I know this thread is a bit dated, and the OP is likely no longer here. But, I do have experience with making my own TLC plates.
If you did a double blind test with a commercial TLC plate and a well made plate from home, you could not tell the difference.
Its cost effective to make your own plates Once you have the materials, its cheaper to make your own TLC plates then buy them in the long run. But you must have extraordinary patience.
You need two basic chemicals, anhydrous calcium sulfate, and silica gel. and for the plate, I use glass microscope slides.
You can actually grind your own silica from those (do not eat) silica gel packets. But this is an impossible task, unless you have a good ball mill with ceramic coated lead marbles. (For serious fine grinding)
Its a better idea to buy silica powder specifically for TLC.
From there on its just delicate work. Wear gloves, Clean the glass plate from any oils from you hands using MeOH/NaOH solution and add the liquid suspension of silica with a pipette or syringe. Then air dry and bake in the oven to drive off any moisture.
They have to be handled more delicately then commerical plates. But analysis results are the same.
heres a great .pdf
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