Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 20, 2015 22:19:14 GMT -5
After burning through yet another Galaxy wheel in just a few months I'm considering buying a sintered grinding wheel. I'm willing to spend the money on quality and don't want to end up wasting money on a Chinese piece of crap.
Any personal insights into either of these two wheels? is one better than the other? Maybe there's a different brand I should be looking at?
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Post by roy on Oct 21, 2015 10:06:12 GMT -5
sintered wheels are best but cost up to three times that of a regular wheel
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 21, 2015 12:07:44 GMT -5
sintered wheels are best but cost up to three times that of a regular wheel Yup thanks, I understand that part Roy. As I said I'm willing to spend the money on a sintered wheel but looking for recommendations between Neosint or the Inland Lapidary wheels. |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 21, 2015 12:35:14 GMT -5
I looked into switching to sintered awhile back but at the time I wanted Inland brand and nobody had any in stock. Call Shawn at the rock shed. He sells the Inland version for about $30 cheaper then getting direct from Inland. You might want to ask around about grit size too. I remember people saying that a 80 grit sintered acts like an 100 grit plated galaxy or was it the other way around?  I am surprised your galaxy wheels are wearing so quickly. I do plenty of cabbing and I use my 80 grit galaxy to pre-grind a lot of my agate/jasper tumble material and still get at least a year out of them. www.therockshed.com/equipment8.htmlChuck |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 21, 2015 16:23:53 GMT -5
I am surprised your galaxy wheels are wearing so quickly. I do plenty of cabbing and I use my 80 grit galaxy to pre-grind a lot of my agate/jasper tumble material and still get at least a year out of them. Thanks for the feedback Chuck. Yeah I'm not having that great of longevity with galaxy wheels - the 80 grit galaxy wheel I bought in June ate rock like crazy for two months and now it's a struggle. It feels like trying to form an agate dome on a 220 grit - it can still happen but it takes a lot of pressure and I have arthritis and carpal tunnel setting in my hands and wrists. |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 21, 2015 22:29:06 GMT -5
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Post by roy on Oct 22, 2015 11:48:14 GMT -5
sintered wheels are best but cost up to three times that of a regular wheel Yup thanks, I understand that part Roy. As I said I'm willing to spend the money on a sintered wheel but looking for recommendations between Neosint or the Inland Lapidary wheels. cyristalline i think is the name there the best wheel out there not sure on the spelling would have to look for the box but i have had this wheel for 3 years |
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Post by broseph82 on Oct 22, 2015 21:38:55 GMT -5
But if a 60g sintered cuts like an 80g regular that's not a good thing right? But if it were the other way around I could see it being good |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 22, 2015 23:30:28 GMT -5
Brosphere, The diamonds have metal between them, so it takes a coarser grit to cut at the same speed.
I'm used to an 80 grit plated wheel, so I got a 60 grit sintered. No problem.
Lynn
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Post by broseph82 on Oct 23, 2015 8:41:04 GMT -5
Brosphere, The diamonds have metal between them, so it takes a coarser grit to cut at the same speed. I'm used to an 80 grit plated wheel, so I got a 60 grit sintered. No problem. Lynn So why go for a sintered wheel then? |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 23, 2015 10:10:06 GMT -5
The sintered wheels are coated in a layer of diamonds in metal matrix that is between 3mm and 5mm thick depending on brand. Comparing these to a diamond plated wheel is not even apples to apples. A sintered wheel is generally expected to last 5 to 10 times longer than a plated wheel. all of the gold color is diamond matrix in this photo  This is a small description taken from inlands website Professional Grade Wheels for Vertical Cabbing Machines
When you've got to make more cabs than you can count, it's time to go sintered. The longest lasting wheels on the market today, with a full 3mm of diamond matrix, and solid aluminum cores, you won't believe how long these wheels last. Sintered wheels will also cut just as aggressively on the first cab as the last. If you haven't used sintered wheels before, we recommend you order one grit size larger (coarser) for sintered diamond tools as compared to plated or brazed parts.Chuck |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 23, 2015 13:43:03 GMT -5
That's good information I learned here. Thank you all for the discussion.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2015 10:38:27 GMT -5
Super nice thread. Thanks Tommy and everyone else too. |
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Post by roy on Oct 24, 2015 10:44:20 GMT -5
Tommy hans wheels are garbage and if you complain they will do nothing at all |
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Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,982
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Post by Tommy on Oct 24, 2015 11:33:02 GMT -5
Well I broke into a cold sweat before finally pulling the trigger on the Inland Lapidary wheel this morning. Most money I've ever spent on a single lapidary item - it better not suck haha. |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 25, 2015 22:46:09 GMT -5
Roy, I've had great results with the wheels from Hans. I got a resin wheel that was contaminated (it had a couple of large grits causing it to scratch). Hans replaced it free with 3 day shipping from China. I also had another problem wheel & it was also replaced for free in 3 days.
Lynn
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Post by roy on Oct 26, 2015 10:23:41 GMT -5
Roy, I've had great results with the wheels from Hans. I got a resin wheel that was contaminated (it had a couple of large grits causing it to scratch). Hans replaced it free with 3 day shipping from China. I also had another problem wheel & it was also replaced for free in 3 days. Lynn i bought like 8 wheels from him all were not rite and he has yet to answer to the issues for me |
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 26, 2015 11:09:10 GMT -5
Inland's wheels are made in USA. I stopped selling them due to availability issues (like 2-3 months to get a wheel). The Neosint wheels are Chinese but very high quality. A little more diamond too. I've seen pro cutter's sintered wheels (Inland) heavily used for 5 years that still looked new. To someone that cuts a lot sintered is the least expensive way to go. A beginner that holds a stone hard against a wheel in one place may have different results. The Galaxy wheels with a single nickle/diamond layer have protruding diamonds that cut like a 30 grit wheel until broken in then cut like 80. If you want a wheel that cuts like a new 80 Galaxy you would need a 30 or 40 grit wheel. If you are wearing out wheels fast I'm guessing you are pressing too hard. Ease off and let the diamonds do the work.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 16, 2018 16:46:48 GMT -5
Tommy- resurrecting this to see what you think of that sintered wheel. Should be still grinding along.
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Tommy
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Posts: 12,982
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Post by Tommy on Sept 16, 2018 17:13:49 GMT -5
Tommy - resurrecting this to see what you think of that sintered wheel. Should be still grinding along. OMG, it's a workhorse and I love it. I rarely even have to dress it and it just keeps grinding and grinding and barely shows any wear. Just doing a rough calculation based on Etsy sales since this thread I believe I have cut over 1200 cabochons on it and still has a LOT of life left.  |
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