

hmmm... After doing some digging on the stickered manufacturers I'm even more confused than I originally was. The bottom plate has a "rock of ages" badge which means it was born in Vermont. The top plate being a "Collins micro-flat" comes out of California. My confusion lies in a google search to confirm the composition of the Collins for stupoty.

A vast majority the images for the Collins have it shown with an undersized plinth of the same material, which I'll admit isn't something I'm used to seeing a surface plate with. At any rate, I'm now wondering if someone just got bored and for gags stuck these Rock of Ages badges on the plinth.

extropic: The thread is about breaking down a silicone bond between what I believe to be separate surface plates. Before and after the posted pic I have written a few sentences describing the joint between the two plates. The pic was included so the joint/bond under discussion could be visually referenced. I'm unsure how the physical orientation of the plates or the size of them effects the chemical composition of silicone or epoxy, but here's what extra I can offer at the moment. The "top" plate (aka: the one I care about) is 36x24x~3". The bottom plate, lets call it "the plinth" for now is a few inches smaller than 36, a few inches smaller than 24, and I'd hazard to say pretty close to 3" thick. If you need accuracy beyond that it will have to wait till later this morning. It's cold out, I'm enjoying the Sunday morning with family and it's going to take more than a need of inconsequential dimensions to get me to brave that cold at the moment...lol.

Here's a pic of the lot listing if you think it will help.
original_zpsd1a17376.jpg
If you're interested in getting a closer look of what bond between the plates looks like, please reference the first pic I posted.

For what it's worth.. The badging on the "top" and "plinth" follow what you'll see after a google images search of the manufacturers spoken of earlier. My point..., neither of the badges were written in Sharpie so I believe them to be authentic on some level. ;)
 
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Hello,

All my idea's were for cast iron plates, I havn't used granite ones.

I couldn't see the glue splurge from the joint clearly in the picture.

Do granite plates wring together like steel stuff? or does the granite let the air in and brake the seal? I've managed to get some gauge blocks stuck to my plate using slightly too much blue'ing and that's not even an addheisive.

If the glue is a heavy viscousity and it was from a spillage it might be just at the edges but if they were deliberately glued together then the joint will have an immense surface area.

Stuart
 
I couldn't see the glue splurge from the joint clearly in the picture.

There's only one glue edge that appears to be a bead. The rest were grooved back like what you see in the first pic. I'll be venturing back outside in a few moments, and I'll snap some more pictures.

If the glue is a heavy viscousity and it was from a spillage it might be just at the edges but if they were deliberately glued together then the joint will have an immense surface area.

Stuart

Based on nothing more than the weight of the plates and how squarely the plinth is centered on the top plate, I'd have to say it was deliberately done. I have zero doubt that the adhesive follows some sort of pattern across the entire surface. From my short experience that lends me to believe it would be similar to a continuous "s" pattern to allow for air to escape while being mated.

As it stands I'm afraid this isn't going to be much use to me. Even if the main floor to my home and stairs don't buckle under the weight. Without knowing for a fact I can separate the halves before needing to move them out of the basement shop again this calendar year, I'll have to put it in storage until I have a space with ground level access. I bought the plate because I mistakenly thought it was only 3" thick and therefore manageable. I don't consider the purchase a waste of time, just not what I hoped.

I haven't given up, just losing hope...lol
 
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