Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?


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Thread: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

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    Registered Zathras's Avatar
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    Smile Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Some time ago I required a large surface plate and tried some ideas with Epoxy granite and glass as an alternative. I came to the conclusion there was no way these could be a decent substitute for my prurposes.
    After years of of putting things off, I finally got so fed up with the rediculous cost of surface plates in Australia that I did my research and found a Chinese company. Then arranged a frieght forwarding company to assist me in importing it.

    Bottom Line:
    Quotes given here for 900x900x150mm Grade '0' Granite suface plates varied a bit but was around min $3200+ not including delivery.
    Some like Starrett said they simply do not deliver to residential addresses. OK then, Goodbye.
    (Note that there is one business I found that seems highly suspicious. Too cheap comparitively speaking. Why? They only arrange delivery to a sea port. After that, good luck to you! It would probably cost $1000 to get it out of customs alone. Needless to say, I do NOT recommend buying from them.)

    Now my cost;
    1000x1000x150mm Grade '00' Granite surface plate; $300USD
    Approx frieght costs including delivery to my door: $750AUD

    Note1: There was no insurance on this but I took the risk.

    Note2: You (prob) need to request your frieght forwarder to organise a tail-lift truck for residential delivery.

    Note3: Payment made through T/T

    Note4: I would not recommend you try to do the importing yourself! You have to know what you are doing and will probably be more costly anyway.

    Note5: Be very careful with certain sites that have Chinese business listings. There are too many scammers there and I think not worth the risk unless you have multiple ways to check out the business.

    Note6: To maximize your dollar, try to order as much as you can to fit into 1 cubic metre, under 1000kg at $1000AUD max. No GST, import duties and freight charges are in 1 cubic metre blocks.

    What company did I buy it from?
    Qingdao Fumin Stone Precision Machinery Co., Ltd.--Ê×Ò³

    I spoke to a gentleman named "Walker". Helpful and knowledgeable sales manager.

    Freight forwarder I used?
    Freight and More Pty Ltd - Welcome - International Freight Forwarders - Customs Brokers - Melbourne
    Again, very helpful and organised everything. Gave me a date and time of delivery at home which was spot-on.

    Another note;
    I am in NO WAY associated with these two companies!
    Get some quotes and you may do better than me.

    Hope this information is helpful to people.


    Similar Threads:
    Last edited by Zathras; 02-01-2013 at 10:33 PM. Reason: Forgot "Note6"


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    I'll be after quite a large surface plate myself down the track, around 3000mm x 600mm x 25-50mm, and have looked at the various options such as float glass, granite slabs, etc, and the costs of these materials when sold specifically as surface plates is astronomical. But I have heard off several people that ordinary granite slabs for masonry or for kitchen benchtops are more than adequate as they have been ground flat to a fairly precise finished dimension. So when the time comes, I might look for something along this avenue, even a damaged top that just needs to be cut at one end.

    cheers, Ian

    It's a state of mind!


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    Registered Zathras's Avatar
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    Ian,


    3000mm is large alright!
    I'm now going to say some stuff you don't want to hear;

    Of course it depends on your application but I personally would not recommend countertop Granite at all. If those people you mentioned had someone precision grind them with enough thickness/length/width ratio then maybe it would work. 25-50 mm at 3000mm will definitely not hold it's dimentions(flatness). Maybe if it was carefully ground and then epoxied to a stable material with a decent depth to support it.
    What material would suite such an application? Answer: expensive material!
    Who will grind this 3m piece for you? Do they have the right equipment to grind 3m to 20microns flatness? I really doubt it, especially in Oz. If you can find someone, I guarantee they will be expensive!
    I have some Granite countertop 20mm(max thickness you can get AFAIK) and in no way shape or form is it flat. It looks awesome, shiny and flat by eye but prob has 0.5mm waviness under a 400mm Granite parallel I have. That's 2 orders of magnitude off what I have now for under $1000AUD. Just cannot compare!
    A 900x1000x20mm piece of countertop Granite cost $250 last time I got a quote. I decided it was not worth it to find it wasn't flat. Best decision I made.
    I too have desperately looked into all alternatives you mentioned and came to the same conclusion, way too expensive and no where near adequate flatness.
    In the end I was forced to take a substantial risk transfering money to a Chinese company in direct bank transfer. If they had scammed me, I would have had no recourse.
    Now that I have taken that risk, everyone else can benefit. I wish someone had posted something like this 3 years ago, It would have saved me a lot of time & money.

