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Post by broseph82 on May 22, 2015 13:21:22 GMT -5
Like the title says. I know different companies sell different kinds, but with wheels Novas are king. Who sells the better diamond pastes (syringes)?
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Post by Rockoonz on May 22, 2015 16:44:59 GMT -5
Look for how many carats of diamond by volume you are getting. There may also be a consideration of the diamond type but that topic will be for someone more educated than I. BTW I don't agree that Novas are king, Crystallite dot belts on Lortone expandos are way better AFAIAC.
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Post by broseph82 on May 23, 2015 0:07:29 GMT -5
Look for how many carats of diamond by volume you are getting. There may also be a consideration of the diamond type but that topic will be for someone more educated than I. BTW I don't agree that Novas are king, Crystallite dot belts on Lortone expandos are way better AFAIAC. Well from the people that cab here the majority say Nova is the way to go. You go on FB lapidary clubs and they will bash Novas.
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Post by Rockoonz on May 23, 2015 23:26:26 GMT -5
broseph82 I have cut a few cabs on other peoples genies with Nova soft wheels and was quite satisfied with the results. What I choose to use at home suits me better. I start with a 80, 100 or 180 grit hard diamond wheel, depending on what I'm shaping. After that I use a 220 hard wheel, then I usually use SiC belts on Lortone expandos to 600 grit. After 600 I use diamond belts to whatever grit I think it needs, and finish most often with cerium on a 12 inch leather polisher or diamond paste on a leather belt on an expando. With some materials I can go from a 600 grit SiC to a worn 600, then straight to cerium. In fact I put a Vistaite cab in a competitive society case several years ago and the judges, who would probably tell you that you have to use a genie to cut a competitive cab, gave the case a 99 out of 100 score, the point off was due to a spot of lint in the display. The cab was cut using hard diamond and SiC belts and polished with cerium. If you're in the FB groups you may have seen some of Aaron Buell's incredible work, he uses SiC belts the same way for producing stuff to sell at shows. Again, this is the way some of us do it, we all have our preferences and it all works, for the most part.
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Post by broseph82 on May 23, 2015 23:47:39 GMT -5
broseph82 I have cut a few cabs on other peoples genies with Nova soft wheels and was quite satisfied with the results. What I choose to use at home suits me better. I start with a 80, 100 or 180 grit hard diamond wheel, depending on what I'm shaping. After that I use a 220 hard wheel, then I usually use SiC belts on Lortone expandos to 600 grit. After 600 I use diamond belts to whatever grit I think it needs, and finish most often with cerium on a 12 inch leather polisher or diamond paste on a leather belt on an expando. With some materials I can go from a 600 grit SiC to a worn 600, then straight to cerium. In fact I put a Vistaite cab in a competitive society case several years ago and the judges, who would probably tell you that you have to use a genie to cut a competitive cab, gave the case a 99 out of 100 score, the point off was due to a spot of lint in the display. The cab was cut using hard diamond and SiC belts and polished with cerium. If you're in the FB groups you may have seen some of Aaron Buell's incredible work, he uses SiC belts the same way for producing stuff to sell at shows. Again, this is the way some of us do it, we all have our preferences and it all works, for the most part. Oh I agree. I started out using SiC belts and still have a couple drums. Do I prefer them? Hell no! Not after using my 600-3000 Novas. I couldn't quite get the pressure down on the drum. Some people would say to use moderate pressure and some say bear down into it. My problem is they don't last long and before I knew it it wasn't taking out my 120 hard scratches (220 SiC). Now I have a 220 hard nova and use the 320-400 sic and works fine
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Post by DirtCleaner on May 24, 2015 8:30:09 GMT -5
This discussion could grow exponentially. I sat in on a short seminar on grinding/polishing. Part was for faceting and part was for the other lapidary means. The discussion went deep into the effects of different types of grinding media. Including Diamond paste and the different oxides. For some types of stones the diamond pastes will create stress on the surface of the cab. And the finer the grit the more stress that is created. So when you are getting to the finishing stages and the buff polishing and a crack appears, it came from the finer grits. I did not get the name of the presenter but he came from a career in the semiconductor field and is very studied on this subject. It was eye opening for sure but it also left the attendees with fears and questions as to how to best get that beautiful, deep finish we all strive for.
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