stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 5, 2014 14:40:46 GMT -5
Hadn't logged into forum for a while. Was busy, but I did "lurk" about forum once in a while to see what y'all was up to... lotsa purty stones have been made by y'all. But I have been busy making stuff... like this ganged 4 1/2" diamond blade "trimmer-grinder".. I had just took the water line out and was spinning the blades dry. Everything in frame is wood. With 2 coats of Marine grade Urethane Spar Var slopped all over it. This thing trims up stones like it's butter.....well compared to using my trim saw edge. And ...yep... it's sitting out under a tree with my home made flat lap ....until I get my shop cleaned up from all the wood shavings and sawdust I accumulated over the winter. And here it is in action..dirty fingers and thumb and all Also I am in final stage of tweaking (that's tweaking...not twerking) my home made 8" flat lap. Cabbed a few stones already. BUT ...there's sure a learning curve to this stuff!!!
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Post by johnjsgems on May 5, 2014 16:35:20 GMT -5
Amazing how well tile blades grind hard rock without wearing out quickly. Amazing especially considering how poorly they do at cutting hard rock.
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 5, 2014 16:51:55 GMT -5
I don't know how long they will last John... but 2 tanks of water at 1 gallon each (I let it flow good)..30 minutes time I had 6 cabs roughed from rough shape slab sawn..and 5 chunks of Chert/Flint/Quartz roughed out for tumbling. It eats rocks fast at 4,600 rpm more/less.(8" pulley on motor..3" on grinder shaft and 1725 rpm motor) And I can't really tell if there's any wear on the blades yet. And they only cost $1.50 per blade. It ain't a pretty thing being leftover wood from this project or that...but it doesn't spit water all over me and it does eat away unwanted stone at a fast rate for pre-shaping and saving me $$ on diamond flat laps. Might save a few days in the tumbler too for other stones I run past those blades.
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Post by mohs on May 5, 2014 19:58:15 GMT -5
I can see that just grinds rocks fast & faster
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Post by mohs on May 13, 2014 23:53:32 GMT -5
I'm surprised more people haven't responded I want one! for pre-forming mostly but roughing out cabs also
is your work table at the center of the blades ? picture look like it below center which is good for cabbing
I'd have another top at the center of the blades to do the preforming
just making an observation that's a rock'n machine stephent!
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 14, 2014 0:39:41 GMT -5
It's below center right now. I haven't found that flat piece of thick Teflon plastic I squirreled away a year or so ago....yet. It will make a long wearing slick work top . right now the top is approx 1/2"-5/8" below center. I use it freehand most of the time anyway. Only use the top to rough semi-close to outline, then freehand it off of the top. It's a quick grinder. I tried 1 to 1 more/less pulleys first..the 1725 rpm was slow cutting. I knew the blades were rated for 9,000+ rpm, so I speeded it up a bit to about 4600 rpm (changed from a 3" to 8" pulley on motor) It cuts like a mad beaver in balsa wood now. Chipping is less at higher speeds too if you are heavy handed like I am. Only thing I have to watch is keeping the pillow block bearings properly high temp/pressure lubed since that's about max rpm plus a tad of what they are rated for. They run slightly warm...but not hot. There's really no "load" on them now as compared to how much they are rated for....just the over-speed. And I think I need to loosen one retainer collar slightly more to allow for shaft temp expansion and that bearing temp will go down a bit too. I have used it for a couple dozen or more preforms now and think with a few more tweaks it will work for years with the same set of wheels. It's rough woodwork with just being pin nailed and glued...but it's stable and was fairly cheap to make...about $37.50 or so since I had the pulleys, belt and motor already. Right now the water just drips out of the bottom into a small 6"x9" plastic tray sitting on the floor of my shop... but some does "slightly?" ooze out on yer hands and the stone in work. As it should. It's surprizingly a non-water slinging tool for as much water I let drip thru it..about 5-6 drops per second and the wheels stay clean. That's more then I use on my flatlap...but it cuts faster by yards too.
