sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Oct 6, 2012 16:40:22 GMT -5
I bought a Richardson Ranch buffer (12") today at a rock sale. It is an older model but in excellent shape. Unfortunately it didn't come with any instructions but I don't know how to use it (other than the on/off switch ;D).
Can someone give me instructions as to what media/grit to use, how much, general info on how to use it? I understand it is for the final polish but other than that, I need help.
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Post by mohs on Oct 6, 2012 17:37:47 GMT -5
is it a leather disc? does it run vertically or horizontally ? belt drive? must be nice! Ed
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Oct 6, 2012 18:16:43 GMT -5
Leather, vertically, and yes it is belt drive. Not the greatest picture but should answer your questions.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 6, 2012 18:52:44 GMT -5
If the leather or canvas surface is clean dampen it with a spray bottle of water then brush on a paste made of whatever high quality polish you need mixed with water. Dampen the surface when it gets too dry (you will feel it pull).
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Post by mohs on Oct 6, 2012 18:54:20 GMT -5
well that's a really nice arbor set-up ! I imagine with that pulley ratio the rpm's runs slower than faster which I think is good for buffing
it looks like replaceable fabric ? but maybe not
any indication what type of media was run on it previously?
anyway that really nice machine I don't have any advice on use others will though!
buff on!
Ed
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 7, 2012 0:38:58 GMT -5
IMO the best polishing unit for cabs or large flat display pieces. Optical cerium is a good polish since it works well with the widest variety of materials. I have 2 of them and haven't decided on the polish for the 2nd one yet. Attach it firmly to a bench so you can apply plenty of pressure without it moving. If you will be using it mostly for large heavy pieces use a low bench so you can hold your pieces at waist level and use legs and body weight to push it into the leather and avoid a sore back. Before using it I would turn it on and use a clean wire brush like a BBQ brush to clean old polish and possible contaminants from the leather, and rough up the leather surface. Then make up a medium thick cerium slurry, a tablespoon of dry powder tops, and brush some onto the leather and use a rock slab edge to spread it over the surface evenly. Over the first few hours of use it may take a few re-applications to get fully applied to the leather, but once it's done it will rarely need more cerium and won't work as well if too much is applied. When polishing start by spraying the surface with a spray bottle of water. With softer stones generally keeping it moist is the key, but with harder agates and jaspers let in dry out a bit between water spritzes and heat up the stone a bit for a mirror shine. NEVER shove the pointed end of the piece into the leather in a way that could tear the leather and cause injury. ALWAYS polish on the side of the spinning wheel that is spinning down, you don't want to launch it. Flat surfaced polish best against the curved edge of the wheel, domed surfaces work best a couple inches in from the edge where it's flat. To avoid contamination that could result in foreign materials scratching your pieces, get a dollar store shower cap and use it to cover the leather when not in use.
Lee
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 445
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Post by herb on Oct 8, 2012 11:15:10 GMT -5
Hey! I have one of these!!!
It was bought as part of a large collection earlier this year. I haven't had the time to use it or look at it carefully, but I had assumed it was a piece of home made equipment. Nice to know that it is a commercial unit.
Thank you to rockoonz for the great information on how to use it! I have a ton of thunder egg halves that I have been wondering how to polish. It sounds like this unit is just what I was looking for and it was right under my nose!
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utdigger
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since January 2012
Posts: 84
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Post by utdigger on Oct 14, 2012 10:00:44 GMT -5
Thanks Lee. Great advice for all us novices! jeff
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rykk
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 428
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Post by rykk on Oct 16, 2012 2:26:03 GMT -5
I built my own one of these but haven't been able to get that mirror polish I was looking for, It has a 3450rpm motor pulleyed down to around 575rpm - 2in drive, 12in at the wheel shaft, beefy 1/2hp motoor, Using Graves Tin Oxide - the grey colored stuff.
