I contacted the vendor and was informed that Alcoa's standard is .1" longitudinal and .125" transverse and they will not replace it.

Oddly, other vendors specs are below .032" for this size plate.

So far, I have sent out about 5 RFQs in the Chicago area for: grinding, straightening, or plane milling, none have responded thus far. Very interesting there has been no response, makes me think the shops are so busy they don't need the work, or, they are not business savvy and are losing business because they don't check their own electronic forms that are used for RFQs.

Still pondering all options.

I have a brand spanking new VMC just outside of my office that is plenty large enough to machine this plate. Unfortunately, the company doesn't want to "dirty it up" because the machine is for sale (we are an importer). Too bad there isn't a customer requesting a test cut on it, that would open the door for me to use it for this purpose!

Oh well, that's what I get for being cheap!

Chris D.