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Post by hermatite on Jan 12, 2007 9:49:07 GMT -5
Okay...my husband is promising that I will have my cabbing machine by next week. I'll have an 80 grit diamond wheel and a 220 grit SC wheel and will be able to vary the speeds (don't ask me how fast they'll go...he's the engineer...he assures me they'll be fine and I can play to see which speeds I like for which rocks). I will then dump the cabs into a 500 tumble to smooth out the final scratches and then into a polish tumble. I think this should work okay. If anyone sees a problem with this strategy, let me know.
Okay so...here are the stupid questions:
1) do you move the rock back and forth on the wheel or do you move it in circles, or does it matter?
2) I have any variety of stones to play around with thanks to desertdweller and debs-dan... Is there a good beginner cab? Is picture stone okay?
3) I have a geode I've cut and would like to polish the face of...it's small. Can I do this or am I just asking for trouble? I don't want to dump it in the tumble and lose the inside crystals but I have plans for it and want the face polished somehow.
That's it for now, though I'm sure I will come up with many more dumb questions in the near future. Thanks in advance for your help.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Jan 12, 2007 10:25:07 GMT -5
Herm, picture jasper should be okay, it is relatively soft - I'd start with an oval or round shape - these will fare better in the tumbler too than a square which might get rounded corners - you could also freeform it
move in circles AND back & forth - remember to use the whole surface of the grinding wheel so's not to create a U shape on the wheel - it's almost impossible but it does minimize the curve
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Post by freeform on Jan 12, 2007 14:40:07 GMT -5
It really doesn’t matter which motion, just that your keep it moving. Just keep in mind cutting creates scratches. Like wood grain, the fastest way to sand away scratches from a previous stage, is to cut across them. If you sand in the same direction each time, it takes longer to produce a polish, and often one is not pleased.
Anything on the softer side would be ideal for a beginner. I would recommend something like Picasso Marble or Serpentine. Both take a good polish with little effort, and cut & shape like butter. But a fine agate or jasper, (Montana agate or any gem jasper) is ideal too, becasue they are often super hard to shape, but take a liquid polish with very little effort so long as you sanded them fully.
So long as the surface you want to polish on this geode is not larger than the wheels width. You should be fine. I do this often with Royal imperial jasper becasue the nodules are small. If larger than the width of your wheel, you could accidentally cut into the geode with the outer edges of your wheel. Making it further difficult to sand the piece.
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Post by krazydiamond on Jan 12, 2007 18:38:23 GMT -5
you go, Hermy! you are going to love your grinder and having hubby make you another one for the next stages soon (i'm talking birthday!)
#1 Question: you will find your own cadence on the wheels, but as forementioned, keeping it moving (and evenly) is the key to good shaping.
#2 Question: in my own experience, i found the softer stones more challenging than the harder ones, but picture jasper should be OK at MOH 6-7. i can send you some brazilian agate to play with if you'd like. that kind of hardness would work well with your overall strategy for further tumbling to polish as i've found the softer stone like Picasso and Serpentine do NOT get a shine with tumbling.
Question #3: i've had zero luck polishing flats any larger tha a cabochon back on wheels and have been eyeing the flat lap pads that will fit on the edge of my Genie.
let me know if you wnat some nice hard agate to play with,
KD
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Post by joe on Jan 13, 2007 3:02:30 GMT -5
The questions have all been answered, so all I want to say is have a great time cabbing!! Once you start you won't know where the time went. Enjoy, enjoy, and enjoy!
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Post by hermatite on Jan 13, 2007 8:41:09 GMT -5
Thanks you guys! I appreciate your help and I'll post my newbie cabs asap
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Post by stoner on Jan 14, 2007 15:46:39 GMT -5
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jan 14, 2007 19:44:57 GMT -5
Herm- Your plan is fine- Just a thought for the future of the machine- After you are fed up with the SiC wheel- get an expandable drum- then you can use sanding belts (diamond are 50 times as expensive- but last 100 times longer) I only tumble polish the cabs that WON't cooperate for polishing (usually due to operator error) but 500 is a good place to start them- You won't get that razor sharp edge on them- but they turn out pretty cool in there own rights- MOST OF ALL HAVE FUN!!!
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