|
Post by HankRocks on May 19, 2024 9:00:55 GMT -5
Here's a few pictures of the latest model of the rock clamp that a good friend built for me. It's the Miller-3000, or the 3rd version of the clamp. The first version was built for my 20 inch saw which has a vertical clamp. It's was built for clamping geodes and could accommodate geode type rocks up to about 6 inches in diameter, the holding arms were fixed metal. The 2nd version introduced heavy duty bike chain as the holding devices. The latest version was modified to fit both the 20 inch saw and the 24" saw with it's horizontal clamp, and the cutting clearance height was increased to take advantage of the 24" saw. Here is a picture of the clamp with a larger Brazilian agate secured in the Miller 3000 and ready for cutting on the 24 inch saw. In the picture there is a 9 X 7 inch Septarian Nodule I just cut this morning. Cut is smooth with no wobbles. Should polish nicely. Have a few more Septarians to cut along with a good number of large Brazilian Agate and odd shaped agates. IMG_6037 by Findrocks, on Flickr Another picture showing the device secured in the horizontal saw vice. because of the box design it will also clamp in the vertical vice on the 20 in saw. IMG_6038 by Findrocks, on Flickr A view of the chain clamping devices. They were the trickiest to build. The chains can be clamped independently at different levels for a odd shaped rock by changing to a different level hole. IMG_6040 by Findrocks, on Flickr Now it's on to our next project, a better, more efficient Vibe Lap. High level discussions are in the requirement gathering stage, sometimes over games of Pool in my game room. Henry
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on May 19, 2024 11:18:21 GMT -5
This vibe lap is pretty revolutionary, but with the price it never took off for Lortone. The rubber supports were molded where I retired from, I kept a few cosmetic rejects to play with, but decided to discard them for the move to AZ. They cut their prototypes from thick sheet with a water jet. lortone.com/collections/oscillating-laps/products/model-oscillating-lap?infoEdit: I would use a variable speed motor and note the best speeds for various materials and operations.
|
|
chris1956
fully equipped rock polisher
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Member since July 2022
Posts: 1,962
Member is Online
|
Post by chris1956 on May 19, 2024 12:21:22 GMT -5
So when is production going to ramp up on the Miller-3000? The Septarian Nodule is really cool. Don't forget to post the others you cut.
|
|
johnthor1963
starting to spend too much on rocks
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_teal.png)
Cattle dogs rock
Member since June 2023
Posts: 219
Member is Online
|
Post by johnthor1963 on May 19, 2024 13:59:24 GMT -5
So that’s where my bike chain went lol. Very cool looks great and the material you cut looks awesome also keep on cutting. Thx for sharing
|
|
lapidary1234
starting to spend too much on rocks
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_teal.png)
"If you like rocks you can't be all bad!!" ~ old timer quote
Member since October 2021
Posts: 181
|
Post by lapidary1234 on May 27, 2024 16:17:20 GMT -5
So when is production going to ramp up on the Miller-3000? The Septarian Nodule is really cool. Don't forget to post the others you cut. For reals, id pay good money for one of them. I have what I can only imagine is supposed to be a geode thundering holder/clamp... it has a bar that clamps in the vise and then a fairly heavy springed hinge that is *supposed* to hold the stone in place, but nothing besides the springs to actually secure / clamp it. Needless to say, I haven't tried using it ever. Came with an estate lot sort of thing.
|
|
khara
fully equipped rock polisher
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,976
|
Post by khara on May 27, 2024 16:24:58 GMT -5
The use of bike chain for a clamp seems pretty ingenious. Something that can flex and mold to shapes and also grip at the same time as opposed to a series of hard flat objects… I need to file this in my brain to try when I finally get my saw up and running.
|
|