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Post by krazydiamond on Feb 20, 2016 21:29:34 GMT -5
wow, i thought this business had been around forever, so you could trust them. Made in USA, right? i asked around before i bought a flat lap and the Inland Swap Top came in as the overwhelming front runner. Ordered mine on 1/29, got an immediate email "thank you for your order". then....nothing. for weeks. i called them this past Monday (2/15) enquiring about my order. They couldn't even find it in their system. worrying, this. But, after talking to Customer Service (yup. they didn't know anything either) the unit magically appeared on my doorstep yesterday. Assembly was a bit more complicated than advertised. The threaded shaft was .5015" and the disks were dead on .500", you bad Inland. On top of that,the water delivery system didn't work at all. had to re-engineer that too. giving this a big thumb down as their Customer Service Website is down at the moment. boo hiss.
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 20, 2016 21:49:13 GMT -5
wow, i thought this business had been around forever, so you could trust them. Made in USA, right? i asked around before i bought a flat lap and the Inland Swap Top came in as the overwhelming front runner. Ordered mine on 1/29, got an immediate email "thank you for your order". then....nothing. for weeks. i called them this past Monday (2/15) enquiring about my order. They couldn't even find it in their system. worrying, this. But, after talking to Customer Service (yup. they didn't know anything either) the unit magically appeared on my doorstep yesterday. Assembly was a bit more complicated than advertised. The threaded shaft was .5015" and the disks were dead on .500", you bad Inland. On top of that,the water delivery system didn't work at all. had to re-engineer that too. giving this a big thumb down as their Customer Service Website is down at the moment. boo hiss. I had the same problem with graves.. wont buy again. Ive heard mixed reviews about indland |
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller 
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on Feb 20, 2016 21:55:48 GMT -5
I have an Inland all in wonder 6 inch ..The water delivery is about the only thing that wasn't good ..I use a different delivery than what they sent...I like it ..John
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Post by parfive on Feb 21, 2016 1:42:35 GMT -5
Kinda surprised, KD, that anyone who’s read this board for years would buy Inland’s SwapTop.
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Feb 21, 2016 1:50:17 GMT -5
I like the swap top flat lap and also the grinder, great for grooving.The saw should be banned from the planet. It gives lapidary a bad name cuz it scares the crap out of any newbie that tries it.
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 21, 2016 11:27:07 GMT -5
I had to choose between this and the Ameritool. I'm glad I went with Ameritool. Their customer service has been really great for me.
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Post by roy on Feb 21, 2016 13:56:54 GMT -5
Kinda surprised, KD, that anyone who’s read this board for years would buy Inland’s SwapTop. thats my thought to everyone i know that bought one said that they were junk motors going out ect.... |
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Post by krazydiamond on Feb 22, 2016 18:08:02 GMT -5
i guess i don't remember seeing the bad reviews for this model. my mind is getting to be a bit of a rusty steel trap these days. Contacted Customer Service today and they were as about as much help as i expected (zero). So, we will McGyver a new water delivery system.
KD
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Post by krazydiamond on Feb 29, 2016 16:59:51 GMT -5
so, got the water delivery system working now, quite the learning curve for this machine. Any tips for using a flat lap? Kind of intimidating starting out.
KD
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Post by glennz01 on Feb 29, 2016 19:24:04 GMT -5
so, got the water delivery system working now, quite the learning curve for this machine. Any tips for using a flat lap? Kind of intimidating starting out. KD well since I only have a 220 disk my only advice is to not use hands when picking up the piece unless you don't mind loosing some fingernail... then again I don't follow my own advice  |
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Post by johnjsgems on Feb 29, 2016 20:30:10 GMT -5
I used to sell them. Make sure you securely tighten the arbor set screw that holds arbor to shaft. Big issue with people not tightening securely and then lap and backer slides down while you are happily grinding and not noticing. As lap drops it wears away the little extension that keeps water from getting down the motor shaft and into the motor. The two year warranty doesn't cover motors full of water. That said the lap works OK until motor wears out. A lot of people bought extra arbors and backers so they could leave each lap assembled and just swap out whole assembly. I never tried the router/glass grinder but it should work OK too. The saw is severely under powered and their blade won't cut until you wear through the paint layer. A good sintered 6" blade works better but you lose a 1/4" since their blade is 6.5".
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Mar 2, 2016 21:45:03 GMT -5
IMHO Inland units are pieces of junk. This was the second unit I purchased after the frame for my Hi Tech became so brittle I couldn't keep up with the cracks. They are the cheapest unit around and unfortunately you get what you pay for. There is the problem tightening the set screw to the shaft. You also need to apply oil to the part holding down the plates periodically or it could seize to the shaft. They have an ongoing problem with water traveling down the shaft to the motor. I went through 3 motors before I gave up on it. The sanding pads that come with it are cheap and wore out quickly. You need the allen key to take the sanding wheels off of the shaft and then the wrench to separate the sanding disk from the master disk. The water goes down into that reservoir and you need to remove the top of the unit to get it all the way empty and clean it out.
The Ameritool is a far superior machine. One thumb screw is all it takes to take off the sanding disk and master disk. You can change out a disk in about 10 seconds. The reservoir is a nice bowl shape right under the wheel and it is easy to clean. Water does not get into the motor. I already had disks so I didn't order them from Ameritool so I can't speak for them.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 3, 2016 10:42:54 GMT -5
Atually I've heard several very noisy Ameritool units caused by the drain clogging and water entering motor. You have to make sure anytime water is going in, water goes out too. I'm guessing High Tech would have sold you a new base for less than the Inland unit. I've heard Inland laps were pretty decent but that may have changed.
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