yetiabitibi
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 25 
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Post by yetiabitibi on Jul 31, 2016 17:33:08 GMT -5
I've just finished a run of rough grinding with my vibrolap and while cleaning out the pan to move on the the next grit I noticed that some of the grit had become embedded into the pan.
I was using a 16" Covington vibrolap and doing the initial polish with 80 grit silicon carbide. I do admit that I did a very long run, putting through a series of pieces and running it for a total of about 6 hours without changing the grit or washing the pan. Right now it was fine, the 80G SiC showed up pretty well, but as I go down into finer and finer grits, I don't want this happening and ruining my polish.
Any suggestions to prevent this? Just clean out the pan more often?
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Post by captbob on Aug 1, 2016 8:19:22 GMT -5
I don't understand how grit can become "embedded" in a metal pan. I use a Raytech vibe, but it's gotta be the same concept, and have never had this problem. A long run shouldn't matter, most of mine are much longer than 6 hours.
Are you saying that you have dried grit stuck in the pan - in the grooves? I assume your Covington pan has grooves in it like mine does. Did the grit dry out?
I could see dry grit being stuck to the pan, but couldn't imagine it would be hard to get out. Maybe a metal grill brush to remove dry grit? Keep your grit from drying out and it should be easy to clean between stages.
If you have a problem other than just dried on grit, I'm not following your explanation of the problem I guess.
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Post by orrum on Aug 1, 2016 9:01:45 GMT -5
Hey Bob I have not tried my 20 inch vibrating lap yet. I have had it for years. Could you please post your recipe for using the lap?
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 1, 2016 9:43:18 GMT -5
Unless the cut on the pieces you're polishing is very rough, there should never be a reason to start with 80 grit. If the cut on your slabs is that rough, there's a very good chance that you never will get the saw grooves out of the pieces you're trying to polish. Unlike tumbling, start with the second stage of grit, and never let it dry out while lapping.
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yetiabitibi
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 25
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Post by yetiabitibi on Aug 1, 2016 20:08:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses.
I did let the slurry dry out before washing it, but it seemed more than just dried on. Even after repeated washing and scrubbing with a plastic bristle brush, it was still stuck to the pan. I wasn't in the grooves but on the flat surfaces that it was stuck.
I finally managed to get it off by scrubbing it with a brass brush. I seems to be all gone now, but I'll give it another go with the brush just to be 100% sure.
Jakesrocks ... yeah, the cut is pretty rough, that's why I'm starting with 80G. The club only has a 10" tile saw and it'll be kinda hard to fit a slab saw in my appartment ... One of these days though!
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vwfence
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2013
Posts: 567
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Post by vwfence on Aug 4, 2016 8:34:58 GMT -5
what blade are they useing on the tile saw ?
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Post by johnjsgems on Aug 4, 2016 11:27:27 GMT -5
What Don said. Start with 220 not 80. Coarse grits do more damage to pans and most laps work aggressively enough with 220. Dried grit is really hard to remove. Like concrete.
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yetiabitibi
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 25
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Post by yetiabitibi on Aug 4, 2016 18:33:44 GMT -5
what blade are they useing on the tile saw ? I don't know what the club has on their saw but I was using the blade that came with the tile saw. It's worn out now, so I'm looking to replace it. I was looking at the Cyclone diamond blades (http://www.toolocity.com/cyclone-tear-drop-diamond-blade.aspx) since it's one of the few blades available in 7". |
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Aug 12, 2016 12:22:52 GMT -5
never use anything courser than 220 in an aluminum pan
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