The grinding surface is a 4.5-inch diamond saw blade purchased at Home Depot for $13 (January, 2007). I cast 18 pounds of lead tire weights in a 5-inch saucepan over a campstove. Do NOT do this indoors, at one point I had flames two feet high from not priming the stove properly, and the fumes from the tire weights include a lot of rubber and road grime. But it got the job done. The floating steel clamps and other garbage were dipped out with a small metal-mesh strainer. After cooling, the bottom was flattened out with light hammer taps until the 4.5-inch blade sat on it without rocking. A couple screws and it was ready to HOG.

The Pig is heavy enough that I lift it carefully off and on the blank with the base of my palms, but it glides easily during grinding.