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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on May 27, 2024 4:51:13 GMT -5
Can you post a pic of the HiTech sponge laps on your machine? I’m curious how similar they are to some that I got years ago that were not hard metal discs but also not necessarily soft. I’d need to dig them out, I can’t remember the name, they were just grinding grits embedded in some sort of softer base material. It certainly did not have as much give as a soft cabbing machine wheel so I’m curious to see what you found. Looks like you are getting pretty good results and sounds like a good upgrade for you.👍
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rocknrob
has rocks in the head
If Costco only sold slabs in bulk...
Member since May 2024
Posts: 612
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Post by rocknrob on May 27, 2024 9:44:04 GMT -5
Sure! I started earlier with diamond lap discs and I could never get a smooth rounded cab from that flat lap. So after realizing one of the big advantages of those cabbing machines were those soft wheels with some give. I purchased these sponges from Hi Tech with replacement smoothing discs. I have them in 220, 350, 600 and regular without sponge at 1500 and 3000. I still use the diamond disc for performing at (depending on material) 60/80/120/180. I'll post an actual pic later today.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on May 27, 2024 16:30:48 GMT -5
Ok. Yes, very similar to what I have, however, unfortunately, I did not put the additional rubber sponge underneath my grinding/polishing discs. Way back then I didn’t know what I was doing enough to even troubleshoot. I just bought the discs and stuck them onto the hard lap backing plate thinking they were softer than metal discs and so should be soft enough to not still cause facets. But, ya, the foam backing would’ve actually been the key. It’s the pressure sensitive adhesive. It’d be great if I could get them back off in order to put some foam rubber behind them but I’d probably destroy the discs trying. Maybe it’d be better to just use them for some specimen face polishing at this point instead… Glad you are having better cabbing outcomes with these.👍
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rocknrob
has rocks in the head
If Costco only sold slabs in bulk...
Member since May 2024
Posts: 612
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Post by rocknrob on May 27, 2024 19:45:07 GMT -5
Ok. Yes, very similar to what I have, however, unfortunately, I did not put the additional rubber sponge underneath my grinding/polishing discs. Way back then I didn’t know what I was doing enough to even troubleshoot. I just bought the discs and stuck them onto the hard lap backing plate thinking they were softer than metal discs and so should be soft enough to not still cause facets. But, ya, the foam backing would’ve actually been the key. It’s the pressure sensitive adhesive. It’d be great if I could get them back off in order to put some foam rubber behind them but I’d probably destroy the discs trying. Maybe it’d be better to just use them for some specimen face polishing at this point instead… Glad you are having better cabbing outcomes with these.👍 I was the same way, I had the smoothing discs directly mounted to the plate and while they did do their jobs. I think the addition of the 220 smoothing disc with the sponge has made a huge difference. I do have it on the 600 as well but usually I'm well past the preform stage by then. It's a decent hit on the pocketbook to rip off an old smoothing disc and put on one with the sponge but the results are much less faceted. |
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Post by jasoninsd on May 27, 2024 20:56:21 GMT -5
I'm not usually a proponent for conforming (my wife will attest to that! LOL)...but in this case, it's exactly what's needed!  Glad you got this one figured out!  |
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