bmw2002
starting to shine!
Member since April 2017
Posts: 34
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Post by bmw2002 on Nov 21, 2017 14:08:00 GMT -5
I am in the market for a new 280 g soft wheel. Many of the wheels have the term "REZ" which I don't understand. The disclaimer says they have undergo a "break in" period. What does REZ mean and what type of stone ''breaks them in" Would a piece of Carnelian agate work, and what is the length of time does it take to be fully functional on these type wheels? Thanks.
Mike
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Post by woodman on Nov 21, 2017 14:39:36 GMT -5
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 27, 2017 20:43:43 GMT -5
I've only used Diamond Pacific Novas but generally they break in the first few agates you cut. If you have some not great agate just run it across the wheel a few times with plenty of water. REZ probably refers to the resin the diamond is mixed in and applied to belt. Most Chinese soft wheels I have seen are Chinese belts glued over a foam backed wheel.
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Post by Peruano on Nov 27, 2017 20:59:51 GMT -5
Break in should be within 5 minutes of running an agate or something equally hard over the surface of the wheel. If you smell the wheel, then you are still exposing diamond by scratching off the resin that its embedded in. A trusted expert recently commented that it took longer to break in the Johnson Bros rebuilt wheels than the new Novas, probably because of thicker resins. If you see black streaks you are still removing resin and not done with the break in process.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 28, 2017 19:09:42 GMT -5
Speaking of streaks, I had some sample Chinese belts sent to me when Hans switched to the really thick bright colored belts and wheels. They worked fine and held up OK but if you had any kind of an edge on the rock you got a bright red or blue or whatever rubbery stripe across it. On cabs maybe not so much of an issue but I mostly was polishing fossil specimens for resale.
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