bsky4463
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2013
Posts: 1,696
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Post by bsky4463 on Oct 14, 2013 14:56:59 GMT -5
I am ready to add a means of buffing/polishing to my quiver of tools for creating cabs and specimen rocks... Things I am unsure of: - wet, dry or do I need both - add wheel to 8" vintage Star grinder or end attachment to Genie --or buy/build a dedicated setup (eg Foredom bench lathe or Richardson buffer) -what impact does the size of the buff wheel have
FYI - I am currently working in mostly agate, jasper and petwood now, but I have some obsidian I to play with soon.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2013 15:04:23 GMT -5
I am not well versed on wheel machines but one thing I am sure of it you gotta work wet. Dry will destroy any tool or wheel out there unless you go really really slow. Jim
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 14, 2013 23:57:49 GMT -5
Depends on what you're polishing. For large flats the end polishing attachments for the Genie work good. I have a few of them. I also have a thick felt buff for the end of my Genie wich works good for domed cabs. Just a few minutes ago I ordered one of these to use on a 6" expando drum. www.ebay.com/itm/171145127478?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649. On cabs I prefer to work off the front of the machine. Others will say they prefer the end plate type buff. It all depends on what you've learned on. When I was learning, there was no such thing as diamond wheels and diamond polishing pastes.
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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 15, 2013 8:06:03 GMT -5
I only cut slabs and then polish them using a Rotoblast wet polisher (www.rotoblast.com). I've had excellent success with it.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Oct 15, 2013 8:42:19 GMT -5
I use a leather covered custom built 8" disk that was given to me. It works great on the end of my vintage HP grinder. Author John Sinkankas describes how to make one if you can find one of his books.
I also recommend wet, although Bobby1 has a good technique for sanding slabs dry on a loaded 600 grit SiC belt on an expanding drum.
Sheltie: the Rotoblast looks like a great alternative to the Barranca units. Do you have the vacuum unit? How do you secure the slabs for polishing?
Chuck
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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 15, 2013 15:31:57 GMT -5
I use a leather covered custom built 8" disk that was given to me. It works great on the end of my vintage HP grinder. Author John Sinkankas describes how to make one if you can find one of his books. I also recommend wet, although Bobby1 has a good technique for sanding slabs dry on a loaded 600 grit SiC belt on an expanding drum. Sheltie: the Rotoblast looks like a great alternative to the Barranca units. Do you have the vacuum unit? How do you secure the slabs for polishing? Chuck I suspect the Barranca version is better because it is intended for lapidary work. However, I opted to try the Rotoblast because is was SO much less expensive and I figured that if I liked it and wanted to upgrade if it didn't work as well as I wanted, I'd only be out a couple hundred bucks. Well, I've had it for over a year and I still like it. I do have the vacuum but don't use it unless it is cold outside. I bought a large plastic container and cut out the major portion of one of the longer sides. When using the vacuum attachment, I place a 2x4 piece lengthwise with a piece of the type of rubber shelving material one places under a small piece of carpet, to keep it from sliding, on top of it. The slabs go nowhere this way. When it is warm outside, I simply use the same rubberized material and put the slabs on it with NO 2x4 or vacuum. I just sit outside under the trees, place the slabs on a small portable table, and get soaking wet (I wear a swim suit). If you use the vacuum, very little water will get on you.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Oct 15, 2013 22:44:04 GMT -5
Thank you Sheltie! I've been looking for a way to polish slabs and face some big material for a long time, but never wanted to spend the money on the Barranca. I think I'll give the vacuum Rotoblast a shot. It's getting too cold to work outside wet here, so I really like the vacuum feature.
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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 16, 2013 8:16:05 GMT -5
Thank you Sheltie! I've been looking for a way to polish slabs and face some big material for a long time, but never wanted to spend the money on the Barranca. I think I'll give the vacuum Rotoblast a shot. It's getting too cold to work outside wet here, so I really like the vacuum feature. Keep in mind that the vacuum feature won't keep you entirely dry, just mostly so. That's where the enclosure (plastic box) comes in. When it warms up to the point where you can go back outside to polish again, just take everything off the end except for the round disk and have at it. Oh, and a final point, when you order (by phone preferably) ask for the fiber sponge disks which begin at 200 grit. Tell them also you will be using this for lapidary purposes. They should also send you diamond impregnated rubber disks of 25, 50 and 100 grit.
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mibeachrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2013
Posts: 198
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Post by mibeachrocks on Oct 17, 2013 9:20:36 GMT -5
As stated earlier, it all depends what you are buffing/polishing. To finish off some of my larger rocks/fossils, I've modified a cheap grinder with some buffing pads from Harbor Freight. The whole setup cost less than $50 and it suits my needs. I have two loose cotton wheels on the left that I use with a light blue compound. I use this to get by final shine on Petoskey stones. The right contains two spiral stiched cottoms wheels that I use with a black compound. I use this to cut down material and Petoskey stones.
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bsky4463
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2013
Posts: 1,696
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Post by bsky4463 on Oct 22, 2013 12:56:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the input. For starters I ordered up a polish pad for the end of my Genie, a felt, rough and smooth leather pad (1) of each to experiment with.
Don - I also like the expando drum belt idea. Will look for an 8" one online.
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