Post subject: Re: First lap set, looking for input on what I've come up wi
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:25 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 2:18 am Posts: 1542
I agree with Thomas. My laps:
360 or 600 (most used 600) to 1200 to polish. On small stones like the garnets you have said you want to start on it is usually 1200 only then to polish.
Save the money on the course wheel and spend it on a trim saw.
I do sometimes preform large inexpensive rough on mt Pixie cabbing setup. Make fast work of it, and still accurate.
Post subject: Re: First lap set, looking for input on what I've come up wi
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 5:48 am
Gemology Online Veteran
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:51 am Posts: 755 Location: South Africa
Aaron has made it clear he has a limited budget. A coarse topper is not going to cost as much as a trim saw. An alternative is to mount a 6" trim saw blade on the faceting machine, dop the rough, and saw off surplus material. This works fine using old CDs to stabilise the blade, rotating it away from you, using lots of water. I recently did this with a very fine saw blade to cut up a large piece of fluorite, because my trim saw blade has a somewhat coarser blade and a bit of a wobble. But preforming by hand on a coarse lap is easier.
Post subject: Re: First lap set, looking for input on what I've come up wi
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:24 am
Established Member
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:47 pm Posts: 41
Duncan Miller wrote:
Aaron has made it clear he has a limited budget. A coarse topper is not going to cost as much as a trim saw. An alternative is to mount a 6" trim saw blade on the faceting machine, dop the rough, and saw off surplus material. This works fine using old CDs to stabilise the blade, rotating it away from you, using lots of water. I recently did this with a very fine saw blade to cut up a large piece of fluorite, because my trim saw blade has a somewhat coarser blade and a bit of a wobble. But preforming by hand on a coarse lap is easier.
On the plus side, the budget is better than most of the posts I found from the past... probably around $4000 total, but I'm going to save as much of that as possible for future rough. I'm probably not going to be working with any large stones for a while, so I was getting the 260 as a "just in case" lap, if for some reason the 600 wasn't cutting it.
Post subject: Re: First lap set, looking for input on what I've come up wi
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 2:17 pm
Moderator: Lapidary Diamonds
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm Posts: 1747 Location: Florida, United States
Duncan Miller wrote:
Aaron has made it clear he has a limited budget. A coarse topper is not going to cost as much as a trim saw. An alternative is to mount a 6" trim saw blade on the faceting machine, dop the rough, and saw off surplus material. This works fine using old CDs to stabilise the blade, rotating it away from you, using lots of water. I recently did this with a very fine saw blade to cut up a large piece of fluorite, because my trim saw blade has a somewhat coarser blade and a bit of a wobble. But preforming by hand on a coarse lap is easier.
And the coarse 260 mesh topper will lead to cracking of certain stones in the future. Bad idea. Your suggestion that he acquire a saw blade to mount on his faceting machine is a good one, but you can purchase new trim saws for under USD100. The small tile saws work well for that because those are mass produced, unlike to ripoff lapidary saws most of use have familiarity with.
Post subject: Re: First lap set, looking for input on what I've come up wi
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:07 pm
Established Member
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:47 pm Posts: 41
thomas.adamas wrote:
Duncan Miller wrote:
Aaron has made it clear he has a limited budget. A coarse topper is not going to cost as much as a trim saw. An alternative is to mount a 6" trim saw blade on the faceting machine, dop the rough, and saw off surplus material. This works fine using old CDs to stabilise the blade, rotating it away from you, using lots of water. I recently did this with a very fine saw blade to cut up a large piece of fluorite, because my trim saw blade has a somewhat coarser blade and a bit of a wobble. But preforming by hand on a coarse lap is easier.
And the coarse 260 mesh topper will lead to cracking of certain stones in the future. Bad idea. Your suggestion that he acquire a saw blade to mount on his faceting machine is a good one, but you can purchase new trim saws for under USD100. The small tile saws work well for that because those are mass produced, unlike to ripoff lapidary saws most of use have familiarity with.
I'll definitely be buying a blade suitable for using on the faceting machine, once it's needed and eventually an actual trim saw. I'm trying to minimize the number of loud machines, since I'm planning on faceting while the upstairs neighbor is off at work...
Post subject: Re: First lap set, looking for input on what I've come up wi
Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:06 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 11:24 am Posts: 9 Location: Eugene, OR
I bought a 600 one of these and did a saphire, after preforming, and it seemed to scrape off a lot of the coating. I didn’t know if it was because it was cheap or because you can’t use these toppers with hard material.
Do not believe I have ever tried this brand. But with most of the topper style laps the brand name selling them can mean nothing. Mass maufactured by many over seas companies and distributed by many importers so the brand is the distributor and not necessarily the mfg. Sorry can't help you evaluate this one. Isn't Drilax a distributor of Harbor Freight Tools? I think I have used their diamond boring bits before in my lap shop and the electroplating wasn't that great, but cheap. Greg
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