I'heard that my motor may be 2 fast so I ran into a 1/3hp at 1725rpm ($39 - Free Shipping) and will try that when I get motivated to do some electrical work. Do y'all (yes,"y'all" - not a sloop, nor a ketch, and not even a proper "Yawl"... which what the wife's gonna do when she returns from her week-long cruise with her two, growed up chilluns and sees my nifty crack epoxying station I set up on the kitchen table and how well her pressure cooker is doing squishing Starbond inlto the pores of Aussie Print Stone and Picasso Jasper/Marble - lol)
Where wuz I before my comedic alter ego took over? Oh yeah - Do y'all thing the slower spin will have a good effect on my polishing? I run the rocks in my "jiggy pan" up to 600 or 1200grit before trying the polisher. Just how hard do you press the rock into the leather head? Thanks, Rick
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 20, 2012 22:54:32 GMT -5
Rick, Tell us more about using the pressure cooker to seal porous stones. Cracks, fractures, & pits are the enemy of the lapidary.
Start a new thread with an appropriate title so we can locate it.
Lynn
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rykk
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 428
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Post by rykk on Oct 21, 2012 16:10:07 GMT -5
Hi, Lynn - The pressure cooker bit was just joking. I've seen it described/mentioned online and, I think on this forum somewhere, but never tried it because my wife thinks rocks are dirty. I tried to tell her that they only turn to dirt after millions and billions of years of erosion but she wasn't having any of that - lol. Seriously, my rock collections are probably the cleanest, most sanitary things in the whole house what with all the soaking and grinding they get.
Actually, there is a process I'm itching to try using Sodium Silicate that's in a sticky in the Lapidary Tips section. Says it actually "grows" agate in the cracks and - I'd imagine - pores of rocks. It's billed as a stabilization method, but I've always wondered if it wouldn't work to up the mohs hardness of softies like Noreena, Picasso, Sonora Dendritic, and other so-called "jaspers" or rhyolites that will only do a matte polish. C-ya, Rick
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rykk
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 428
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Post by rykk on Oct 21, 2012 16:24:46 GMT -5
Lee - You mention "optical cerium". Do you mean the tan/brown/pinkish kind or do you mean the white, more expensive grade?
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Oct 21, 2012 16:28:23 GMT -5
Folks have advised me to cover the wheel when it's not being used, and I have. The only problem is that after a day or two of being covered, if it is the least bit wet, it begins to form mildew. I keep it in a room that is not heated nor A/C but is covered and has lots of windows. Any way to keep the mildew away?
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Oct 21, 2012 20:35:52 GMT -5
Hey! I have one of these!!! It was bought as part of a large collection earlier this year. I haven't had the time to use it or look at it carefully, but I had assumed it was a piece of home made equipment. Nice to know that it is a commercial unit. Thank you to rockoonz for the great information on how to use it! I have a ton of thunder egg halves that I have been wondering how to polish. It sounds like this unit is just what I was looking for and it was right under my nose! DITTO!!!!! I can honestly repeat everything said above as I am in the exact same position myself.. Thank you for the quick lesson... definitely gonna try it and soon!!
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 21, 2012 22:53:34 GMT -5
Lee - You mention "optical cerium". Do you mean the tan/brown/pinkish kind or do you mean the white, more expensive grade? The spendy stuff, makes a big difference and you hardly use any. so not that much cost difference. Lee
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Post by Woodyrock on Oct 22, 2012 1:02:02 GMT -5
The mixture I use is half baby oil, half liquid dish soap, enough cerium to make a thick paste with a pinch of Linde A. Learned this in a college class sometime around 63 or 64. This mix will not mildew, and you do not need to keep wetting the leather. It polishes a wee bit slower than a water mix, but you will use way less polish, and it does polish softer stones better than a water mix. Woody
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 22, 2012 7:35:30 GMT -5
The Linde A is likely the material polishing softer stones. The .3 micron aluminums work much better than cerium on soft stones. Linde is a .3 aluminum oxide.
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rykk
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 428
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Post by rykk on Oct 22, 2012 16:48:11 GMT -5
John - Do the aluminum polishes do a better job on "included" rocks like moss or plume agates as far as the softer moss areas polishing as well as the agate/chalcedony parts? Those seem to undercut with cerium or tin oxides and the mossy/plumey bits stick out like a sore thumb when I try them. Thanks, Rick
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 22, 2012 22:31:33 GMT -5
Good question. Wish I had an answer.
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