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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 27, 2010 8:31:05 GMT -5
I read in an old lapidary book that slabs and end cuts could be hand lapped using the usual tumbling grit and a sheet of plate glass.
I salvaged an old window pain and went to work. Each grit had a separate area of the plate glass to avoid contamination. I worked through 220/120 SC, 500F SC, 1000F AO and Polish AO.
In general, things went well up to the polish. The pieces are as smooth as glass from the 1000F, but have a matte luster when dry. Wow, they look great wet!
Is it possible to get a mirror polish by hand? I'm not sure if the lack of shine is a result of grit contamination, or I simply can not generate enough RPM by hand. Maybe a little more effort is required on the polish stage.
Has anyone tried this successfully?
Darryl.
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 27, 2010 11:33:39 GMT -5
I think the polish is not done on glass. You should use leather or something. In my vibe lap, I put in a kind of felt pad for the polish stage.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Jan 27, 2010 13:14:38 GMT -5
Depending on the kind of rocks involved, you may have a few polishing steps left. (ie 3000/5000/10000/40000 etc.) And deb193redux has it right for final polish, use a piece of felt, chamois, leather or even blue jean material. How about some pix of your progress? huh?! please! huh?!! Dr Joe .
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,778
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Post by adrian65 on Jan 27, 2010 15:30:02 GMT -5
I think you can achieve a good polish, when your working arm will double its volume compared to the other one ;D You REALLY have to work hard, I tried this method a few years ago before building my flat lap and I quickly realised it's a huge work. It can be done, but only on small surfaces (rocks). At least that's what I managed to do.
Adrian
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Jan 28, 2010 6:12:36 GMT -5
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 28, 2010 6:59:42 GMT -5
Thanks for the input and suggestions. I'll try to get a piece of leather for the final polish stage.
I'll post some pictures if there is some improvemnt in the results, but I'm not bragging yet.
I've been using both arms for this. A little "wax on, wax off" like in the Karate Kid, to avoid growing one oversized lobster claw.
Darryl.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Jan 28, 2010 9:34:07 GMT -5
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uneekarts
starting to shine!
Member since December 2008
Posts: 42
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Post by uneekarts on Jan 31, 2010 15:32:16 GMT -5
That was an interesting read. I invision some sort of wood block or other material made to hold the stone while placed on the knee then buffing it like you see the old show shine boys do with a leather strap or course cloth.
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