Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Apr 10, 2017 12:31:10 GMT -5
::not a faceter here:: It seems to me having to push down hard means there isn't enough grit to make the cut properly. ETA or the lap surface is too soft and the grit is buried. ::End outsider observation:: I'd think the same thing but the lap is realtively new, has lits of grit left, and cuts other material just fine. It's definately odd, but i got it to work.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Mar 6, 2017 18:14:49 GMT -5
Hi all,
I just remembered that I hadn't updated everyone on this thread. I finally got it figured out! The fix was not what I expected but it worked in seconds. I had to lower my speed to the lowest setting and use LOTS of pressure...much more then I would ever expect to for a resin bonded lap.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Feb 16, 2017 10:34:54 GMT -5
Unfortunately I gave up on the stone. I have a friend who facets as well and he offered to take a shot at it and see if he has the same problem. Both my 1200 and 3k laps are resin bonded. I know topaz is an 8, harder than quartz, but it is taking far too long to work each facet on 3k. I'll let you all know what I find out. Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Have you dressed your resin laps lately? All laps can get glazed over on the surface but resin laps are more prone to than plated and sintered metal laps. And once a resin lap gets glazed over they nearly cease to perform. I occasionally use Nu-Bond laps and this is a frequent issue. I had to dress a couple of them just this week. With the Nu-Bond laps, the manufacturer recommends dressing with a piece if 220 grit silicon carbide cloth with the lap running at moderate speed, and use very light pressure (so not to embed any loose SC grit into the surface of the resin lap), and also they suggest to stay away from dressing the 1/4" of the outer edge so not to cut through the diamond and resin layer. Although they recommend SC cloth, I occasionally use a 220 grit SC dressing stick because it's easier to keep the lap surface flat with a long dressing stick than with SC cloth. But again have to be very careful not to embed loose SC grit into the surface of the lap. Also after dressing I rinse the lap well with water and then scrub it under running water with a nylon brush. Also I never use Nu-Bond laps on anything harder than quartz. For 3k pre-polish (faceting) I still use a charged copper lap although I think most cutters are now using tin laps for 3k. Larry C. Thanks! This is good info. I may need to dress the lap. I was also considering a 3K steel or chargeable lap.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Feb 16, 2017 3:06:20 GMT -5
Unfortunately I gave up on the stone. I have a friend who facets as well and he offered to take a shot at it and see if he has the same problem. Both my 1200 and 3k laps are resin bonded. I know topaz is an 8, harder than quartz, but it is taking far too long to work each facet on 3k. I'll let you all know what I find out. Thanks for the comments and suggestions.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Feb 13, 2017 19:52:21 GMT -5
Thanks! I do not have an 8K lap but may get one soon.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Feb 13, 2017 19:11:19 GMT -5
Anyone facet topaz and have had to spend an inordinate amount of time on the 3K lap? I use Marsh Howard's Lightning Laps, which are great by the way. However, i am working a piece of topaz now that is taking many hours for the 3K lap to work out the surface left by the 1200 lap. I have oriented the stone off of the cleavage plane and am experiencing this problem on every facet.
The only thing I can guess is that maybe my 1200 is contaminated and is leaving deeper than usual scratches. That or maybe the topaz has irregular crystal growth causing me problems. I can see that the 3K lap is working out the scratches but at a painfully slow rate...an hour for the bigger facets. An hour is far far too long to spend on a facet on a single lap! I've had no issue with quartz and beryl. Anyone else have a similar experience?
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Aug 18, 2016 14:32:41 GMT -5
Thanks! I did get the .032" blade, along with a vice and it works perfectly.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Aug 9, 2016 16:00:23 GMT -5
The agate in & around Cedar City is less fractured than the stuff at Brian Head. Cedar City agate has some colors & patterns I've never seen at Brian Head, but then, I've spent way more time collecting in Cedar. Lynn Is this the agate in the Summit area?
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Aug 9, 2016 14:30:16 GMT -5
Lots and lots of colorful, though often fractured, agate around Brianhead to east and west. Many forms including dendritic, mossy and brecciated. Road between Cedar Breaks and Panguitch is good especially around the south end of the lake. Still have a couple of big hunks from there in my garden...Mel My brother found agate there too. Really nice stuff!
