jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Nov 6, 2012 14:21:00 GMT -5
Jim I glued those pads on to thje backing plates.No more pad centering or flying pads.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 14:55:02 GMT -5
Hey! Whattaya growing there?? Frogs? Fish? Turtles? Or just the plants? Looks like all aquatics to me. I wish I had a greenhouse. I could retire on the frogs production.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 6, 2012 20:37:54 GMT -5
BD's wet polisher runs at 3400 rpm. I'm still using one of the mostly bad variable speed units. Anything above half speed and I'm chasing pads all over the yard. The Velcro they use is rated at 5500 rpm maximum. Velcro degrades over time. Especially if pads are not left out to dry after use.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Nov 6, 2012 22:39:32 GMT -5
The velcro was not doable for me.I glue the pads to the backing wheel.Agates are hard and wear the pads very slowly.Softer grainy materials wear the pads out quickly,especially concrete.
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cherdarock
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2012
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Post by cherdarock on Dec 20, 2012 1:41:43 GMT -5
That DOES give one the idea that you love to polish slabs, but you ALSO love waterparks. The most obvious advantage would have to be absolutely clear water at the slab. One of my gripes doing cabs on a genie is the jets of water carrying grind from the previous wheel. I have been toying with plans for a vibrolap, but there again, gotta "wash dishes" every change of the pads. So... what happens in the winter? do you polar bear? NOW! As I looked at the set up, the framework is in, and a bit of fiberglass work, along with a few sets of gloves would give a splash cabinet. a secondary shield deflects spray from the view screen. Lounge chairs for the kids underneath means they can stay cool from the spritz and drips, letting you "watch" the kids and polish. Kidding. no kiddies by the machines. EVER! unless they are thumb cuffed, handcuffed, and mummy wrapped AND held by the RESPONSIBLE adult... Overall, two thumbs up in summer, lotsa dejected sighs in the winter. pics of the slabs by chance...?
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Dec 20, 2012 6:57:58 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum cherdarock.Thanks for checking the rig out.I have that system in a greenhouse(photo above in this thread).It is hot in there on any sunny winter day after a little solar gain.I polish a lot of 5-10 pound split specimens w/that machine too.I am in aquatics bussiness so wet is every day for me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2013 13:46:40 GMT -5
what horsepower are those grinders? Can hou stop them while grinding?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Apr 24, 2013 14:15:40 GMT -5
Yes you can.About 1/4 i would guess.They were 6 inchers before conversion.But it takes a bit.And they start up slow when sitting for a spell.I should oil them and loosen them before starting.I left it outside for 3-4 years.Durable little grinders.For the price of lapidary equivalent i would throw them away and replace.I have polished 100's of slabs and split coral specimens with that rig.Never replaced a pad.Next time i would get the backing plates flatter or a lathe to turn the faces after welding 4 inch washer to left hand nuts.Bouncing agate does not finish well.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2013 16:12:02 GMT -5
so 1/3 horse at harbor freight will do.
i need this. Cherdarock can turn me the adapters I need.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Apr 24, 2013 16:36:15 GMT -5
A 1/3 HP grinder should be fine.And Crerdarock's generous offer and you ought to be in business Scott.And beware that the only job that system did well at was polishing slabs/flat surfaces.I did not like making cabs on it.The 50 grit pad does cut fast though.And it is a little tricky hitting all the spots on the slab-it does not always polish where you think it is polishing.So it takes a little getting used to.Are you gonna do slabs?I held this 20 pounder up to it and polished it-felt like i got whipped by a cage fighter.The piece i cut off was mounted to 1 x 6 x 6 inch acrylic base and was featured in a Southern Living magazine interior about front and center. It may be better to carefully remove the velcro if you glue the pads on like i did.Any variations makes precision polishing more difficult.Clamp the heck out of it on any glueing ops.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2013 17:45:51 GMT -5
My plan is to put something like this on it Use this to hand grind my rough spheres. Could go bigger like yours for a cabbing unit. Slabs not so much. It is 5/8-11 just like the velcro backed pads I'd need cherdarock to make the adapter from grinder axle to 5/8-11. easy peasy! Looks like this one already has 5/8-11 threads on it! Half horsepower too! Jim thanks for sharing your "southern engineering" here. I love the creativity and problem solving abilities. NOPE, I was wrong. It's 1/2"-12. Dummies....
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Apr 24, 2013 18:35:00 GMT -5
My cup grinder is 3600 rpm.I wish it was slower at 1800 rpm.Cause it chips.Even better,i wish the grit was 6,8 or 16 and it only turned at 500 rpm.Those in your pic are probably 40-50 grit.Even for tumbling prep the 40/50 is slow,16 would be great.And slower for less vibration causing chipping.Floor model concrete grinders use 16 grit and (wow) 6 grit segments. Heavy grinding like pre sphere shaping agates will eat those cups kinda fast-dry or wet?? www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157632945074217/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2013 21:54:24 GMT -5
We will see.
I can have custom segments made and then make my own wheel. I was thinking of filling the gaps between the segments with epoxy.
I'll use it wet.
Stacked saw blades used this way last YEARS. Cuttings hundreds or even a thousand or two spheres. Every week the grinder is bizzy for 3-4 hours pre-grinding spheres. Part of the reason I am doing this is because class only has one good grinder. I have gone to class and nto worked on spheres becauyse I could not get a grinder to use.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2013 22:10:21 GMT -5
Hey Scott,
I use one of those grinding cups on my MK angle grinder for preforming, I thought it worked well until I built my agate grinder this last weekend(Cheap saw blades). Why don't you just get a cheaper arbor and build our own grinder to use at home. For about $100 in cheap blades you are set.
Tim
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Post by Pat on Apr 25, 2013 9:48:21 GMT -5
Clever! Didn't know you did cabs. Thought you just tumbled. Lots of good ideas floating around here!
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Apr 25, 2013 10:24:56 GMT -5
i just polish slabs Pat.My wife makes me too nervous to make cabs:>I'm just a tumbler and a cutter:>
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Bucknutty
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2017
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Post by Bucknutty on May 5, 2019 20:59:12 GMT -5
Love the idea! Did your motors ever have any issues with the moisture?
I was looking for a cheap way to polish slabs. I built a single station knock off of yours... worked great for 20 minutes before the motor crapped out on a brand new grinder. When I was switching pads, it didn't' start back up. Locked up and humming but no rotation. Had it pretty well protected from water, maybe it was just a dud.
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Post by 1dave on Mar 15, 2020 13:50:23 GMT -5
It took me 3 hours to find this.
It was posted in 2012, but for some reason people keep making comments and pushing it forward in time.
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 31, 2021 15:10:59 GMT -5
Just found this thread. I think I will modify my bench grinder to something like this. Thanks for the idea jamesp
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