Post by free4rms on Jun 28, 2008 8:17:52 GMT -5
I posted this the other day on another part of the forum in response to a question, but I thought it might be a good idea to add it to the lapidary tip section.
Having problems with scratches or flat spots in the center of a domed cab? There is a very simple solution to this problem if you are using Nova wheels or diamond belts on an expanding drum. This technique will work on domed cabs and also on polishing small flats (also the flat backs of cabs). Of course, you want to use the hard diamond wheels as much as possible to achieve a good dome first so you won't have to do so much work on this next step.
When you are polishing the dome of the cab on, you need to hold the cab at a slight angle to the edge of the Nova wheel and sweep the center of the cab across the edge of the wheel, allowing the cab to depress the very outer edge of the wheel. The outer 1/8 inch of the wheel should literally sweep across the entire face of the cab. Because the edge of the wheel is flattened in this motion, all of the domed center of the cab will come in contact with the wheel. It will only take about 10 or 12 quick passes across the edge of the wheel in order to get rid of the scratches or flat spots. I will admit that it is a little tricky at first to figure out how to hold the cab in your fingers as you do this maneuver, but once you get the knack of it, it is really easy. Using a dop stick (which I never do) would make it even easier to hold it at this angle. You will need to do this with all the other nova wheels as you move to finer and finer diamond wheels. Here is a photo of the angle that the cab should be to the edge of the nova wheel:
If you have all the nova wheels you need, for example 280, 600, 1200, and 14,000... and you use this "sweeping the edge" motion correctly on each one, I am sure that you will not have any scratches on the center of the dome. I have used this trick on hundreds of freeforms and cabs and it works every time.
By the way, those are not my hands in the photo... I hired a stand-in with gnarly fingers to hold the cab.
Having problems with scratches or flat spots in the center of a domed cab? There is a very simple solution to this problem if you are using Nova wheels or diamond belts on an expanding drum. This technique will work on domed cabs and also on polishing small flats (also the flat backs of cabs). Of course, you want to use the hard diamond wheels as much as possible to achieve a good dome first so you won't have to do so much work on this next step.
When you are polishing the dome of the cab on, you need to hold the cab at a slight angle to the edge of the Nova wheel and sweep the center of the cab across the edge of the wheel, allowing the cab to depress the very outer edge of the wheel. The outer 1/8 inch of the wheel should literally sweep across the entire face of the cab. Because the edge of the wheel is flattened in this motion, all of the domed center of the cab will come in contact with the wheel. It will only take about 10 or 12 quick passes across the edge of the wheel in order to get rid of the scratches or flat spots. I will admit that it is a little tricky at first to figure out how to hold the cab in your fingers as you do this maneuver, but once you get the knack of it, it is really easy. Using a dop stick (which I never do) would make it even easier to hold it at this angle. You will need to do this with all the other nova wheels as you move to finer and finer diamond wheels. Here is a photo of the angle that the cab should be to the edge of the nova wheel:
If you have all the nova wheels you need, for example 280, 600, 1200, and 14,000... and you use this "sweeping the edge" motion correctly on each one, I am sure that you will not have any scratches on the center of the dome. I have used this trick on hundreds of freeforms and cabs and it works every time.
By the way, those are not my hands in the photo... I hired a stand-in with gnarly fingers to hold the cab.
