ulstergeki
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2012
Posts: 111
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Post by ulstergeki on Apr 10, 2012 23:01:39 GMT -5
I got a newtome old 15" raytech vibrating lap, Here is what i have: I have never used a flat lap, I am hoping to polish some of the many slabs i have to display, or to give to my kids to have, i hope this will work for that. Thanks for the help! Zach
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Post by Roller on Apr 10, 2012 23:15:42 GMT -5
interested in seeing how this works out .. tell us once u get it running is it messy ?
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Post by connrock on Apr 11, 2012 7:34:34 GMT -5
I'm not familiar with this unit so I can't help much to say weather or not you have all of the "pieces" for it. A vibe flat lap is a pretty messy piece of equipment to run but if you go through the right procedure your slabs will come out like glass. The following was taken from ,,, www.mcrocks.com/and was posted by Dan Kelly,,,,, mcrocks.com/images/VibeLapInstr.pdfLike any other aspect of lapidary there are MANY ways of doing any given procedure yet still give you a good end result. The above is only one way of using a vibe flat lap but I think it will help you to get off the ground. You may get a better response to your question on a vibe flat lap in this section of the board? forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=generalGood luck,,,, connrock
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 11, 2012 7:58:26 GMT -5
The balls look like they are for a Lortone not your unit.
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Apr 11, 2012 8:29:51 GMT -5
connrock - "come out like glass" ? I've been trying for a couple of months to get a high gloss on my slabs and have yet to succeed. Have I gotten ultra smooth slabs? Yes. Do they have a lustre to them? Mostly. Do they shine like glass? Hardly. Obviously much depends on the slab one does, but NONE of mine have come out with a high gloss I'd like to have. I'm convinced that a vibrating lap is NOT the way to go to attain what I'd like to achieve but will wait for awhile before getting a bull wheel or other equipment that will allow me to get the results I want. I know others have, but not me.
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Post by connrock on Apr 12, 2012 6:01:37 GMT -5
shelite,,, It's hard to help without knowing what process you're using?
One of the most difficult things to do is to get your slabs flat,,,,and I mean flat. You MUST check your slabs for flatness during each stage and a good way to do it is to make a criss cross on them like a crossword puzzle using a Sharpie. Make your lines go all the way to the very edges of the slabs. (I have this a tad backwards but that's how my mind is working this morning) After you've run your slabs and think they may be ready for the next stage,,,,,make the cross word and put the slabs back on the vibe for about 2-3 minutes and check to make SURE there is nothing left to ANY of the lines you made with the Sharpie.
Between each grit stage you MUST make sure EVERYTHING is PERFECTLY clean,Pan,slabs,bumper hose,weights,etc,etc,etc. If there are ANY cracks,holes,pits, or flaws of ANY kind they MUST be cleaned or you will have what's called "cross contamination" of grit.
A good tin oxide is a good choice for most slabs,etc but some folks get a good shine using cerium oxide as well.
The polishing pan and pad MUST be just about surgically clean as well.
When doing small slabs the vibe flat lap isn't very good as the slabs tend to "bounce" and all of the surfaces don't get "hit" on the pan. Many times weights must be added and this is an entity of it's own as if the weight isn't placed correctly the slabs can get thinner on one side or the other.
Each slab should have a chamfer ground on it's edges to prevent grit/slurry from being "dammed" up as the slabs travel around the pan.The "damming" prevents the grit from getting under the slabs so the grit can't do it's job.
I have only limited experience with a vibe flat lap and hope someone else jumps in here to help both of us out.
If not and you can afford a bull wheel,,,,,,go for it.
connrock
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Apr 12, 2012 8:20:57 GMT -5
I do everything as you do save I draw circles instead of other figures. I'm also a stickler for cleanliness of the equipment as are you. You brought up one thing that might impact how shiny the lap works and that is we are currently using slabs that were given to us (we haven't received our slab saw yet) and they were not necessarily uniformly the same width throughout. It's easy to tell even if you can't eyeball it as the thinner part will show a much lower degree of shine than the rest. Still, even on those slabs we've received from someone who has done this for many years and are perfectly evenly cut, I still haven't managed to get what I'm after. But, I'll keep trying. Thanks for the advice.
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ulstergeki
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2012
Posts: 111
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Post by ulstergeki on Apr 12, 2012 22:33:50 GMT -5
I emailed raytech and they emailed me the parts list and operating manual, thanks for all the hints and tricks guys, i will try to fire it up on my next days off to try it out. I still need to get oil for my rocksaw and a new drivebelt for it also (it was a group deal on everything) I will post pictures when i get it going!
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 16, 2012 14:40:28 GMT -5
I had the 10" version of that unit. I found I could substitute other balls. Vibrating laps can be messy and also can dry out often. They need a fair amount of attention.
Nice smoth cut slabs with any nubs ground off can start at 220 ore even 320. Then an 800 or 1200, then AO polish. You do have to weight slabs because they are too light.
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docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 693
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Post by docharber on Apr 17, 2012 21:50:09 GMT -5
I have a Raytech 10". looks like everythings there. those balls look like they came from a gumball machine. i would only add to the above: 1. Keep it wet enough for the rock to circulate easily around the pan- if it rotates slowly around the pan, you are wet enough and the pan is levelled properly. 2. If you don't get a good polish, buy a new polishing pad. Chances are, the old one is contaminated with course grit or is charged with the wrong polish. 3. Use graded grit. i don't know why, but its recommended. 4. Wash the bumper ring, too. You can make a bnew bumper ring from 1/3 inch diameter vinyl tubing coupled with a 2" piece of tubing with an xrternal diameter the sixe of the larger tubings internal diameter. It works great, cleans up easily, and it's cheaop.
My single pan is worn in the center so I can't get really flat grinds. I'm looking for4 ways to repair the pan so if anybody has an idea, let me know. Raytech seems to have forgotten they ever made it and calls and emails only got clueless responses. They don't make parts or even acknowledge they ever made this machine. I expect better from them at the price point they sell stuff for. i'm considering pouring a littler lucite resin from the craft store in the bottom to create a nnew surface and scoring it to hold abrasive. Can't hurt to try, but it will be hard to clean between grits. I could cut disks of Plexiglas and use a separate one in the bottom for each grt after i level the bottom with Lucite. One of Raytech's service people suggested configuring a large flat rock to curculate around the outside to grind down the pan to even it. That would take forever, obliterate the grooves, of course. The Raytech will hold a pan of slightly different size and the pan it uses is straight sided and flat on the bottom. The Covington pan has small projections on the bottom I would probably need to cut off or mount with them sticking down off the triangular platform the pan sits on. i just don't know if the Covington pan will work. If anybody has a covington 10" machine, I would really appreciate a picture of the pan bottom.
good luck and thanks to all,
Mark H.
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