sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Oct 5, 2012 17:01:23 GMT -5
I've seen a great deal on this and other forums about wet polishers and particularly the one made by BD. Googling around, I found several others, including this one www.rotoblast.com/wet_polisher_stonepolisher_p/rotoblast%20m-100k.htm. I wrote to the online sales store and asked them if it would also polish rocks and they said that they sell to many rock clubs for that very reason. It there that great a difference, other than price ($575 for BD vs under $200 for this one), between BD and others?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2012 18:51:02 GMT -5
I use the velcro pads to do all my cabbing but I have a home made setup with a grinder spindle, motor and a lot of water guard. It is the same as putting something like that on the end of a gene or other cabber. I go from 50 to grind the rough up to 3000 to polish. The 3000 diamond puts a pretty good shine on a rock (good enough for pendants I sell) but not as good as leather or some other flex material. Jim
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2012 18:54:20 GMT -5
I should add that you would have to get it mounted solid and figure out some kind of guard to contain the water because it will be flinging it everywhere. Jim
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Oct 5, 2012 18:59:43 GMT -5
I hear they have a leakage problem but that is from people that use them for counters. I, like Jim, use them all the way from 50-3000 and am impressed with what they can do including not making flat spots as bad. Only drawback for me so far is the roughness; if you have a temperamental stone it could end up fracturing or crumbling.
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 5, 2012 19:20:19 GMT -5
If you have an air compressor, any air grinder would work. You can adapt a water feed without worry of being electrocuted. Speed could also be controlled with the use of an air line valve.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 5, 2012 22:51:32 GMT -5
The reason the BD kit costs more is apples and oranges. The BD kit comes with 10 4" resin diamond pads (hand made in Bulgaria using Debiers Diamonds and Canadian balsam resign and specifically for hard rock, not counterm top soft materials). The pads run from 30 grit through 13000 and also a felt pad for final polish (I use 14K diamond). Also included is a brazed diamond 35/40 grit convex grinder and 120 git flat surface grinder. List price on included accessories about $1000. The economy Chinese counter top pads will work but wear out faster and available in less grit choices. Economy pads are really low cost though. Figure in the cost of grinding heads to shape rocks before the pads if you plan on doing contour polishing rather than flat surfaces only.
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gravelgrazer
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2012
Posts: 76
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Post by gravelgrazer on Dec 22, 2012 3:14:51 GMT -5
I got a BD last summer & love it. The 120 grit flat surface grinder is killer! BD does have a sale on the MK wet polishing kit for 100 bucks less than the other model but unfortunately it doesn't come with the flat surface grinder & I think the pads go up to 3,000 grit vs. 13000. gonna try to post their link to it...http://www.barrancadiamond.com/pdf/sales/BD_wet_polisher_kit_special.pdf Pretty sure you won't be disappointed with BD and they gave good customer service too! Enjoy
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2012 8:57:41 GMT -5
I do all my grinding on 50 grit pads and can probably buy 10 or fifteen of them for the price of a BD and I have very little chipping on it. Usually if a stone starts to chip I will pass it on to the 100 or 200 grit to grind. These pads are designed to for granite counter tops so unless you are working stone that is harder than 7 mohs you are still covered. They come in 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000. I can not imagine using more steps than that and when they wear out I cut them in half and use them for grinding and polishing my rings on the drill press.
All of these pads are interchangeable if the BD uses velcro so if you wanted a different pad like a 13000 you can just buy a single pad. The pad holder comes with a 5/8" course thread which will screw right onto just about any medium size grinder,
I am also pretty sure that you will be happy with the BD machine but that is a lot of money for something that might be just a little bit better than a used belt drive grinder. a 1/4 horse motor and a little bit of inginudity. I have changed over to the end of a two wheel cabber that I picked up on here for $250 because I want something small enough to carry into my camper then set up outside once I get to my destination. I have a water re-circling water set up with a swamp cooler pump floating on styrofoam in a bucket.
Either way I believe you will be happy so the wallet or your desire to put in some hours building the machine.
Now I am going to BD to check out the 120 flat but another thing I like about the pads is that they wear round in the middle and make it easier to get a smooth curve on the stone. I do not know yet what BD has to offer but do not get anything smaller than a five in setup. As my pads wear out I am buying five inch and If I would have seen that they came in a six inch I would have gone that rout. The four inch is just too small for medium and larger cabs. BTW I have photos and can take more if you want to see what I have. Mine includes a 10" trim saw that I have used more than my slab saw. Jim
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Post by johnjsgems on Dec 22, 2012 9:58:23 GMT -5
They do make 7". The low price MK kit has the low cost counter top pads. If your granite is a 7 it is a lot harder than my counters I refinished. The 120 flat grinder is actually rated for dry use so really well made and durable especially used wet. The convex brazed wheel is really great for contouring as well.
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Post by roy on Dec 22, 2012 14:29:37 GMT -5
if you want junk you can find lots of them out there for cheap quality costs more the bd is a quality grinder with top grade pads . i own one and it works great !!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2012 20:03:39 GMT -5
One mans junk is another man's treasure Roy. Not everyone has the bucks to throw out there and the cheaper one may get them through until they can afford better quality. The cabs on the cheaper one will be just as good as on the high priced one with a little practice. Don't overspend your budget just because someone calls something junk. Plus, if you are just starting out you may not like making cabs so you won't have a high priced tool that just depreciated by half Jim
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Post by johnjsgems on Dec 22, 2012 21:58:12 GMT -5
You guys are talking two different tools. Roy is talking about a hand held wet angle grinder for contour or flat polishing. Not a resin pad used on a cabber.
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2012 22:29:30 GMT -5
I understand that he is talking about an angle grinder. But it is not necessary to pay the extra bucks because it says lapidary on the side of it. They both have water fed through the center hole which I do not do. I use a spray setup for the water.
I am also talking about buying the plastic diamond impregnated pads for granite and marble counter tops. They work excellent and the smaller grit pads that I started with are still going strong. The courser the grit the faster they wear out but I pay less than five bucks for one. Since I started making cabs a couple of years ago I have not purchased over four 50 grit and I have made hundreds of cabs.
The people that install stone counter tops use the same setup and unless you have gotten a bad installer their work is excellent using the same pads that I use. They both have diamonds in them and I do not think the installers are going to go out and use something that is not going to do a good job.
I am not trying to be an a.. here, I am just trying to point out that if someone does not have the bucks there are other ways to get the job done. If I use anything past the 3000 grit on Wyoming nephrite I get orange peel and start loosing the shine. Jim
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