DIY Flat Lap Final Polish Discs - Adhesive and Magnetic
Jun 29, 2023 10:21:54 GMT -5
allbetzoff and khara like this
Post by LadyBlair on Jun 29, 2023 10:21:54 GMT -5
BACKGROUND: A bit of my background polishing experience before the questions. The majority of minerals I slab/cut/shape/polish are in the quartz category (puddingstone, agate, chert), with softer like petoskey, dolomite, feldspar. I'm fairly new to flat lapping but proficient in cabochon shaping on a 8" Cabking polisher with diamond pacific wheels and standard hard flat lap end mounts. I'm not a fan of the left 8" lap or 6" right side mounted vertical wheels and prefer horizontal flat lapping. End lap sizes are limiting the size of my flat polishing pieces. Polishing 4-6" end cuts and slabs on the polishing wheels has been challenging even with the space between the wheels. Rather than struggle with flat pieces on a machine that is intended to shape domes and polish, a 12" flat lap is the next machine I need to accomplish my goal of flat polishing. (acquiring and/or building machine story left out of this post...{auto-correct: MOV files not allowed}ing forward) I'm waiting on delivery of 12" DP magnetic laps for a steel master plate. In the meantime, I'm planning to make a few 12" final polish magnetic flat lap discs and need some help with adhesives and construction. Flying rocks scare me! (yes, I used enough water on leather)
POLISH: The final polish I've used on cabs and flats is 14,000 diamond paste on a canvas wheel mounted to the right side of the cabking. I'm rarely satisfied with the polish result even after starting over with the wheels. Maybe it's my technique even though I stop after each wheel to inspect, dry the stone, mark with a sharpie, etc. Currently after the 3000 wheel I'm using a flex shaft mounted with felt or leather and AO paste, ZAM, Cerium Oxide, Tin Oxide, other polishing compounds etc. Whatever compound it takes to get a successful polishing job done.
I use the Cabochon Polishing charts with the material and polish combos for specific minerals. Great information for all lapidaries.
Back to the DIY discs.....
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DISC LAYERS from top to bottom:
1. Final Polish Material: Leather / carpet / felt / cork / etc (load with separate polish slurry - Cerium, AO, etc)
2. PSA Adhesive (attach top material)
3. Adhesive Padding
4. Magnetic Layer with Adhesive
QUESTIONS by number above:
1. Suggestions and how wool felt or synthetic felt performs. Does the thickness matter? Same with leather. There's so many options of leather for laps, which and why?
2. Any suggestions for suppliers of PSA on a roll?
3. Do I need padding on final polish discs if I'm only polishing flat pieces? PSA 12" Padding Roll - suppliers?
4. Magnetic roll with PSA adhesive supplier found: hisglassworks.com - www.hisglassworks.com/magnet-by-the-square-foot.html
Thank you in advance for your responses with suggestions for which flat lap polish materials work well and adhesives. Any and all are appreciated.
POLISH: The final polish I've used on cabs and flats is 14,000 diamond paste on a canvas wheel mounted to the right side of the cabking. I'm rarely satisfied with the polish result even after starting over with the wheels. Maybe it's my technique even though I stop after each wheel to inspect, dry the stone, mark with a sharpie, etc. Currently after the 3000 wheel I'm using a flex shaft mounted with felt or leather and AO paste, ZAM, Cerium Oxide, Tin Oxide, other polishing compounds etc. Whatever compound it takes to get a successful polishing job done.
I use the Cabochon Polishing charts with the material and polish combos for specific minerals. Great information for all lapidaries.
Back to the DIY discs.....
---------
DISC LAYERS from top to bottom:
1. Final Polish Material: Leather / carpet / felt / cork / etc (load with separate polish slurry - Cerium, AO, etc)
2. PSA Adhesive (attach top material)
3. Adhesive Padding
4. Magnetic Layer with Adhesive
QUESTIONS by number above:
1. Suggestions and how wool felt or synthetic felt performs. Does the thickness matter? Same with leather. There's so many options of leather for laps, which and why?
2. Any suggestions for suppliers of PSA on a roll?
3. Do I need padding on final polish discs if I'm only polishing flat pieces? PSA 12" Padding Roll - suppliers?
4. Magnetic roll with PSA adhesive supplier found: hisglassworks.com - www.hisglassworks.com/magnet-by-the-square-foot.html
Thank you in advance for your responses with suggestions for which flat lap polish materials work well and adhesives. Any and all are appreciated.