jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 29, 2016 11:03:32 GMT -5
Total cost so far for three motors and relays and six pulleys shipping included $281.73. I've figured it will cost me $32.19 (pick up locally) for the 80/20 I'm going to use. Add another $36.40 for the flange bearings to hold the cup shafts. That takes me to $350.32. Other odds and ends like the shafts, plumbing bells and adapters, etc. another $50.00 or so. Then I gotta decide if I want to go grit or pads. As far as putting an angle on the bells, I can go back to where I used to work and they will let me use the end mill for that. I have my own rotary indexer and angle blocks to get the perfect angle. Is that perfect angle 45 degrees? around 15 degrees for the cup bevel is all that is needed to get started. The size of the sphere will determine the bevel. Diamond pads will be cheaper in the long run and cleaner.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 28, 2016 13:48:26 GMT -5
The bucket head can handle the sludge and oil with no problems. Occasionally, I will wring out the filter for liquid. No other vacuum clean out is needed. Mine is dedicated for saws only.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 28, 2016 13:43:13 GMT -5
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 28, 2016 12:29:11 GMT -5
Elmer's white glue can be soaked in water. Elmer's wood glue is far more durable. I typically have to I sand wood glue off. Might be worth while to try acetone.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 28, 2016 12:01:17 GMT -5
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 28, 2016 11:48:19 GMT -5
172 RPM is probably on the upper side of fast for doing the initial sanding. However, it would work good for polish. I have seen a polish setup running around 220 to 240 RPM that worked beautifully. Since you are building your own, consider building two, one for sanding and one for polish. Keep the polish machine in a different room to minimize contamination.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 28, 2016 11:39:52 GMT -5
i have 3/4" cold roll for a tumbler that holds three of the 12 lb barrels. I just refurbished a single 12 lb barrel tumbler that had 5/8" cold roll.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 4, 2016 18:15:06 GMT -5
I have seen them build out of wood with a rotisserie motor turning the pieces
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 4, 2016 18:13:15 GMT -5
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 3, 2016 14:30:04 GMT -5
You could probably make it work in a vibrating lap. However, I doubt it would be successful compared to using SiC in a vibrating lap. One could buy a lot of grit for the price of one lap. The center hole would cause problems on large pieces. You could build a grid to guide the rock and keep the rock out of the center. Consider getting an old floor sander and building a stand to create a circular lap.
My solution to the evaporation is to use a plastic sheet covering the lap pan. I hold it in place with plastic spring loaded clamps. I even use the plastic sheet in the winter as this minimizes splash. For pieces that are too tall to accommodate the plastic sheet, I simply use a very slow water drip.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 3, 2016 14:12:28 GMT -5
a prairie dog getting his smoke on
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 3, 2016 14:10:55 GMT -5
interesting pieces, do they fluoresce with a short wave lamp?
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 2, 2016 12:59:17 GMT -5
Lots of well traveled import material in all the pictures. What do you have for material from Alaska? I have lots of agates, jaspers, rhyolites and some other cool stuff for slabs or book ends... also some geode parts. My boss has a lot more geode parts as well as seen in 2 photos. If you like you can send me a pm with what your looking for Petrified wood is my favorite. I like twigs, limbs, logs, and slabs of rounds. I'm not interested in chunks unless they have knots.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 1, 2016 12:17:42 GMT -5
Lots of well traveled import material in all the pictures. What do you have for material from Alaska?
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Mar 1, 2016 11:51:28 GMT -5
I think if you call Diamond Pacific they would either send you a saw manual or maybe a PDF version. They had a 36" in their warehouse for a long time but I think they finally sold it. You might want to give the carriage and rails a really good cleaning and coat with grease. Wouldn't grease would impede the carriage movement? I keep the carriage and rails clean and coat them with clean rock saw oil. I set up my saws so it only takes a very light pressure to move the carriage.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Feb 29, 2016 11:34:58 GMT -5
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Feb 25, 2016 12:22:11 GMT -5
The six jaspers are from the Owyhee area of Oregon. roy or Tony could probably provide the specific mine name
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Feb 24, 2016 14:20:32 GMT -5
Go for it! Utilize the feature as advertising. Include information on how to contact you. Have a bunch of creations ready for buyers.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Feb 23, 2016 12:03:46 GMT -5
Buy dead soft wire for the draw plate. Try using your draw plate to resize wire before committing to it with 50 plus oz. There's a reason they are sold with winches. Also, do the cost vs benefit calculations. How much will you save an hour resizing wire vs how much you make an hour creating jewelry?
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Feb 22, 2016 14:00:43 GMT -5
Consider putting wide rubber bands or masking tape around the bases of the rock. Either will act as a buffer preventing material from falling off the rock sides due to collisions. There are many other options such as PVC tube, O rings, garden hose rings, etc.
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