|
Post by glennz01 on Apr 19, 2024 16:09:07 GMT -5
As an update, has anyone Been to buckskin mine off Mason pass road recently? Been informed there's some unfriendly squatters, donno. That is very very unfortunate if true Yeah,I'm hoping yo find more cab grade chrysocholla / malachite, gem silica... pretty well cleared out the only productive site I had luck at. I did find a good layer of wonderstone today. Going to attempt gas line road,
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Apr 18, 2024 22:57:52 GMT -5
As an update, has anyone Been to buckskin mine off Mason pass road recently? Been informed there's some unfriendly squatters, donno.
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Apr 13, 2024 17:00:54 GMT -5
Thought I'd isolate the thread since it's kinda separate topic that people wanted to see. Left side 80 grit, right side following flat line and toward center 1000 grit. Total time 20to 25 seconds for this agate. When I'm back it would be easier if I find darker agate for photo Softer material takes less time..
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Apr 9, 2024 18:29:55 GMT -5
If anyone needs a better example, come May 7th I can try to get something more visible
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Apr 8, 2024 23:42:51 GMT -5
Sorry for long wait, was busy and heading to NV tonight for a while. Left side to center has 80 grit scratches, right side to center (possibly some on left is all 1k grit finished. The time it took to do this was 25 seconds or less based in my counting. Also flat spots on right are removed mostly unlike the left side. 280 grit does the final dome touches and takes as much time to go over it, or less possibly. This agate was the hardest material of one I started. 1k grit followed along the edge down so everywhere that's turned the agate to looking blue ish seen the 1k grit I know it's kinda hard to see the deep scratches on this photo but I'd have to find a darker agate to have contrast
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Mar 1, 2024 22:25:47 GMT -5
The lapidary classes at the NW Rockhound Retreat use 180 hard wheels to start with, followed by 220. I assume this is because some students want to cab softer materials. Probably so they don't grind too quickley on stage 1, but ud still use 1k grit as 2nd wheel. After this weekend (local rock show) I've got a new batch of cabs roughed out, so I can show a pic / video going from 80 to 1k. Both soft and hard things in my little batch I started
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 15, 2024 23:46:51 GMT -5
AYY! The fine-grit-hardwheel movement catching on! I love my 600 grit hard wheel! (Extra points when my roommate proclaimed her affinity for it, too:) One day I may have to try the 1000 hard out, too.. learning every day. My big issue is that sometimes my 80 will chip the rocks out of shape so I'm still teetering between 80 VS 220/600 hard but overall I prefer this method hands-down. Can't wait for Cabking sell a 7th wheel add-on one day;) Cheers, Patrick I find 80 can chip rocks out but knowing to stop slightly before the chip out is key
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 13, 2024 2:52:49 GMT -5
Well I'm just starting to rough out a new batch of cabs so in a few days I'll post a video or pic if I don't have any other jobs come up
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 17:48:21 GMT -5
Well this thread should help with bench spake and efficiency lol. I'm currently operating in my house mostly with my cab King, 14 inch lortone drop saw using water only (can't cut agates on it effectivily) In my bathroom ive got 40 lb tumbler, angle grinder which I dry grind masked up with vent fan on, and vibe lap for final polishes. Outside I've got 3 oil saws usable based on space, 2 24 inch and a 16 inch. In total I've got like 15 saws between big and small saws, 2 more grinders of sorts, a 200-300 lb capacity vibratory tumbler I've yet to use and a core saw I've yet to use. Slowly getting one shed to be a Lapidary shop after I insulate. I low budget things but I learned long ago the time you make money is when you buy, not sell lol. Granted i dont typically buy slabs individually, id buy by the pound wholesale, but a slab i buy would need at least 2 cabs for $30 ea cabs like old stock colored crazy lace, but i got 5000 lbs of rocks in my soare room ive still got to slab that ive found since 2013, though i do buy some if the price is right, reallt tempting to buy a few on here st times lol. If i get slabs i dont need from collections or cutting myself i usually resell for between $5-10/ lb
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 17:47:52 GMT -5
gemfeller thanks for the report on THK, I have purchased other things from them on ebay but not their wheels. I think that there are probably lots of combinations of wheels that are ideal for specific hardness ranges and material types, alas my bench space and wallet cannot support them all. Well this thread should help with bench spake and efficiency lol. I'm currently operating in my house mostly with my cab King, 14 inch lortone drop saw using water only (can't cut agates on it effectivily) In my bathroom ive got 40 lb tumbler, angle grinder which I dry grind masked up with vent fan on, and vibe lap for final polishes. Outside I've got 3 oil saws usable based on space, 2 24 inch and a 16 inch. In total I've got like 15 saws between big and small saws, 2 more grinders of sorts, a 200-300 lb capacity vibratory tumbler I've yet to use and a core saw I've yet to use. Slowly getting one shed to be a Lapidary shop after I insulate. I low budget things but I learned long ago the time you make money is when you buy, not sell lol. Granted i dont typically buy slabs individually, id buy by the pound wholesale, but a slab i buy would need at least 2 cabs for $30 ea cabs like old stock colored crazy lace, but i got 5000 lbs of rocks in my soare room ive still got to slab that ive found since 2013, though i do buy some if the price is right, reallt tempting to buy a few on here st times lol. If i get slabs i dont need from collections i usually resell for between $5-10/ lb