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Aug 9, 2016 14:29:56 GMT -5
Just down the mountain from Brian Head, west of Cedar City, we have Apatite crystals. They're greenish & included. I found one about 1/4" in all dimensions. My friend Joel the Apatite addict found one that's about 1/2" x 1.5". You'll also find Calcite & Quartz west of Cedar. Lynn Thanks! I'm reading that there is also apatite east of cedar. Anyone know if apatite associated with calcite or if the presence of large terminated calcite crystals would possibly lead to other minerals?
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Aug 8, 2016 14:33:30 GMT -5
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Aug 4, 2016 18:40:13 GMT -5
Thanks! I use a 0.012" blade with my faceting machine. It's photo paper thin. On my other trim saw I use for cabbing material, I currently have a blade that is 0.07" thick at the rim. It's old and doesn't cut well but I can handle that. I just hate how thick it is. I was looking at the MK-303 8" blades at 0.032" thick and 0.06" thick. If 0.06" is the core width, the rim would likely be similar in width to my current blade. The 0.032" looks like the better option but I've never seen it and am not sure if it is so thin that I might break it easily if I hand feed my stones and push to the side a little too much. Has anyone used it? Is it fairly sturdy & rigid?
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Jul 26, 2016 14:25:49 GMT -5
Thanks!!
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Jul 26, 2016 13:31:03 GMT -5
Anyone know how is the thickness of a trim saw blade measured? Is it the thickness of the steel blade itself or the thickness at the rim where the diamond is?
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Jul 26, 2016 13:28:34 GMT -5
I used a slab of agate and broke them in much longer than 1 minute.
So Johnson Brothers resurfaced the 600 for me and resurfaced by 1200 free of charge. It was nice of them. The 600 that came back IS better than the first one, albeit still very aggressive. I simply have to work the stone on the 1200 for a long time to smooth out the scratches from the 600. Maybe this will get easier as the 600 gets more use. The good news is that I can finally polish my stones and Johnson Brothers was accommodating.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Jun 22, 2016 17:42:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses! I like the 600 to polish idea. That will help. I did some testing on glass. The 600 worked out all of the scratches from the 280 but it left deep scratches itself. I ran it on my used 1200 wheel and it did nothing. The scratches remained even after nearly 10 minutes on the 1200 wheel! I then tried a brand new 1200 resin belt and it did work out the scratches but it took a very long time.
I called Yogi at Johnson Brothers and he was very helpful. He said to send in the 600 he resurfaced for me and to send in the used 1200 wheel. He would test both of them and would fix the 600 if it was contaminated. He also offered to resurface the 1200 for me free of charge as a courtesy. I'll post the results here in a few weeks after I send the wheels and get them back.
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Tien
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by Tien on Jun 20, 2016 0:57:51 GMT -5
Hi All,
I'm brand new to the forum here and am hoping to get some feedback. I started rockhounding back in July of last year and since then I have learned to cab and facet. However, I am having issues with scratches on my cabs. I bought some used Cab King wheels from the local rock club in Vegas. The. Wheels were working great but I sent the 280 and 600 in to Johnson Brothers Lapidary to be resurfaced as they were both worn down through the resin on some parts of the wheels.
I got them back and I can't work the scratches out of my cabs for the life of me. It seems that the newly resurfaced 280 & 600 are leaving scratches that I can't work out with my used, but still good 1200 wheel. I know resin wheels need to be broken in but I'm not sure how much breaking in is needed. I ran them against a slab for 30+ min each. How much breaking in is needed? Could it be that my 1200 is worn down to the point it is cutting like a 3000 and its too big of a jump from the new 600? Should I send my 1200 in to be resurfaced too? Members of the rock club told me Johnson Brother's Lapidary was good for resurfacing, but I have seen mixed opinions from others online. Unless their quality is truly bad, I don't want to have to get them resurfaced elsewhere or have to buy new wheels...this hobby gets expensive fast lol!
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