does anyone make GOOD equipment anymore.

My Covington 18" doesn't have a feed motor, it has a feed system that is run off the main motor with a dubious clutch system. You can set the clutch system to slip so it doesn't feed too fast but it is hard to get it adjusted right. Not a good design as far as I am concerned but once I got it set right it seems to work OK.

Tony

Deserthound: *L* I'm with ya on this one. It's almost like many machinery manufacturers don't even understand how the equipment is used. I've discussed my experience with my Covingtion 10" saw at length here before. My shop used to look like a graveyard of broken Lortone crap and dead minisonics. Had like four tumblers, a vibe flat lap and a drop saw, all garbage. Actually got so angry with the Lortone drop saw that I physically took it out in the drive and beat the living snot out of it with a sledge hammer. ( I have a temper!) I actually felt a lot better afterward. The vibe lap wore out it's bearings or some crap in a few weeks. Had it fixed and wore out again just as fast. Used trays for planter trays for a few years and that was the only damn thing they worked for.

Funny, but my MJR tumbler base ( I run barrels from all my dead piece o crap Lortones) has been running like 24/7 for like six years now. Won't turn a heavy load anymore but works OK for 15 pounders. Wore through a drive shaft when a bearing seized up when I first got it but the seller sent me new replacements. Now he never responds even to requests to buy new belts but it is my favorite tumbler ever. I also love my UV-10 which has served very well.

Best saw I ever had was an old used Beacon Star. Only cost a couple of hundred bucks, lasted fifteen years and was a great rig......Mel

Yep, as John so politely said, Inland products suck, like pretty much any product that claims to be able to do more than one thing. And comes encased in plastic, rocks are way too hard for plastic tools. I would set up your inland in the spindle grinder mode and just use it for that as long as it lasts.

For a trim saw there's lots of options but my choice would be Polaris www.polaristool.com/catalog/item.php?unid=4633&prodpa=0

A tumbler would have to come from Lortone or Thumlers.

For cab grinders the best are refurbished older gear IMO, if you want new and looking for the best value I would go with stainless Lortone arbors. I prefer 2 wheel arbors so allow plenty of room to work larger pieces, but if your shop space is limited a 4 or 6 wheel unit is available. www.lortone.com/arbor.html
Or the ultimate made in USA cabber IMO... sphereproducts.com/cabmaking-slabpolishing.htm

Lee

@shotgunner
Rod does a lot of NW shows, furthest south will be Klamath Falls in march. We have his bead drilling vices and other inventions. If I made spheres I would probably get his cups.

Lee #2

There is no doubt in my mind that any mechanically inclined person with a little ingenuity, a well equipped shop, and unlimited spare time can manufacture lapidary equipment as good or better than anything on today's market. But most folks don't have access to a well equipped machining shop, or that kind of spare time. And new lapidary equipment has really gotten expensive. Especially if used as a hobby. In my opinion the best values in cabbing and slabbing equipment, without sacrificing quality, are to be found in the older, lightly used or well maintained equipment.
The Inland All-In-One may be fine for the occasional hobbyist or for cutting soft materials, but not for cutting lots of large cabs of hard materials. If you like and want to stick with a flat lap, the old B&I Gem Makers were the Iron Maiden, or in this case the Aluminum Maiden of flat laps. They were made in both a 6" and a 10" sizes with aluminum housings and bronze sleeve bearings that will not rust. I still use a B&I for my final polishing unit when polishing with messy oxides. The 10" size used a 10" trim saw blade but came with 8" laps. They are belt driven and can be powered by any general purpose 1/3hp 1725 rpm electric motor. And best of all they are inexpensive. Sears sold these units out of their catalog for over 20 years. And since they are nearly indestructible, there are literally thousands of them still out there that can be picked up on eBay , Craigslist and at estate sales really cheap.
The B&I units are great flat laps for cutting cabs but the trim saw function stinks. You'd need a separate trim saw. The old 6" Rock Rascal model "J" trim saw is a good companion to the B&I Flat Lap and they too are plentiful and inexpensive on the secondary market.
But if you do a lot of cabbing you're probably going to want to get an outfit with vertically mounted wheels. As John mentioned the old Highland Park, Frantom and Star Diamond units are all good to refurbish and convert to diamond tech. I would also add to that list Poly Arbor. But be careful not to pay too much for one of these units that still has Silicon Carbide wheels on it. A lot of eBay and Craigslist sellers who inherited daddy's rock collection don't realize the difference and try to price their old SC equipped units based on the prices of the new diamond equipped units and their is a huge difference between the two.
As for larger Slab Saws, again the old Highland Park and Frantom brands were great. And even the older pre-1980 Lortone and some of the older model Covington saws were good. But in my opinion the newer production ones are not so good.
To me it doesn't make sense to spend $2K on a new cabbing machine when you can find a good used lapidary arbor and outfit it with brand new diamond wheels for under $1K and still have $1K+ left over to put towards a good saw or some really cool cutting rough!

NO! Buy old and rebuild them. Even then the bearing you get are made in Korea and last
about 6 months. Covington is trying, but still lacking. Just part of the price you
pay to see inside of a rock. To be fair they do go through a lot of abuse.

i have learned that it is best to buy old stuff and fix it up to use the new stuff almost always has china made stuff it or whole and they suck at building anything besides even if you replace almost everything in a old saw you still get a better and cheaper saw than you can buy

I love my Lortone C200. I overload the barrels, but it has the same motor as the C300, so I figure I'm okay. I've run it 24/7 for about 13 or 14 months over the last two years and nary a problem...

I'm ya huckleberry