I find that a vibrating flat lap is the messiest,dirtiest,most frustrating piece of lapidary equipment man ever invented!
You can get a glass like finish using them but it's not an easy task!
In most cases,these units need a lot of tending due to water evaporation and other problems you'll experience as you go along.
(They're not something you can put grit and rocks on and leave as you would a rock tumbler.)
If too much water is added the grit/slurry will splash onto everything within it's reach,,,,including you!
Clean-up between grit stages is another messy job especially if you live where winters don't allow for outdoor clean-ups and or you don't have a place out doors where you can just toss the mess.
A 10" pan may not sound very big but cleaning it can be a problem as you CAN NOT wash ANY grit or slurry down the house drains.You must also wash out the rubber bumper and whatever your lapping,,,geodes,slabs,etc.
Some light slabs have to be weighted down in order for the unit to work right and for the slabs to vibrate/rotate around the pan correctly.How you weight down the slabs is an entity in itself!There are many,many different ways to do this but none that I have found myself or read about are very easy.These weights MUST also be cleaned between grit stages or weights should be dedicated to each grit stage,,,,,also the polish stage.
Some people have made "umbrellas" to put over the unit to help the water from evaporating and some have even made "water drip" systems to keep the grit wet.
I have a 16" Covington with an extra pan dedicated to the polish stage and haven't used it in years due to the mess it makes and constant tending.
The instruction that came with my Covington unit are about a vague as vague gets and finding good instructions on the web seems to be a well kept secret,,,for me anyway.I have found that most instruction are nor detailed enough to really help a person who has no idea of how to use a vibe flat lap.
Now that I've given you all the bad news ,and my opinion,the good news is that you can achieve fantastic results using a vibe flat lap once you have found a way to overcome some of it's "quirks"!
I think the best way for you to find a good deal on a vibrating flat lap is to do a search on them yourself. This will not only help you to find a deal on one but will also get you familiar with all of the sites that offer lapidary equipment,tools and supplies,,,,,again,my opinion!
I did a quick search and found 10" Covington units from $345.00 - $275.00 in only a few minutes so it does pay to shop.
When I bought grit in bulk I bought it here:
www.milessupply.com/product.php/pid/3/sid/44/prodid/107The best way to contact them is by phone.The number is at the bottom of the page.I found them very friendly and easy to work with as far as ordering grit in amounts less then 50-300 lb lots.
They used to carry grits other then the rough grit too but you'll have to ask them about that.
Good luck,,
connrock