MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
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Post by MetaMoose on Jun 8, 2022 9:12:15 GMT -5
Good morning internet friends, I picked up this buffing station at an auction, the previous owner used it for lapidary purposes, possibly faceting, but he also did a lot of cabbing. I don’t (currently) do faceting, I do cabbing. Just generically, how would I use this device for cabbing rocks? Would I apply paste to the wheels? There are a few different wheels (so bin to the right), are any particularly good/bad for polishing cabs? Thanks for your help! imgur.com/gallery/MpULs9a
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Post by manofglass on Jun 8, 2022 9:22:43 GMT -5
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Post by rmf on Jun 8, 2022 9:37:53 GMT -5
For safety reasons and comfort I never polish in the buff.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 8, 2022 9:44:21 GMT -5
Good morning internet friends, I picked up this buffing station at an auction, the previous owner used it for lapidary purposes, possibly faceting, but he also did a lot of cabbing. I don’t (currently) do faceting, I do cabbing. Just generically, how would I use this device for cabbing rocks? Would I apply paste to the wheels? There are a few different wheels (so bin to the right), are any particularly good/bad for polishing cabs? Thanks for your help! imgur.com/gallery/MpULs9aSherp, your buffing station appears to be used for buffing and polishing jewelry (metal). The cotton, muslin and felt buffs are all used for that purpose with tripoli, bobbing compounds, and rouge, etc. The only thing you can polish with that machine would be soft stones such as turquoise, which can be lightly buffed with ZAM (a metal polishing compound used dry) which would bring out a nice polish on the stone. It would, however, make an excellent carving station for stones. I have one set up with a water drip that I use for carving. I have a jacobs chuck mounted on one end that I can use diamond burrs or whatever else I need to use for that purpose.
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MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
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Post by MetaMoose on Jun 8, 2022 11:25:39 GMT -5
Sherp, your buffing station appears to be used for buffing and polishing jewelry (metal). The cotton, muslin and felt buffs are all used for that purpose with tripoli, bobbing compounds, and rouge, etc. The only thing you can polish with that machine would be soft stones such as turquoise, which can be lightly buffed with ZAM (a metal polishing compound used dry) which would bring out a nice polish on the stone. It would, however, make an excellent carving station for stones. I have one set up with a water drip that I use for carving. I have a jacobs chuck mounted on one end that I can use diamond burrs or whatever else I need to use for that purpose. This is exactly what I needed to hear, and very helpful - thank you! If you're able, I'm interested to know what you mean by the carving station. There is no base, so water drainage would need to be engineered - but I'm certainly willing where there's a way.
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Post by vegasjames on Jun 8, 2022 11:50:40 GMT -5
I use buffing wheels for putting a polish on some of my softer cabs such as the Nevada Tiffany stone and copper-silver ores. I turn on the buffer and apply just a tiny bit of Zam to the wheel. Too much will cause a build up on the stone. Then I buff the cab. The Zam, which is a hard wax with chrome oxide and aluminum oxide seals and polishes the stone at the same time.
Don't use different buffing compounds on the same wheel. I use one wheel for the Zam, and the other wheel is a clean buffing pad I use to remove excess Zam if I get too much on the stone. If you are also doing metal you can use a different buffing or the same compound for metal on the second wheel.
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MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
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Post by MetaMoose on Jun 8, 2022 12:38:09 GMT -5
I use buffing wheels for putting a polish on some of my softer cabs such as the Nevada Tiffany stone and copper-silver ores. I turn on the buffer and apply just a tiny bit of Zam to the wheel. Too much will cause a build up on the stone. Then I buff the cab. The Zam, which is a hard wax with chrome oxide and aluminum oxide seals and polishes the stone at the same time. Don't use different buffing compounds on the same wheel. I use one wheel for the Zam, and the other wheel is a clean buffing pad I use to remove excess Zam if I get too much on the stone. If you are also doing metal you can use a different buffing or the same compound for metal on the second wheel. This is very helpful. I may do this. Thank you.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 8, 2022 22:32:51 GMT -5
Sherp, your buffing station appears to be used for buffing and polishing jewelry (metal). The cotton, muslin and felt buffs are all used for that purpose with tripoli, bobbing compounds, and rouge, etc. The only thing you can polish with that machine would be soft stones such as turquoise, which can be lightly buffed with ZAM (a metal polishing compound used dry) which would bring out a nice polish on the stone. It would, however, make an excellent carving station for stones. I have one set up with a water drip that I use for carving. I have a jacobs chuck mounted on one end that I can use diamond burrs or whatever else I need to use for that purpose. This is exactly what I needed to hear, and very helpful - thank you! If you're able, I'm interested to know what you mean by the carving station. There is no base, so water drainage would need to be engineered - but I'm certainly willing where there's a way. Mine is basically exactly like yours except it's a Baldor. Dental lathes. I'll take a picture of my set up tomorrow and post it for you.
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MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
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Post by MetaMoose on Jun 9, 2022 14:15:09 GMT -5
This is exactly what I needed to hear, and very helpful - thank you! If you're able, I'm interested to know what you mean by the carving station. There is no base, so water drainage would need to be engineered - but I'm certainly willing where there's a way. Mine is basically exactly like yours except it's a Baldor. Dental lathes. I'll take a picture of my set up tomorrow and post it for you. That would be great, I'd love to see it! Thanks!
