Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2005
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Roger on Apr 2, 2007 13:42:47 GMT -5
I am considering a new set wheels is going from 50 to 220 OK.
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rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on Apr 2, 2007 15:32:39 GMT -5
I always seem to have problems with chipping at edges and around cracks even with an 80 for my coarse wheel, I'd think a 50 would only be worse in that regard, especially with the material you have.
As for going from 50 to 220, yes you certainly can do it, but stones will need to run longer on 220 than say going from 80 would, simply because the 50 scratches are going to be that much deeper.
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Post by stoner on Apr 2, 2007 16:03:50 GMT -5
Hey Roger. If you have room for a third wheel, hang on to your old 80g wheel and use it after doing the roughing on the 50g wheel. I just bought a 60g sintered wheel to do my roughing because my 80 was really taking a beating on the agates I collected at WWR. The 60 leaves some heavy scratches and if I didn't still have my 80g wheel, my 220 would be wearing out prematurely. But I sure do love the fact that I can hog out agates and not worry about having to buy a new 80 wheel every 6 months.
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Post by rockds on Apr 2, 2007 16:40:49 GMT -5
Roger,
I use a 60 grit hex wheel and go to a 220 with no problems. The main thing you need to watch out for is not getting too close to the edge because it will chip and break like rally said. My 60 hex has been great and lasted a lot longer than the regular 80 grit that came with it. As far as the scratches go, I haven't had any problem going from 60 to 220.
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free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
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Post by free4rms on Apr 2, 2007 21:54:14 GMT -5
I agree that going from a 60 grit to a 220 is not too big a leap. And the jump from a fifty grit to a 220 is not all that bad either, as long as you shape the stone on the 50 carefully. Just don't leave a lot of excess material to try to grind away with the 220. I guess you just have to decide which is more important to you....how much time you want to spend achieving the final polish you want, or how much you spend on wheels in the long run. Let's say you want a 50,000 grit final polish on your stones. You can do it with six wheels in a certain amount of time, or use 7 wheels and take a bit longer to get the same result. Using the 7th wheel may save you a little wear and tear on one wheel, but is this worth taking longer to get to the finish? Personally, I tend to value the production rate over the little bit of money I might save by prolonging the life of one wheel. But, that is just my preference. Someone mentioned chipping as a problem when you use a very coarse wheel. For preforming, I use a 40 grit turbine wheel that is very aggressive, and in some cases I even use a 30 grit Diamond Pacific wheel (blasphemy!). Like rockds said earlier, you can avoid chipping on the edges of the preform or cab simply by not allowing the wheel to grind all the way to the very outer edge of the stone. I stop a couple of millimeters from the edge when using the coarse wheels and then shape that last little edge on the finer wheels in the next step. This completely eliminates the problem of chipping.
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Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2005
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Roger on Apr 3, 2007 9:11:29 GMT -5
Hey Thanks I think I like the idea of being able shape the rock easier.I see my 80 grit wheel being eaten up by matrix trying to get to the agate.I'm going to buy it you can never have two many choice's.Thanks for all the insight and experience........Roger
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