    As long as you can accept delivery of such a heavy piece of Granite I highly recommend you just commision the what you want from Fumin-Stone or another known honest company.
    They will make whatever you want, just give them the dimensions and tolerances!



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    Well, you may be in luck...

    Boeing is closing a plant in Sydney and auctioning off equipment in the process. One bit of gear is a measuring device with 3m granite slab and air bearings.

    Normally this type of gear would be completely out of reach but who knows...

    BOEING PLANT & EQUIPMENT

    Frank



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    that auction site is golden! check out the "general motors holden" as a private sale...


    lol.

    hang on... 300 for the table itself? 300? omg...

    yes, the shipping is the painful part. i learnt that when someone took an engine hostage...half of it got to my door, as expected. the other half was grabbed by some freight company that expected me to fork out 250 "hand-wing fee" and then, when i decided that would be manageable, demanded another 300 for "ah, sign flu custom". and there was some other gripe they had about a declaration form.

    the guy i spoke to at customs said i was better off applying for an importers license. fee would be anywhere from 50 to, yup...300.

    this wasnt a rolls royce griffin or anything, just a cruddy old second hand daihatsu engine from thailand. total cost, with delivery, $485... less than what this stinking company demanded (who is also no longer in business?)

    i knew i should have just bought a new crank and parts... oh well, history.

    now youve shown us there are ways through the murky depths of red tape, im all...um...what is it? inspired or summink! flat scraped surfaces....gom!



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    hi Zarthras
    i m looking into getting a surface plate.
    tried to message you but your inbox is full.
    if you see this could contact me please.
    Grigoris



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    I'm looking into a surface plate as well to scrape the ways on my mill. I wonder if a group of us could make an order from this company to save on shipping? Would it be worth it?



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Quote Originally Posted by gtrdude View Post
    I'm looking into a surface plate as well to scrape the ways on my mill. I wonder if a group of us could make an order from this company to save on shipping? Would it be worth it?
    i got mine and it cost me under 1000$ for a 1200x800 delivered.



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Quote Originally Posted by grf View Post
    i got mine and it cost me under 1000$ for a 1200x800 delivered.
    Where from and how thick was yours?

    cheers, Ian

    It's a state of mind!


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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Quote Originally Posted by grf View Post
    i got mine and it cost me under 1000$ for a 1200x800 delivered.
    Out of interest would you mind telling us how much for the plate and how much was shipping?



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Just got off the phone to Li at Ausino in Coburg. He can get me a 600x400x100mm plate (from China I'm guessing) which is "00" grade for $400. Apparently he has a new shipment due in a couple of weeks so I will probably jump on that one. I don't think I will do better anywhere else.



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Has anyone done anything like this recently? Can the OP at all still vouch for his original supplier?



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    Default Re: Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

    Quote Originally Posted by j3dprints View Post
    Has anyone done anything like this recently? Can the OP at all still vouch for his original supplier?
    Watching as I would be interested in joining a block order.



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    Tried a couple of emails to "sales@fuminstone.com" but no reply. granite.supplies@taylorstones.com.au were very helpful and could supply "Grandee Black" 800 x 600 x 100 Polished on surface only / Saw cut edges for $563.00 + GST which was quite reasonable. It's not too difficult to lap down a block and if you can get hold of a precision granite parallel and cast iron lapping plate it wouldn't take long to get nice and flat. There are a few choice tube videos on the process.



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Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?

Any Australians need Surface Plate without being ripped off?