electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Jul 18, 2014 21:54:15 GMT -5
Hello all! Been a long while, due to circumstances beyond my control I haven't had a chance to even begin to think about getting my lapidary studio running until last week. Thought I would say hello, post a couple of photos and ask some questions. Firstly, I have a leather bull wheel polisher that I am using with cerium oxide. The problem I have (had) was that the cabs are "sticking" to the leather then getting thrown. I should note that I didn't use dop sticks for the cabs, perhaps that has a lot to do with it. It also occurs to me that the leather might need to be wetter (not to mention having the wife on standby with a catchers mitt). Secondly, in the closeup of the agate, there are some micro scratches that didn't buff out. I took them up to 14k on diamond belts then over to the bull wheel. I assume that I missed some scratches in the 600 grit range but can't say for sure. The belts I purchased are from a manufacturer in China that I purchased with another member a while back. I am just now using them and wondering if they maybe needed to be worn in a bit before using them to cab (maybe some surface blemish or something getting passed over to the cab). Progression was Sintered 100 then 200, over to the 600 diamond belt, then 1200, 4k, 8k, 14k, Cerium Oxide. Not sure why I didn't buy a 400 grit diamond belt, it has been over 2 years since I made the purchase. I do have a 280 belt that I didn't use and another 400 grit belt (whatever the other expando drum belts are made of - can't recall right now) that I could progress through after the sintered wheels. All in all I am pretty happy, must say its a bit of a bummer to see the scratching in what initially appeared to be a finished cab. Thanks for any input! Erik
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2014 21:58:16 GMT -5
Why are you wasting time taking pictures?? Go make cabs!!! Those are really super nice!! Love the mooka
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deserthound
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 390
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Post by deserthound on Jul 18, 2014 23:02:10 GMT -5
wow those are great looking...a trick an old timer told me was use canvas instead of leather, keep a spray bottle handy, the canvas will retain water better he said..also alot of pressure at first and then start letting up.. spray down again apply pressure let up and so forth..of course adding polish as needed...he never used dop sticks..hope this was of some use..
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electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Jul 19, 2014 0:45:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the encouragement, I did take your advice and hit the cabbing a bit before dinner...loving it Will keep a spray bottle at hand and keep things wetter in the future. Will consider the canvas as well, sounds like a good option. Thanks!
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 19, 2014 2:11:11 GMT -5
Erik, welcome back. I had wondered what had happened. With the diamond belts I take the corner on a straight cut agate slab and run it against the new diamond belts or Nova wheels to knock off the excess polymer that tends to cover the diamond. Not too much. With the leather polishers be sure to mist some water onto them and re-spray them when it gets grabby. It is importand with hard agates and jaspers to let it grab and warm up the surface of the cab a little, that's where you get the wet look polish.
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Post by snowmom on Jul 19, 2014 6:10:30 GMT -5
those are wonderful! I lust that pink breccia at the bottom!
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Post by roy on Jul 19, 2014 9:26:39 GMT -5
nice cabs for sure lee cover you problems well keep going!
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electricmonk
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 281
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Post by electricmonk on Jul 19, 2014 9:54:13 GMT -5
Snowmom, I love that material too! Picked up a bunch of rough from a local collector, most of it is a bit too large for my 20" saw, going to have to get creative to slab the rest.
Lee, good to see you! Felt like I would never get this project off the ground. After cutting a couple hundred slabs its been agony waiting to get the shop a bit more usable. Thanks for the tip on the diamond belts, I have plenty of material to wear in those belts a bit. I take it you have had some success with the belts we picked up?
Thanks all!
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donkeyrokman
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2014
Posts: 78
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Post by donkeyrokman on Jul 19, 2014 10:36:31 GMT -5
Why are you wasting time taking pictures?? Go make cabs!!! Those are really super nice!! Love the mooka Yeah, that's my favorite too...hands down.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 19, 2014 11:45:48 GMT -5
Erik I have used the belts some, but I have switched back to using more SiC belts lately. With the belts from Han I have seen mixed reviews, I'm guessing that the people who say they have a short life are those who want to jam everything out in a hurry and use a lot of pressure against the belts, because I am quite pleased with them especially considering the price. We have had our own set of shop delays, mostly due to my excellent (sarcasm) skills at designing and building our shop building and all the added work I created. I am also moving the Mount Hood Rock Club shop to a new location and setting everything back up I hope better than it was. Busy is overrated. Give me a ring sometime.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 19, 2014 14:34:10 GMT -5
Very nice! I like the mooka best, too. I'm happy for you that you are able to dive into cabbing now. I know just how it feels.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 19, 2014 17:10:19 GMT -5
Man that mook is Sweet! Great bunch of cabs. My first ones were nothing short of Godawful. Had one of those old Sears flat lap combo rigs and my cabs came out with so many flat spots they looked faceted.....Mel
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Jul 19, 2014 19:35:26 GMT -5
Those are beautiful! Looks like you're off to a rocking start.
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Post by bobby1 on Jul 21, 2014 9:55:19 GMT -5
I polish with a 12" diameter carpet covered wheel. I use the 1/4" thick carpet used in offices. It retains the moisture and polish much longer that leather or canvas. Spray bottle for moisture, polish in a small squeeze bottle with the tip cut at an angle so you can tip the bottle slightly and press the angle cut tip against the wheel to spread the polish on it as it is rotating. When I made my wheel I just mounted the carpet over the leather covered Richardson's wheel. Cut gussets in the outer edge of the carpet piece, soak it in water for about 5 minutes to make it more pliable and screw it to the back of the wheel with truss head self drilling screws found at Lowe's or Home depot. Bob
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