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 9, 2022 14:20:23 GMT -5
The machine is designed for one purpose. Grinding requires water and it not likely that would be safe.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 9, 2022 21:27:51 GMT -5
MetaMoose here are the pictures of my grinding station. Vince rigged this up for me. It's nothing fancy and not pretty, but it works just fine. Please excuse the mess around it. I've neglected cleaning back there due to work. Need to take care of that soon. This is the setup. Baldor dental lathe with a plastic pan under right spindle to catch water. The water is a simple drip system. The ugly, dirty backsplash behind it is from when I was doing stained glass for my glass grinder. It prevents water and debris from getting all over everything behind it. A picture of the drip "system". A close-up of the jacobs chuck. The water drip is adjusted to be very slow and is moved to where it needs to drip for what I'm working on. Not a lot of water at all accumulates in the pan and is nowhere near the motor. It's perfectly safe. I usually just use a few paper towels to clean it up when I'm done. The paper towel with the black crud on it was from me using it without water with a Cratex wheel on something (I can't remember what anymore) that wasn't a rock. The Cratex wheel leaves the dust as you use it.
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MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
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Post by MetaMoose on Jun 12, 2022 10:43:05 GMT -5
Thank you hummingbirdstones for this helpful detail. Is it a dremmel type bit you are using? I’ve often wondered how much water they need to stay cool - just a slow small drip? That would be way less than I imagined! That is for explaining - great setup.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 12, 2022 11:18:23 GMT -5
I'm tempted to make a couple of points on this buffing station discussion. There are differences in the chucks that can be attached to the shaft. Some cannot accommodate the smallest diameter diamond bits and will need a bushing like provided by your dremel to adequately grasp the bit. Secondly motor speed (rpms) can vary, and for some types of work a slower speed 1750 may be preferable over 3000+. Perhaps most importantly chrome oxide as is embedded in zam wax or the generic version that is much cheaper than zam - I'd not recommend breathing it, and it is kicked off of the muslin buffing wheel - wearing a mask while buffing is my protocol even tho I rarely wear a mask in other phases of lapidary. Real pro buffing stations come with a fan and filter to reduce that fling of chrome oxide and other buffing residues. Finally, I use an old two shaft motor that I picked up from an even older lapidary. I noticed that I got a slight tingle from the motor housing if I got close while it was running. Well ... careful examination of the wiring of the motor showed that the ground wire was poorly seated and I indeed had a potential shock hazard. Remounted the ground and its been good to go tool ever since. Just trying to amplify the info in this thread for future buffers. BTW stones can be flung way hard from the buffing wheel, and heat up fast. I frequently touch the stone to my cheek or lip to check for hot hot.
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MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
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Post by MetaMoose on Jun 12, 2022 15:25:10 GMT -5
Great info Peruano, I’m grateful for any input. I’m glad you mentioned the potential for toxicity with the ZAM, I will remember that and mask if I use it. I have a respirator. The motor in this case does have the benefit of both low 1750 and high 3500. I’m personally not clear on what to use when, but I’m sure I will learn in short order. Thanks!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 12, 2022 22:04:46 GMT -5
Thank you hummingbirdstones for this helpful detail. Is it a dremmel type bit you are using? I’ve often wondered how much water they need to stay cool - just a slow small drip? That would be way less than I imagined! That is for explaining - great setup. I use all different type diamond points and other bits in it. The Jacobs chuck closes to zero, so I don't have to worry about the size of the bit shaft. I set the drip to usually around every 5 to 10 seconds. It just depends on the rock I'm carving and the grit of the burr. Coarser grits need a little more water because they grind the rock quicker. You need enough water dripping to keep the stone clean of swarf (ground rock schmutz) and to keep it cool.
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MetaMoose
having dreams about rocks
@MetaMoosehead on Twitter
Member since July 2021
Posts: 74
|
Post by MetaMoose on Jun 13, 2022 10:49:30 GMT -5
Thank you hummingbirdstones for this helpful detail. Is it a dremmel type bit you are using? I’ve often wondered how much water they need to stay cool - just a slow small drip? That would be way less than I imagined! That is for explaining - great setup. I use all different type diamond points and other bits in it. The Jacobs chuck closes to zero, so I don't have to worry about the size of the bit shaft. I set the drip to usually around every 5 to 10 seconds. It just depends on the rock I'm carving and the grit of the burr. Coarser grits need a little more water because they grind the rock quicker. You need enough water dripping to keep the stone clean of swarf (ground rock schmutz) and to keep it cool. Yeah the amount to keep it cool has always bewildered me. For example here, I would expect a 5sec drip on a high speed dremmel bit would be of no use, I would expect the temps to skyrocket in between drips, or for the water to evaporate from heat. I'm always using a lot of water. Maybe too much?
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 13, 2022 20:33:20 GMT -5
I use all different type diamond points and other bits in it. The Jacobs chuck closes to zero, so I don't have to worry about the size of the bit shaft. I set the drip to usually around every 5 to 10 seconds. It just depends on the rock I'm carving and the grit of the burr. Coarser grits need a little more water because they grind the rock quicker. You need enough water dripping to keep the stone clean of swarf (ground rock schmutz) and to keep it cool. Yeah the amount to keep it cool has always bewildered me. For example here, I would expect a 5sec drip on a high speed dremmel bit would be of no use, I would expect the temps to skyrocket in between drips, or for the water to evaporate from heat. I'm always using a lot of water. Maybe too much? Probably too much. It's just getting flung all over the place. Way back when I was first starting, I used a Dremel, but I bought the flex shaft attachment for it and hooked it up to a foot pedal that controlled the speed. You might want to do something similar with yours.
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