herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Jan 30, 2012 3:12:03 GMT -5
Well I did end up missing a day due to a Cub Scout meeting last Thursday, then Friday's cab was a disappointment. I didn't post it, but I started with a piece of jasper that was already too thin. I don't know what I was thinking, but it didn't end with a win. Yesterday didn't work out so after a long day of cleaning and organizing the garage and all my rock, I got back into it tonight. Several good things happened. First I was using a slab that Randy sent me. Thanks again Randy for the great practice material. Next I dopped for the first time. I don't have wax yet so I used superglue and what an improvement over using my fingers. Then I used my new home-brewed arbor extender so I could actually polish the stone without the inconvenience of putting it into the end of the machine. It worked like a champ, no funny wobbles and it felt solid. Last, I am actually happy with this cab. It is still freeform, and it isn't perfect, but I was able to dome the top and get it relatively even. Here is a pic of the top, I dropped my phone so I used our little point and shoot. Here is another of the extended arbor and polishing pad: I am still fighting with getting the top to dome well. I think I am pressing too hard on the expando, and it seems to take way too long to get the entire top surface to round off - but I will keep practicing and hopefully I can start to find my groove.
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Jan 30, 2012 6:38:47 GMT -5
Looks good! dopping definately makes handling the cab much easier through the whole cabbing process and is kinder to your fingers
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carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Jan 30, 2012 6:40:08 GMT -5
That's looking pretty good. What's the material? It looks pretty neat.
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Jan 30, 2012 8:03:36 GMT -5
Wow, you're coming right along. Yes, dopping does help!
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keystonecops
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2010
Posts: 957
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Post by keystonecops on Jan 30, 2012 8:25:59 GMT -5
Yer combo is a little differnt than mine. Youve got shut off valves on top, which I need to get on mine so I can pressurize the feed. Preformin and domin should be done on grindn wheel. Xpando with belts is fer sandn. Could be why yer goin thru belts. Yer tryn to grind with a sander. Ill try an send ya some pics of my set up. Later Clyde
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Post by Toad on Jan 30, 2012 9:38:22 GMT -5
I like it
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Jan 30, 2012 13:12:20 GMT -5
Clyde - I meant to PM you - that is exactly what I was going to ask - doming on the griding wheel - GAAAAAAARGH I've been wasting HOURS on that expando trying to get a dome.
I finally thought I would try "cheating" last night and use the grinding wheel to get the dome - and what do you know - I GOT A DOME!
That was a frustrating lesson to learn, but one well received.
I have the diamond 120 wheel on the way that I am going to use for my grind. I know it will be slower than the 100, but I think the trade off on fewer scratches will be well worth it.
I also am ordering some templates so I can do some calibrated stones.
carloscinco - I think this is bloodstone but Randy would know better, he sent me this in a batch of slabs he sent me so I could practice on some decent material.
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keystonecops
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2010
Posts: 957
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Post by keystonecops on Jan 30, 2012 20:29:02 GMT -5
Now yer cookn John. The 120 will work, just let it do the work. Easy on pressure. When ya get the diamond youll be amazed hoe it eats the rock. As I told ya, I started with the calibrated to get the feel, now Im doin more free form. Later Clyde
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Jan 30, 2012 23:51:34 GMT -5
Thanks Clyde, yeah I ordered some templates at connrock's suggestion, will work on those once they get here.
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jan 31, 2012 10:04:24 GMT -5
Yes I to agree dopping is better on the fingeres. Right now mine are bandaged up because I am to lazy to dop, and also I just like the feel of the cab in my hands LOL However now that my diamond wheels have got s taste of blood I better dop the next time. LOL Stu
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2012 13:43:02 GMT -5
Looking great John. I dop everything now but at times I still grab the stone to work some difficult moves that I can not do with the stick. Happy with the outcome of the extender and that it does not wobble. I was worried about that. Jim
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 31, 2012 14:21:22 GMT -5
Diamond is not nearly as hard on the fingers as SiC, but the edges of diamond wheels are sharp! I guess you've learned what you can do with an expando drum now. Experience is the best teacher! I think your 120 diamond will actually cut much faster than a 100 SiC. As Clyde said, go easy on the pressure or you'll be back to spending a lot of time on the expando taking out scratches. Chuck
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Post by talkingstones on Feb 3, 2012 9:11:08 GMT -5
OK, I see what you did. You brought the polishing pad outside of the actual arbor. How's it working for you? Also, I didn't know John carried lap supplies. I'm finding my grinding wheel has a propensity to chew up the rocks and am getting a lot of fractures at the 600 level belt, probably because I'm trying to make that level do what the lowers should do. I've kind of eliminated the 200 belt level and have been going right from the grinding wheel to the 400 belt. I'm thinking with a better wheel, I might be able to work the cabs more effectively. Also, what kind of blade are you using? I'm still using the stock blade it came with but feel I could be happier with the results with a better blade.
You make me laugh because we've gotten a lot of the same equipment! I diverged on the vibe. I ended up getting a Lot-O which I will begin setting up this weekend. (I hope!)
Time to go to work. I'm enjoying your posts!
Cathy
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Feb 3, 2012 11:52:30 GMT -5
Cathy, I love having the polishing pad outside the hood. I felt like there wasn't enough room inside that hooded area to work, and that all the water risked contaminating the pad. I ended up calling John while he was in Arizona a couple weeks ago, and he said he does sell the pads but that they aren't on his site. You can probably PM him for that information. I think they were like $25/pad or something. Good luck with the Lot-o - I am still cutting and polishing and rotary tumbling a bunch of stuff, so hopefully I will have enough to use my UV-10 soon. I bought the diamond pacific wheel from ebay. I found it for $115 plus $10 shipping and just from the limited use I have with it I say it is totally worth it. My SiC wheel started giving me trouble right away and I think a lot of my initial struggles were because it wore unevenly and had a propensity to break edges off cabs. As far as the blade, it came with an old blade that I replaced with a diamond cintered one from dad's rock shop. I think it was like .014" or something, but I bent it, fixed it and bent it again and it is unuseable. I took the original blade, which I can't ID because all the markings are missing - and put it back on and it is working fine. It is thicker though, which is nice because I haven't managed to bend it yet I will confess that after reading a tutorial connrock showed me, my last few cabs have been - 120 diamond wheel initial grind and dome - skip all the other SiC belts and go right to a 600 grit SiC belt and pre-polish - go to the leather pad with 1200 diamond mesh paste When I do more careful work on the grind I am finding that the other grits are less useful, and I am not swapping the 600 SiC belt at all now. The pads - because I have extended the arbor - are really easy to change. I have 2, one I use exclusively for 1200 mesh diamond and another that I use exclusively with 14000 mesh diamond. I was a little worried about diamond paste slinging all other the place, but I don't use a lot and I always try to work it into the leather pad with the stone before I turn on the machine - so I haven't seen anything sling off yet. I think I may buy another and use it for 3000 mesh and see if I can eliminate the 1200 mesh step. No matter what though, it is a TON of fun (which is good because I think I have about a TON of rock in my garage) and I am finally seeing things that I really like coming off the machine. I need to get back to work too - I have a day job that still needs done:)
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