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 17:44:05 GMT -5
gemfeller thanks for the report on THK, I have purchased other things from them on ebay but not their wheels. I think that there are probably lots of combinations of wheels that are ideal for specific hardness ranges and material types, alas my bench space and wallet cannot support them all. Well this thread should help with bench spake and efficiency lol. I'm currently operating in my house mostly with my cab King, 14 inch lortone drop saw using water only (can't cut agates on it effectivily) In my bathroom ive got 40 lb tumbler, angle grinder which I dry grind masked up with vent fan on, and vibe lap for final polishes. Outside I've got 3 oil saws usable based on space, 2 24 inch and a 16 inch. In total I've got like 15 saws between big and small saws, 2 more grinders of sorts, a 200-300 lb capacity vibratory tumbler I've yet to use and a core saw I've yet to use. Slowly getting one shed to be a Lapidary shop after I insulate. I low budget things but I learned long ago the time you make money is when you buy, not sell lol.
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 17:37:54 GMT -5
Experimenting myself. One thing I’ve noticed is that going from a low grit to a high grit, then back through. The high grit masks the deeper scratches. Essentially smooths or buffs them out, but never really gets rid of them. Then as you go back through the stages, to the untrained eye, they aren’t noticeable. If you throw the cab under a loop, you can still see the scratches, they are just smoothed out. That's why I let them dry fully between stages, and I spect under a bright light and sharpie imperfections on each stage starting wheel 2, under water it's hard to know if you get all the scratches out even 80 to 1000 grit, you know you get most out though. I know my 1000 grit wheel I noticed I bought in 2022 and ran at least 400-500 cabs through it by now, it's not as sharp as new but still has life left though takes slightly longer than new but not by much.
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 2:15:14 GMT -5
Once I post videos of going 80 to 1,000 grit hard to hard. I suspect many people that care about time (or at least that see $70 for the wheel as cheap) will be ordering 1000 grit. I'm I'm hoping BA will make a 1000 grit, maybe if there's enough demand they will since I like their quality as I've only ever found 1k grit on Amazon usually 1 inch width instead of 1.5 inch I tried your 1000 grit method long ago. It worked well but diamond wheels were very expensive then and demand for my cabs was low so I developed other more economical techniques. I may try it again when the need arises. You can find 800 and 1200 x 1.5 inch plated wheels at Treasure Hong Kong <https://www.thk.hk> for $49 plus shipping. I think the total is around $65. I've used their wheels for years and like them a lot. Maybe those gits will work for you. 800 grit would still be slightly too course, not sure if the 1200 would be just as efficient though might be similar. I have noticed many Lapidary things cisting less in recent years other than saw blades which went up lol
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 0:18:31 GMT -5
That's interesting, the guy who sold me my first big saw and a combo cab machine gave me a "lesson" on a 15 minute cab (from dopped preform) and he used a 80/220hard/220soft/600/1200/3000/cerium setup on a Titan. DP used to make the 220 soft wheels for Rons Rocks on ebay, I plan to have a couple old 280 soft wheels recoated in 220 from a shop in Idaho to try. That's somewhat similar to my set-up on the Genie. I used to buy 220 soft wheels directly from Ron when I lived close to him. Now I go 80 sintered, 150, & 240 hard, then 220, 600 and higher soft, to polish, depending on what I'm cutting. I don't cut 15 minute cabs but this method is lots faster than spending lots of time removing scratches on the big jump from 220 hard to 280 soft. Once I post videos of going 80 to 1,000 grit hard to hard. I suspect many people that care about time (or at least that see $70 for the wheel as cheap) will be ordering 1000 grit. I'm I'm hoping BA will make a 1000 grit, maybe if there's enough demand they will since I like their quality as I've only ever found 1k grit on Amazon usually 1 inch width instead of 1.5 inch
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 7, 2024 0:16:00 GMT -5
A 60-grit sintered diamond 8" wheel on a CB8 cuts out a rough pretty fast over and over. Yeah, I've got 6 inch currently, I know 8 inch shpuld help be faster if the rpm is same
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 6, 2024 14:43:56 GMT -5
I'd think your not using much pressure? Sometimes I think I use too much pressure, in order to shape the preform and then the dome. But I try to not use much pressure at all on the grinding wheels, but I'm new to cabbing and the 80 to 220 to 280 wheels are my struggle. Are you saying I should use more, or less pressure? On my hard wheels, my unit (6 inch wheels) starts close to me and I find myself having to pull it back to me occasionally with agate materials. Yeah it might be slightly more wear but work load also goes up exponentially.
