fisherman510
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2008
Posts: 113
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Post by fisherman510 on Sept 9, 2008 7:39:28 GMT -5
My lap grinder should be in this week and I will start on some cabs. Do most of you finish up your cabs on a polishing wheel or do you run them through a vibrating tumbler.
Bob
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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 9, 2008 8:25:44 GMT -5
I do everything on the grinder. I tried using a vib to finish up at first but wasn't happy with the finish. I got a little undercutting that way. Besides, I like the act of grinding and polishing by hand.
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Post by beefjello on Sept 9, 2008 8:46:22 GMT -5
Hi Bob! I polish on a 6" leather disk using 14,000 grit diamond paste. I have a second disk with 50,000 diamond, but I'm getting lazy in my old age and haven't used it in several months Brian
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Post by Titania on Sept 9, 2008 11:27:28 GMT -5
I polish on a grinding wheel, as well. I have a Raytech Expando wheel, which I run diamond belts on. At the moment, I polish to 50k...100k diamond paste on a leather disk if I need it, which is extremely rarely.
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49er
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since February 2008
Posts: 753
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Post by 49er on Sept 9, 2008 11:30:36 GMT -5
I use a leather pad with various polishing compounds that are applicable to the type of stone or with a diamond paste. It all depends which machine I am using.
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Post by bobby1 on Sept 9, 2008 11:46:38 GMT -5
I do all of my sanding on S/C belts, polishing on a carpet covered wheel. I'm kinda old fashioned. I've tried all diamond equipment and haven't found it to be any better or faster than my clunky old method. S/C belts are a lot cheaper than diamond ones and last a lot longer. Just my prejudices. Bob
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 9, 2008 12:20:36 GMT -5
3,000 , 14,000 wheel, 50,000, 100,000 paste on canvas pad.
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theimage1
starting to shine!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 33
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Post by theimage1 on Sept 9, 2008 14:11:09 GMT -5
I tend to finish on a 14,000 soft wheel. I set up a second arbor on the Genie with a worn 3000, 8000, and a 14,000. When I finish on the normal Genie set I spin-off the right arbor and replace it with the second one to finish up.
I used to use all the "other polishes" and they do sometimes help, but I also found that they often "don't help" (ie. they damage the stone). Heat build-up can be pretty fast on leather or muslin with Cerium, Titanium or alumina, and many times ... especially with stones like Noreena (which has a pretty good water content) I got surface cracks as the water got too hot, so I stopped with the the padded wheels/disks on anything but the hardest agate and jasper.
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kjohn0102
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2006
Posts: 774
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Post by kjohn0102 on Sept 10, 2008 22:56:07 GMT -5
Leather pad with 14,000 in the centre, and 50,000 on the outside (a Stoner trick). I do end up tossing them in the tumbler with some polish for a day-just seems to finish it all up nicely.
kj
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Sept 10, 2008 23:02:57 GMT -5
I gotta start polishing further than the last wheel on my genie. I guess I have to try to come up with a leather/carpeted polishing wheel to finish up my cabs, and get that blinding shine that you all are getting. Steve
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Sept 10, 2008 23:24:16 GMT -5
I noticed that the polish obtained on the wheel (I use diamond pads) is better than the polish in the tumbler. Besides, I wouldn't take the chance of chipping or fracturing a good cab in the tumbler. Maybe the vibe is safer than the rotary.
For me, noticing the transformation of the cab through the stages is part of the joy of cabbing, so I wouldn't quit polishing them piece by piece.
Adrian
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 11, 2008 9:14:52 GMT -5
I gotta start polishing further than the last wheel on my genie. I guess I have to try to come up with a leather/carpeted polishing wheel to finish up my cabs, and get that blinding shine that you all are getting. Steve Your genie comes with a canvas pad and diamond paste. The pad screws in to right side end. If you don't have yours, they don't cost very much. Buy two pads; one for 50,000 and one for 100,000.
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 11, 2008 9:18:53 GMT -5
I noticed that the polish obtained on the wheel (I use diamond pads) is better than the polish in the tumbler. Besides, I wouldn't take the chance of chipping or fracturing a good cab in the tumbler. Maybe the vibe is safer than the rotary. For me, noticing the transformation of the cab through the stages is part of the joy of cabbing, so I wouldn't quit polishing them piece by piece. Adrian sanding and polishing take me less than 20% of the time it takes to complete a cab. I spend one minute a cab on each of my four polishing stages. In fact once I am satisfied with the cab at 280, I am basically on auto pilot.
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