mrzulu
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2015
Posts: 245
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Post by mrzulu on Sept 9, 2015 11:30:27 GMT -5
What is the difference?
The biggest question I have is: can you make faceting cuts with a cabochon lap visa versa?
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Post by johnjsgems on Sept 9, 2015 23:33:07 GMT -5
Depends on lap. I sell Chinese made laps for lapidary but they are "facet rated". They machine the steel disc in Japan and electroplate the diamond mixture in China. As long as the lapidary lap is flat and plating is done well any should work for faceting. Beware of laps that just sound too good to be true (ultra inexpensive). They can be made poorly or have less diamond. Some really inexpensive products I have heard about have poorly graded diamond particle size. Like a 1200 with 80 grit pieces mixed in. These are mostly wheels rather than laps but same principal.
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mrzulu
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2015
Posts: 245
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Post by mrzulu on Sept 11, 2015 9:23:11 GMT -5
Thank you. Most helpful!
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mrzulu
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2015
Posts: 245
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Post by mrzulu on Sept 11, 2015 10:10:47 GMT -5
How about the US made Hi Tech 6" diamond electroplate on their acrylic backing plate?
Also the Tech-10 cloth vs leather?
I noticed all the above plus pastes are available from Rio.
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Post by johnjsgems on Sept 12, 2015 22:23:13 GMT -5
Hi Tech laps are the same Chinese laps I carry. I don't think the acrylic backer would flex so it should work. Most facet laps are on either aluminum or steel master laps. If you use an aluminum master lap you can place lap tops on it to use with facet machine for sure.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,759
Member is Online
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 3, 2015 13:53:36 GMT -5
mrzulu, John's given you very good advice. I'm a facetor and I've found tremendous variation in quality among the so-called "toppers" made in China. They're frequently either not flat or inconsistent as to diamond grit size. Now and then you'll find a winner but you can spend a lot of money in the search. There's probably nothing facet cutters are fussier about than their laps. Most prefer to charge their own laps but there's an almost endless (and confusing) variety of options out there. That's a good thing but for the beginner it can be daunting. If you get serious about faceting, here's a supplier whose products have worked well for me: www.battlap.com/
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mrzulu
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2015
Posts: 245
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Post by mrzulu on Oct 3, 2015 18:57:02 GMT -5
Thank you... So far so good. New phone so will be back in a bit
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 5, 2015 14:15:58 GMT -5
The Battlap products are very good indeed. I carried them for a while when I was doing shows full time as there were many faceting enthusiasts attending. Great American made products.
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mrzulu
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2015
Posts: 245
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Post by mrzulu on Oct 15, 2015 13:00:51 GMT -5
I can now see that I have some book work and investment funds...
It seems, when concerning rock (music, upto and including geologic) I always choose the most expensive route. It's in my nature you see.
In music it's bass and keyboards.
The geolgic side is leaning strongly towards faceting...
:/
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Oct 16, 2015 15:48:39 GMT -5
Faceting is expensive to get into. Consider taking classes and completing a couple stones before making the jump.
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