I've had good luck with sand mix mortar. Available at your local hardware store, even though the bag is hefty. Mix it thick. Cover your blank with a plastic bag and make a collar around it that sticks up about an inch higher than the blank. The collar should be fairly stiff, since it has to hold cement, so use cardboard, not aluminum foil. Smear a little vasoline around on it and it'll come off easier. Pour the mortar mix into the collar until it's full, level it off with a ruler, and let it dry overnight. Then strip off the collar, slip it off the blank, and submerge it in water for a day or so to cure. Dry it off and scrub it with soap and a brush to get off the vasoline and any loose mortar. Then glue on your tiles, bevel the edge, and you're off to the races. After your first grinding wet I'd suggest scrubbing the whole tool with that stiff bristle brush again to get all the loose "crap" off it. I've only had one or two tiles come off from these, using regular two-part epoxy. And you can use them, tile-down for patio blocks when you're done <grin>.
Henry
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>I have just purchased an 8" mirror kit from Wilmann-Bell and would like to
>make the tool using plaster and ceramic tile. Several attempts to obtain
>"dental plaster" from local sources has produced nothing but frustration.
>Can anyone suggest a source or alternative. Also , this technique doesn't
>seem to be covered in any of the ATM books. Any suggestions on method/
>pitfalls would be appreciated.
>___________________________________________________________________________
>_____Joseph Hetmanski jfh@att.rguxa
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