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Post by sophia13 on Jul 10, 2018 15:55:06 GMT -5
Getting my rock shop set up (for cabbing mostly) eventually learn to wrap cabs...I would love to know what items you expert Rock stars just love having in your shop-Anything and everything that makes cabbing. I'd love to hear. From slab storage Favorite polishes, favorite saw blades or agates and jaspers to any hints or tips, measuring instruments etc.....
Here is my current setup-
8" Raytech Gemmaker with DP Genie wheel setup
6" Covington 2 wheel, drum, Trim Saw Combo
8" Hi Tech Slant Cabber
6" Raytech Trim Saw
10" Raytech Trim/Small slab saw
Raytech Dop Station
18" Gem Equipment Drop Saw
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Jul 10, 2018 16:34:50 GMT -5
What you have will certainly get you off to a running start. BTW, we LOVE photos here- any and all. Send a P.M. to Tommy to hook you up to the Rock Show Photo Galleries, which will make it relatively easy to post pics on this forum. Just @ a glance, it's appears you have 3 trim saws. If it were me, I would set up one of the 6"ers w/ mineral oil and a good blade (MK 303) and the other (which ever is easier to clean up)w/ water and something like crystal lube, to help w/ rust prevention. That saw will need to be cleaned and dried after each work session. Your "water saw" will be used for cutting stone that might absorb oil, such as turquoises, serpentine, and jade, among others. I would also use a thinner blade on the water machine, buy several thin kerf chinese cheapos. This will reduce waste on your more expensive material. Others are certain to chime in w/ their thoughts. I'm a big fan of the bench top drill press (but not the $79.00 one @ Kingsley) They can be pulled into service for many lapidary tasks besides drilling. I'm looking forward to seeing some cuts from that 18" drop saw- Looks like a MONSTER! |
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 10, 2018 17:22:49 GMT -5
You have a lot of stuff. The only things I can think of are end pads with 50,000 and 100,000 grit, some kind of magnifying glass and good lighting for cabbing, cab inspection and photography. You mentioned wrapping (something I don't do) and wonder if you need to buy or make a jig for cutting grooves for groove wrapping.
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368 
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Post by goatgrinder on Jul 10, 2018 20:02:47 GMT -5
That is a lot of cutting, grinding and moving equipment; the only thing left to buy is a Costco sized box of band aids.
Really, seriously. Maybe some superglue for when band aids won't do it. Best of luck.
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Post by sophia13 on Jul 10, 2018 20:19:25 GMT -5
What you have will certainly get you off to a running start. BTW, we LOVE photos here- any and all. Send a P.M. to Tommy to hook you up to the Rock Show Photo Galleries, which will make it relatively easy to post pics on this forum. Just @ a glance, it's appears you have 3 trim saws. If it were me, I would set up one of the 6"ers w/ mineral oil and a good blade (MK 303) and the other (which ever is easier to clean up)w/ water and something like crystal lube, to help w/ rust prevention. That saw will need to be cleaned and dried after each work session. Your "water saw" will be used for cutting stone that might absorb oil, such as turquoises, serpentine, and jade, among others. I would also use a thinner blade on the water machine, buy several thin kerf chinese cheapos. This will reduce waste on your more expensive material. Others are certain to chime in w/ their thoughts. I'm a big fan of the bench top drill press (but not the $79.00 one @ Kingsley) They can be pulled into service for many lapidary tasks besides drilling. I'm looking forward to seeing some cuts from that 18" drop saw- Looks like a MONSTER! Thank you, Looking forward to cutting into some of the agatized coral I found here in Florida Great ideas on the saws, thank you. Would the MK303 be good for both minerl oil and water? Is it considered a "thin kerf" blade? Also, what would be a good 18" blade for the drop saw? I'd rather buy the right one first Thanks again. |
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 10, 2018 22:08:08 GMT -5
I use cool lube or lube cool or some variation on the name as a water additive with my 8 inch 303 trim saw. I also use it with my cabber with a weaker mixture My slab saw is a 16" Covington combo. The original blade ate too much material and when I wrecked it, I asked Covington and replaced it with a 14" 303 blade because of the narrower kerf and for my current cutting needs. It was adequate and cheaper. It didn't last as long as I would like and it quit working. I called Covington again and they said the 301 does a better job on hard material and lasts longer. It was more expensive than the 303. I haven't installed it yet.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Jul 12, 2018 19:54:21 GMT -5
Maybe a foredom with foot switch, and a 24" saw never hurt no one?
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 14, 2018 14:54:33 GMT -5
If you have a screw on for a polishing pad. I would recommend some coarser grit laps with a backer for flattening uneven slabs. I rotate the piece on the 80 and 220 hard and the 220 soft, but I can't get them exactly flat. What I am missing is a small autofeed slab saw. A big slab saw wastes too much material. I use my trim saw for that and the pieces get hacked up and the blades wear. I bought a small slab saw on ebay that was suppose to be 10 inches but was probably eight and I installed a nine inch blade and cut with mineral oil. It was a gravity feed and didn't work very well so I tossed it. Also a good set of templates.
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Post by Pat on Jul 14, 2018 16:02:02 GMT -5
Looks like you have s good start.
Now all you need are rocks and cabs😄
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Jul 15, 2018 17:58:18 GMT -5
Great topic! The best thing in my shop is a recent upgrade to led overhead lighting. Being able to see is awesome!
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Post by Pat on Jul 15, 2018 23:42:16 GMT -5
When I need to dop a cab (the very small ones), I use Loc-Tite gel.
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J Mee
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2018
Posts: 21
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Post by J Mee on Jul 16, 2018 1:45:38 GMT -5
A variety of rocks! Different rocks cut so differently, it can take a while to figure out what your favorites are. Softer stones like turquoise are more forgiving to missing small spots, and still being able to get a good shine at higher grits and polish, I know some cuters that only use 2-3 grits and polish with turq... You can’t get away with that on agate and other harder stones, you need to make sure you sand through each grit perfectly or you’ll go crazy trying to get out scratches from the previous grit. Softer stones also cut very fast, which can be a blessing or a curse because it takes control to not grind away too much too fast. Opals are somewhere in between turquoise and agate. Each stone has it’s own sublties, and theres always more new stones to explore!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 18, 2018 13:21:24 GMT -5
Inventory, lots of tonnage of rock...
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Post by Pat on Sept 21, 2018 9:38:05 GMT -5
An optivisor is useful.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 21, 2018 10:25:42 GMT -5
Mandatory for me! I can't see what I'm doing without it!  |
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