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Post by sheltie on Sept 28, 2012 12:38:33 GMT -5
How do most of you polish your slabs after you cut them (or after you buy them)? I know that those of you who sell your products have equipment that meets the need and are generally more expensive than the type of equipment those of us who are hobbyists use. I have a vibrating lap and a cabbing machine and we use the lap. However, frequently the results aren't nearly as good as I'd like. When the slab comes off the rough and is still covered with oil is what I want a polished slab to look like. Is there something you can recommend other than a lap or cab machine that isn't terribly expensive? I've seen mention before of folks using a vibrating tumbler but don't understand the concept of how that would work - if it would. I have one so could try if recommended. Again, we are small hobbyists who slab, cab, tumble and make jewelry and display pieces only for ourselves, family and friends and don't sell anything so we need to keep our equipment costs within reason (although we certainly haven't to date! )
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Sept 28, 2012 12:49:22 GMT -5
Well, there's always polish in a can...spray on lacquer.
you can use the bobby1 method for polishing slabs on a sic belt/expando drum run dry. he posted a tutorial a while back on on this forum or another...lets see if i can find it.
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Post by deb193redux on Sept 28, 2012 12:50:31 GMT -5
You need a big vibe to do much larger than slabbetts.
Other than belt sanders and flat-laps (which you might get a good used price) the vibe lap is one of the best bets. There is also hand polishing with fine sandpapers an/or grits/polish on glass plates.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Sept 28, 2012 13:19:19 GMT -5
I've thrown not-too-large slabs into the ultravibe and had good results, but it polishes the whole thing, not just one face, and wouldn't work for larger.
I did a 4" coconut geode the other day with the flat lap on the end of the genie, that worked pretty well. I will be doing some slabs on that as well.
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Post by roy on Sept 28, 2012 14:40:15 GMT -5
You could use a Richardson sander they fairly inexsensive you can go to there web cite Richardson rock ranch
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Post by johnjsgems on Sept 28, 2012 14:55:26 GMT -5
At the risk of sounding like an ad I dumped my Lortone vibe lap after trying the Barranca electric wet polisher. Hands on but much faster. No size limit although hard to get uniform finishes above 12" diameter.
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billg22
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 451
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Post by billg22 on Sept 28, 2012 15:42:45 GMT -5
The Barranca sounds like a nice piece of equipment. I'll have to check it out. How do you clamp down the rock?
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Post by Roller on Sept 28, 2012 16:15:57 GMT -5
a vise ? sounds intereisting .. whats the cost ?
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Post by sheltie on Sept 28, 2012 17:10:15 GMT -5
You need a big vibe to do much larger than slabbetts. Other than belt sanders and flat-laps (which you might get a good used price) the vibe lap is one of the best bets. There is also hand polishing with fine sandpapers an/or grits/polish on glass plates. Ok, I need an idiot lesson. I have a 16" flat lap which vibrates. What is the difference between that and a vibe lap and flat lap such as you mentioned?
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Post by sheltie on Sept 28, 2012 17:11:35 GMT -5
You could use a Richardson sander they fairly inexsensive you can go to there web cite Richardson rock ranch I'd love to but we have a smallish enclosed work place and my wife has respiratory problesm. So I don't want to chance it with the sander. I really like it, though.
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Post by deb193redux on Sept 28, 2012 17:35:42 GMT -5
a 16-in lap that vibrates is a vibrating lap. others are rotary.
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keystonecops
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2010
Posts: 957
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Post by keystonecops on Sept 28, 2012 18:38:49 GMT -5
At the Madras show, I saw a demo of the Barranca sander. Had a big square metal tub with a piece of rubber on bottom. Worked slick, but the price scared me. Later Clyde
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