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1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
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Post by 1nickthegreek on May 14, 2014 0:58:30 GMT -5
Looks great Stephen, can you make a rough set of plans for this and your flat lap as well (if ya have time please?) I would love to have a general schematic for both so I could make myself one of each of them!! Thanks!
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 14, 2014 1:21:29 GMT -5
Well..if ya look at it...that's about all there is to it, Nick.. couple 7" pieces of 2"x4" for the pillow block bearings to sit on..I couldn't find a piece of 2"x8" wood for the center and motor to mount on so I shot/glued 3 scrap pieces of 1"x8" together. The blade spray cover is 1"x6" cedar sides with 1/4" waterproof plywood top and back..open bottom. There's a 2"x4" glued/pin nailed to the right side bearing mount with a 3/4" thick triangular piece of wood between that for blade spacing with a 3/4" piece on the extreme right side to cover blades.. top is shot down/glued to the lower blade guard wood pieces.. I can take a picture of the underside of the work top and it will explain better then I can type it. It's simple to make EXCEPT for threading the end of the 1/2" metal shaft (shafts are available at home centers/hardware stores..there's an adaptor for the 5/8" blade holes to 1/2" shaft too but the shaft could be made of 5/8" to start with)....and that's simple if ya have a shop and tools to play with too. I built my 16'x20' workshop 8 years ago and stocked it up with wood and metal working tools looking forward to retirement. Lots of tools that have come in handy lately. If it isn't too bad stormy tomorrow I will take some better pictures.. but it's basically just the main center board you see.. the metal mesh stand under it is a planter stand that I don't use anymore but puts that grinder at the perfect height for me to sit in a chair and play..
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,168
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Post by jamesp on May 14, 2014 3:34:33 GMT -5
Great tool. Great design. Wood is perfect material to build stuff like that out of. Bottom line is good bearings, motor, belt, pulleys and cutters. Well done stephant. Saved a bunch of money on buying a store bought machine. W/the exception of slab saws, most lapidary equipment is very simple. I hope to see more of your projects. I have been looking/buying various diamond cutting wheels for other trades from Aliexpress. And use them for pre-shaping. Hope to get a setup that allows grinding some unique shapes one day.Pages of odd diamond wheels/cutters: www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=diamond%2Bgrinder&CatId=4204&shipCountry=us&initiative_id=AS_20140514001705&page=2Check out this diamond cup pre-shaper. The angle grinder is a special low speed(3600 RPM instead of standard 11,000). It is a bit of a finger cleaner. But I can not seem to wear out the $20 China made diamond cup wheel. I would guess it has pre-shaped several hundred pounds of tumbles. I like the saddle that has worn deep in the diamond sectors. To violent for cabs but great for tumbles. www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157632945074217
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Post by radio on May 14, 2014 8:09:05 GMT -5
RockmanKen uses one very similar and it works great! Sure cheaper than diamond wheels to quickly hog off the excess material!
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 14, 2014 8:51:21 GMT -5
It's still a bit damp outside here today with rain. We've had about 4 1/8" of rain in just less then 2 days. Or I would take that grinder outside and take some pics of the bottom area of the wheel enclosure area. It's not complicated at all. I didn't make a table type mount cuz I wasn't sure if it would sling water like a crazy lawn sprinkler or not. So it's just a bare bones mount. The right side bearing doesn't have a trace of water/dust on it from using it, which I thought might become a problem. It's basically a center board with motor, pulleys and bearings on it with a side mounted wheels and enclosure. The wheel(s) enclosure could be cut from the bottom of a medium sized plastic jug even since it's not prone to slinging water as bad as I had thought it might be. But no pics today cuz of rain...rain..rain! And my shop lighting isn't really up to snuff in that area yet. I have some take-out 4' and 8' fluorescent fixtures that I am installing for lighting for the grinder and flat-lap today though.. a good inside rainy day project.
