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 Post subject: banded cutting lap
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:45 pm 
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Up to now I have been doing most of my cutting with a 600 Batt using the watercut stick from Gearloose, then going to a Domanitrix with 3000 for prepolish. I am pretty happy with that approach.

I am considering the Twistor for a pre-polish and see the recommendation to use a 1200 before the twistor.

I really like the banded polishing laps and am considering a banded BATT cutting lap with 600 on the inside and 1200 on the outer band. (probably a 2/3 1/3 ratio). That way I can do most of my cutting at the 600 and switch to the 1200 for final cutting and be ready for the twistor.

Any thoughts?


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 Post subject: Re: banded cutting lap
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:26 pm 
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wilsonintexas,

Not an expert (and maybe it's just my way of reading what you've written), but I believe you have to have the finer grits on the inner (closer to the hub), bands. If you have the coarser grit on the inner band it will migrate to the outer band and contaminate your lap.

Now, as far as the idea, I'll leave the other experts to chime in. I'm still learning every day.

Bob H
<aka Durnik>

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 Post subject: Re: banded cutting lap
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:43 pm 
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I wrote about my experience with 1200 on copper in another thread... you may find it interesting.

In my case, using 1200 for roughing and preliminary meets is almost as fast as using 600, and the benefit here is that there is much less prepolish/meet-making work to be done at 3k.

For the tourmaline that I largely cut, this means a significant increase in productivity and reduced losses/frustration when an especially deep scratch from the 600 roughing appears.

So, in a nutshell - try out using 1200 only for your roughing and see if you still need 600. Unless it's a large stone I haven't had a need for my 600 charged lap lately.

-Allan

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 Post subject: Re: banded cutting lap
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:54 pm 
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Location: Vienna, Austria
I agree with Allan.
Since I tried 1200 on copper this is my cutting lap for nearly everything: so far I have used it for diopside, sphene, chrysoberyll, pyro-spessartite and quartz. I have used electrocoated laps first, a 600 crystallite to be precise. Never again. Surface finish is way better at about the same cutting speed (a rechargeable lap never looses its teeth) and I am rid of the edge-breakouts on the gridle I experienced ob brittle materials with the 600 grit. So far no contamination problem. I would have to protect my polish laps from prepolish grits anyway, so basically nothing has changed.

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 Post subject: Re: banded cutting lap
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:14 pm 
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Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
I was having a post brain surgery moment when I said putting the 600 on the inside.

I think that I will start with 1200 on a batt and add a 600 band on the outside if it is needed.

I will continue to review the thread.

If anyone out there has an old copper lap that they are not using let me know and I will look at making a 1200 copper cutting lap out of it. :D


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 Post subject: Re: banded cutting lap
PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:39 pm 
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Here's a link to my longer post:
http://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19631&p=197116#p197116

Hope this helps!

-Allan

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