Horizontal Lap

I'd pass on the Inland. I've never heard any positive thing on the Inland in regards to lapidary. The stained glass community loves them, but rocks are harder than glass!

I've looked at the Hi-Tech All-U-Need and the Crystalite CrystalMaster before, and almost purchased the All-U-Need slant lapper before stumbling across my current grinders. Price wise, they're a little more, but not by much!

There are lots of people here who would recommend against the inland laps. I believe there are some threads dedicated to problems people have had with those machines. I've never personally used one, but the word is they don't hold up to the rigors of lapidary use, are underpowered, and most importantly electrically unsafe. They are basically glorified stained glass grinders. They are also prone to shorting. I think covington makes a more robust model:

www.covington-engineering.com/maxi_lapidary_units.htm

And if you are budget conscious, you can get these nice horizontal units I see on ebay:

cgi.ebay.com/Estate-Lapidary-used-flat-lap-grinder-polisher-deb_W0QQitemZ300210798981QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4843QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Although cleaning up and possibly repairing an older unit may not bea easy with physical limitations. They show up on ebay now and then. I imagine you could outfit one with diamond laps.
Steve

I think LadyT has a flat lap, and possibly Parfive? Hmm...racking my brain now. Deb193(redux) actually used an Inland, so did Weeshan, if you want personal testimony against that brand.

Thanks. That's the way I'm leaning right now. I found that Alpha Supply has it for about $25 less, but after dealing with both places in the past, I would probably stick with RonsRocks. I still have to convince the boss to let me spend another few hundred bucks after I just bought a new Lot-O a few weeks ago, not counting several boxes of rocks, lots of grit, some diamond wheels, scrap silver, etc.. May have to wait until we get the rebates from Uncle Sam before I get anything else.

You should check out the Ameritool HD Universal as well. Very similar to the All-You-Need. I don't know how much the All-You-Need weighs but the 6" Ameritool costs under $30 to ship cross country. I know several opal cutters that use them full time and they hold up to professional use very well. The Inland is remarkably inexpensive but doesn't seem to hold up well to hard use. For light use or for a "take along" traveling unit they fill a niche. It would be less expensive to buy the Ameritool or All-You-Need once rather than the All-In-Wonder, try it and find out later you need more.

I've heard nothing but bad about the inland product. From bad product, to bad service. I too almost got the Hi-tech slant lap, then red up on the CabMate and got that instead.

Still trying to decide between the Ameritool or the All-You-Need. I just spent a grand on a ring for the wife's upcoming anniversary present, so she said I can go ahead and buy the lap as my present. Of course I need to stay under $600 instead of $1000. I haven't been able to find anyone who says anything bad about either unit, so I guess it doesn't matter to much which one I get.

Yeah, I figure I'll definitely get an 8" version once I figure out which one I want. I was going to order it tonight but I keep flip flopping on which to get. Maybe I'll make up my mind my this weekend. I can get either one and stay within my allocated budget. I had to forgo getting another pistol in order to get the lap.

One more question for everyone. Are these machines clean enough to use in the house? I would really like to work from the couch I spend my days on instead of outside. The flooring is vinyl so it is fairly easy to keep that clean.

My wife cleaned out my shop for me so I could get to the door between it and the potting shed and to have room to put the lap and a place to lay down. The potting shed has water (and heat) so that's where I do all my cleaning and prep work. Now I don't have to go outside and around the building to get there. Every less step I have to walk helps me a little bit.