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Post by mohs on May 14, 2014 9:10:21 GMT -5
is the arbor 5/8th? are the blades 7 inch ? Thanks Ed
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 14, 2014 9:32:20 GMT -5
It's a 1/2" shaft with a 1/2" to 5/8" plastic adapter for the 5/8" diamond wheel arbor holes...and 4 1/2" wheels. I simply used a thread cutting die on one end for about 1 1/2" or so...1/2 x fine (machine) threads. It could be made with a 5/8" shaft just as easily with 5/8" pillow block bearings with way less threads on one end...one stop collar to hold one side of the wheels and a nut for the tightening of the wheels on the other side. OR ..Think of a long-ish bolt (sold at most home centers)...12" long or so in 1/2" or 5/8" thread size and there's a ready made shaft. I had the 1/2" bearings and the shaft already so I just used it. The thing is...threads are always smaller then the 1/2" or 5/8" inside diameter of the bearings...the standard sized bearings are sloppy fitting running on threaded areas... they need an un-threaded part to stay centered on well. All-thread rod isn't an answer.
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Post by mohs on May 14, 2014 11:39:48 GMT -5
do I understand that you cut the threads for the arbor? don't most arbors already come threaded? anyway just thinking out loud I need to go a machine shop supply house and look at arbor setups. Grainger may be start
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Post by mohs on May 14, 2014 11:42:18 GMT -5
the standard sized bearings are sloppy fitting running on threaded areas... they need an un-threaded part to stay centered on well. All-thread rod isn't an answer. ah I missed this part how wide is your gang saw set up about 2 inches?
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Post by rockpickerforever on May 14, 2014 11:46:42 GMT -5
A friend of mine has a ganged tile blade set up. He uses a CD as a spacer between each blade, can get a little more grind out of them if they are not stacked right next to each other. They do work great for removing material quickly. Jean
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 14, 2014 11:53:12 GMT -5
It started out as a blank 1/2" unthreaded rod (slick rod) three foot long. I bought it at a local hardware store. I made it into an arbor by threading one end and cutting it to length. If you can find an arbor that's 5/8" to start with you can do without the 1/2" to 5/8" arbor adapter inside the diamond wheel stack (maybe...cuz the difference between thread OD and actual 5/8" inner wheel diameter there will be some slop). Pillow block bearings are semi-easy to find in 5/8"..ditto for 5/8" pulleys. I used the 1/2" cuz I had the shaft and bearings..and the 1/2" to 5/8" adapter that squeezes nicely inside 5 blades.
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Post by mohs on May 14, 2014 12:17:05 GMT -5
thanks stephent!
I like the c.d. idea I have it play rock music while I grind who'd imagine?
rock'nroll hootchie koo!
<insertchewie>
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stephent
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 213
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Post by stephent on May 14, 2014 12:27:19 GMT -5
Not 2" wide Ed.. it's only 5 blades stacked together. About 5/8" wide...maybe 11/16" wide. I cut enough threads to stack 2 or 3 more blades in it if needed...which it doesn't really need. The motor is 1/3HP and definitely wouldn't bog down even if I did stack up a 2" wide bunch of blades. And Jean..I tried the CD "washers".. it chipped badly so I tried without...much better results. There's plenty of space with the little grooves in the sides of the blades/matrix I used to get rid of water and grit. I just leave it running for a couple of minutes after I am done and it's dry then. If I had stacked very many more blades I would have had to use at least some spacers cuz the outside blades would have started dishing, but with just 5 or so it's not a problem with the thick matrix blades I am using. With other wider matrix blades it may be required with just 3..as with any differing blades.. these are cheap Chinese 4 1/2" blades with a fairly thick metal matrix carrier disk. A buck fifty each.
Steve
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Post by mohs on May 14, 2014 13:52:07 GMT -5
a buck fifty each? I could get the girl friend a setup also she always wanted diamond
duck! incoming rocks!
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