Henry
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2013
Posts: 452
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Post by Henry on Apr 23, 2015 22:49:31 GMT -5
Hello everyone. I need some opinions: What are some decent portable lapidary grinding machines out there? (decent bang for your buck)
The largest size pieces would be no larger than 4 or 5 inches in length or all around.
Thanks!
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Post by captbob on Apr 23, 2015 23:54:45 GMT -5
Define portable. Any grinding machine, even a cabbing unit is going to need a water supply with a way to pump the water and a place to drain. Are you talking about something with two or more grinding wheels? Might help if we knew what you are trying to do. Something like this machine with a couple five gallon buckets with a water pump and some hoses? Still have to have a motor of course and motors are kinda heavy. ETA: Something like a Pixie or Genie would have a motor built in. Still need water supply. I think a small cabbing unit would be pretty "portable". Depends on what your intended use is.
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Henry
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2013
Posts: 452
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Post by Henry on Apr 24, 2015 0:09:53 GMT -5
Ah, a cabbing machine. Someone suggested an "8 inch". I guess I couldn't polish ~5 inch cobbles with this, since the wheels may not be large enough?
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,666
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 24, 2015 9:50:14 GMT -5
I just bought a "Poly" last fall,it will do what you want......It has 8" wheels on it...
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Henry
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2013
Posts: 452
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Post by Henry on Apr 24, 2015 12:33:24 GMT -5
I looked-up "Poly" and couldn't find it. Is it a cabbing lap.?
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 24, 2015 13:01:46 GMT -5
Henry, Poly was a brand of 2 wheel arbor that is no longer produced. They can still be found on ebay & such. They were some of the best lapidary arbors ever produced. When you can find one, the price is usually high as these things just don't wear out. The hardest thing to find would be the wide hoods & pans for them. Plenty of the narrow hoods out there, but they only fit grinding wheels. The wide hoods will cover the wide expando drums. Poly arbors came in 6", 8" and even up to 12" sizes. The 6" & 8" are most commonly used for lapidary.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Apr 24, 2015 13:06:40 GMT -5
I looked-up "Poly" and couldn't find it. Is it a cabbing lap.? What Don said. Here's what they looked like:
This one was on an old RTH thread. Google "poly arbor" for more images.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,666
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 24, 2015 14:11:55 GMT -5
Henry, Poly was a brand of 2 wheel arbor that is no longer produced. They can still be found on ebay & such. They were some of the best lapidary arbors ever produced. When you can find one, the price is usually high as these things just don't wear out. The hardest thing to find would be the wide hoods & pans for them. Plenty of the narrow hoods out there, but they only fit grinding wheels. The wide hoods will cover the wide expando drums. Poly arbors came in 6", 8" and even up to 12" sizes. The 6" & 8" are most commonly used for lapidary. My hoods are home built and heavy....
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Post by gingerkid on Apr 25, 2015 8:38:37 GMT -5
Hi, Henry! Would a tumbler be your best bet to polish large cobbles (jade or nephrite?)? Or are you wanting to purchase a cabbing unit? Would a bull wheel work?
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Henry
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2013
Posts: 452
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Post by Henry on Apr 25, 2015 11:42:47 GMT -5
I think that would be a good idea. Use a tumbler on the larger pieces. (4 to 5 inches). If it's harder material, i'll just leave it in the tumbler. For fussy softer pieces like Big Sur jade, i'll use the lap. machine. Besides, larger Big Sur jade piece are a rarity now days, and i'd just leave it "natural".
I definitely would want an economical, versatile cabbing machine...like a Genie?
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