Wood for Surface Plate Cart?

[Chips O'Toole]

I'm thinking about picking up a bigger granite surface plate than the one I have now. I would have to have a stand for it. Is there any reason why I shouldn't make one from wood? I was thinking wood would be friendlier to the granite than steel.

 

[Masterjuggler]

If you're planning to somehow put it on its Airy points, or I guess its Bessl points if you're into that kind of thing, it shouldn't matter what you have underneath. The only thing I could see being an issue is if you want to keep it level, and the wood moves (warps) with the weather. In any case, it's just the bottom of the plate, so if it's rigid and doesn't compress much it shouldn't matter. Someone please correct me if I'm not thinking about this right.

 

[middle.road]

How large is the plate?
Benchtop sized then sure. Larger than that and I wouldn't. It won't be stable enough for the weight of the plate.
Guess it all depends on the level of accuracy you are wanting.

 

[aliva]

I think wood be fine, if metal is out of the question. A surface plate doesn't have to be perfectly level , (although that would be desirable) its for measuring flatness. I've seen several surface plate tables on wheels , which would require releveling every time its moved to a new location