droseraguy
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 426
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Post by droseraguy on May 6, 2012 16:43:20 GMT -5
Ok well not really new but new to me. Got it off ebay from a local guy. It seems to work well but.... a couple questions from a newbie if you all don't mind. The set up is a Lortone LCC-6 which appears to be rather dated. It seems to work pretty well though. Right off the bat I took the whole thing apart anticipating finding some kind of markings on the Crystalite wheels indicating their #'s, no luck... There are two which I'm guessing are... who knows how do you tell ? The 3rd wheel is an expando with an old 600 belt that broke pretty quick and I put another on which broke shortly after as well. One question is why are the belts breaking ? I took all the wheels off so i could cut a few things for the granddaughter and am stuck at this point. Any Thoughts
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Post by jakesrocks on May 6, 2012 17:00:27 GMT -5
How old are those 6oo grit belts ? Are they breaking right at the seam ? The glue patch that they use to join the ends of the belts will break down after a couple years. Buy a fresh belt, break it in with a piece of scrap agate and try again.
Not sure what to tell you about the Crystalite wheels, other than most people start out with a coarse wheel on the left, a finer wheel next and so on. Again, try a piece of scrap agate and see which wheel cuts the most aggressively.
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Post by johnjsgems on May 6, 2012 20:03:37 GMT -5
Pictures may help but is this a combo unit or a multi wheel unit you are using a blade on? Can't follow why you have to remove wheels to use the saw. As Don said with two grinding wheels the most common grits are either 80 or 100 and a 220. Silicon carbide belts can tear easily if you are putting edges into them. I found a whole box of brand new Exact Span belts in my dad's things (stopped working on rocks in 1975 or so) and every one was apart at glue joint.
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Post by bobby1 on May 6, 2012 23:51:39 GMT -5
Most of the older expando belts will break at the seam if they have been sitting idle on the drum or on the shelf. The earlier belt adhesives did not hold up well to ageing. New belts do far better with age! Bob
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droseraguy
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 426
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Post by droseraguy on May 7, 2012 8:20:39 GMT -5
No pictures yet but here's a short description. The blade is on the left side of the unit and the 6" are wheels on the right, three of them. A pad is on the right end as well. I took the wheels off after the belt/ belts broke because the imprint on the side of the expando wheel says not to run it without a belt. It was easy enough to do and she was waiting all morning for me to make time for her. Prior to the belt breaking I was able to figure out that the diamond wheels are pretty easy to tell apart one was pretty aggessive and the other not at all. The expando 600 grit was in the middle. I was given a couple from the purchaser ( he got the unit at an estate sale) but I suppose I should just order some new ones anyway. It looks like they were running some kind of oil cause the muck in the tray was still oiley. Not much in the way of rust either. Still after a good cleaning I was able to cut the grand daughters mothers day rock she wanted to give her mom. Now we've got to shine the bugger up. One last note, the "antique" teel brass water pump gave up the ghost or at least the retaining clip that connects the pump shaft to the motor. After some thought I'm thinking that the motor should be the driver for a homemade tumbler and just to go out and get a new fountain type pump for the water tray. Just like Rosanna Rosanna Danna's momma used to say, "It's always sumthin".
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Post by johnjsgems on May 7, 2012 8:39:19 GMT -5
Are these 6" wheels? The really common 6" combo (LU6X) had a 6" blade on left, one 1" grinding wheel, one 6" X 2.5" expando (or Exact Span on old ones), and a spin on polish head on right. You should put the wheels on first with expando on right end. Buy a nut (1/2" fine thread) to hold all three wheels on. That way the belts are easier to change and polish head won't be contaminated while sanding.
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droseraguy
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 426
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Post by droseraguy on May 7, 2012 9:06:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the info, it looks like an older version of that one. I'll get some pics up tonight so I can pick some more brains before I mess up too many things !
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