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 6, 2024 14:40:26 GMT -5
That's interesting, the guy who sold me my first big saw and a combo cab machine gave me a "lesson" on a 15 minute cab (from dopped preform) and he used a 80/220hard/220soft/600/1200/3000/cerium setup on a Titan. DP used to make the 220 soft wheels for Rons Rocks on ebay, I plan to have a couple old 280 soft wheels recoated in 220 from a shop in Idaho to try. My first "production" setup, a 2 wheel 8" arbor with 60/600 hard and another with 2 expandos and belts was slow in comparison with a standard Genie I use now, but I also start with the 80 waffle wheel from J Bros for the mass material removal, then again to a 80 grit on the Genie if needed, and that speeds up the process some. Some materials can be arould 20 minutes a cab, others up to twice that, then there's intarsia and carving. Yeah soft wheels are fine generally, I've found though that it's just the transition from hard to soft wheel that's always the most time consuming, and that's what I eliminate. But a 30x22 oval super hard agate cab for instance, currently is roughly 2 min on each wheel. I'm hoping to make that time even less!
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 6, 2024 14:36:57 GMT -5
I hope to have some new info to contribute on this thread in about 6 months but it is too cool in my basement to time my cabbing. It will have to wait for warmer weather. It should be noted in the above that @hefty 's contribution is true on cabs as well as facet stones however it is more obvious on faceted stones than on cabs. I also grind with a heavy hand and for hogging material I like a 30 grit sintered Baltic Abrasive(BA) wheel. This leaves scratches about equal to a Diamond Pacific(DP) 60 grit plated hex wheel. The BA 30 Grit cuts about 11% faster than the DP 60 grit hex wheel. (from my testing the DP wheel was broken in, not new. In my experience the breaking process for the DP 60 grit and 80 grit plated wheels is about 100 - 150, 40x30 size agate cabochons. The 30 Grit sintered wheel from BA I ran about 250 cabs through the wheel to "break it in" before I started timing my grinding. I have now roughed out over 500 stones on the wheel and have found the break in time to be zero. One oddity the right half of the wheel has less chipping that the Left half. Chipping on the 30 grit is about equal to chipping from a new plated 60 grit wheel. I hog material from the top and grind only material where chipping wont matter. I then finish the rough out on a worn 80 grit hex plated wheel from DP. I purchased a 60 grit sintered wheel from BA as well and though it works well it is too slow for roughout work. I have used it with great success to take the dopped rough ground cabs and remove scratches from the 80 grit. the 60 Grit gets only a light touch unless i need to reduce the height of the cab more. I have had no chipping problems from the 60 grit sintered wheel. Yeah I though about a 30 grit but I think I'd need a different bench setup for that reason as I'll work agate and soft stuff (I like soft stuff lol) How does the 60 grit compare to the 80 grit in terms of scratch depth and time differences? It might still be ok to go from 60 to 1000 since the 1000 can take away a surprising amount of material.
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 6, 2024 3:20:49 GMT -5
wow, I'm intrigued. I can't even go from 80 to 220 and remove scratches, but straight to 1000 from 80? How does that work? I'd think your not using much pressure?
|
|
|
Post by glennz01 on Feb 6, 2024 3:20:02 GMT -5
glennz01, I set up a facebook page for selling cabs. I need to take photos and list. I had a technique for getting shop visits which is to list a lot of more unusual material which results in better placement in web and Etsy searches. That doesn't work for FB. I do FB searches for material. It allows me find listings that are not easy to find. FB pages are not structured well for finding stuff. My traffic will be driven the FB search. Basically have to share cool stuff, people join to see more, sales eventually come. I started in 2013 gained real traction in 2018/9 when I started making a lot more.
|
|