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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 8, 2016 21:26:13 GMT -5
Hey Paul, nice shine you've got going there. Are you using a flat lap or vibe lap to finish those? I just got a vibe lap and have got to put some time in figuring out how to get a polish on those faces. As far as the photography goes, you've got some good advice on fighting glare/reflections. With a flat surface, it's hard not to get your light source in the reflection. Shooting at an angle can get you and the camera out of the picture though. Phone cameras are always going to be tough to work with since they don't have a lot of the functions that are helpful on a DSLR, or even point and shoot camera. Tripods and adjustable exposure/ISO settings are great tools to manage light and reduce shake or blur with existing light. The polarizer will help more if you are shooting outdoors in indirect light, not so much if you decide to use a flash indoors. The tent that Scott recommended is popular with photographers shooting product shots. Firing a flash through any kind of diffuser helps control harsh glare also. There are many techniques that are used, but it's hard to set out a game plan until you have decided on which camera and light source you will be using. A dedicated 'studio' can consist of a small table, a light source, diffuser of some kind and a cheap tripod. Not pertaining to the reflection you are getting, but de-cluttering the background was great advice too. Try and make the subject the only focus, with nothing else to lead the eye away from it. Anyhow, if you have any specific questions, let me know.
Randy
ETA: Ok, it said flat lap in the thread, but the title says vibe lap. If that's the case, we definitely need to trade tips and suggestions. Hi Randy ( Garage Rocker): I have to watch my terminology. It's one of those covington vibe laps.  As far as how I run it, there's a lot of trial and error although the basic pattern follows this: I spend most of the time using 46=70 grade grit. Often times, days, as I want to get rid of any uneven areas and saw marks. I usually run the slabs through this stage for a total of five to eight days (combined). Even then, I sometimes find a slab that needs to be restarted. I picked up a tip from "The Agateer" (I think her name was Judy) to use a Sharpie and run cross hatch marks across the face of the rock. When they've all been ground off, it's good to go to the next step. I spend a lot of time cleaning and rinsing in between recharding the lap. Next, I run them for several days, using 120-220 sized grit. This steps works out to a combined five to eight days as well, with a lot of washing in between. Some get rejected at this stage and are piled up and eventually re-done at the first stage. Now comes the harder steps. I run the slabs through 320 Graded grit. This is critical as now I want all graded grits from here out to get an even polish. Again, a two to three days days (total) at this stage. Your slabs should take on a matte appearance at this point. Next up is 500 grit. I've been using aluminum oxide but silicon carbide will work as well. It's simply what I bought. A lot get rejected at this stage and start over. Usually, it's at this stage where I can see if there are missed areas caused by uneven saw cuts that weren't take care of at the first two stages. Same amount of time at this stage. Now I switch to the 1000 AO. The photos above show some of the rocks done at this stage. I ran this particular batch for about three or four days straight. The last step is the cerium oxide for several days. This step gets you the awesome shine that you see at rock shops and museums. They come out beautifully, if you take your time. The rocks in the above photo are currently at this stage. Inside of each step, I clean the pan when the grit is used up, clean the rocks with a toothbrush, recharge and get the pan running again. Also, make sure to run rocks with equivalent hardness together. I have a parallel batch of obsidian that I'm running right now as well. I made the mistake of running them with agates and the edges chipped. I always wrap the rocks in rubber bands along the edge that is getting the polish just to help cushion them but inevitably, they get chipped here and there. Get the thick/wide rubber bands from Office Depot or Staples. They come in a big bag of 500 or something like that. I think the part that I have the hardest time with is getting the right ratio of water and grit. On my 16 inch diameter pan, I can put down about six tablespoons of 46-70 grit and about 1/3 cup of water and it seems to work well but that changes as I move up through the grit sizes. The other thing that I monitor is making sure that the grit doesn't get too dry, so I'm constantly in and out of the garage every hour or so to check. I hope that helps. This has been very much, a trial and error learning curve. |
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quartz
Cave Dweller 
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Oct 8, 2016 22:58:44 GMT -5
Reflections or not, very good polish on some really nice pieces.
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 9, 2016 10:15:23 GMT -5
Reflections or not, very good polish on some really nice pieces. Thank you, sir! |
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474 
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Post by meviva on Oct 9, 2016 13:25:48 GMT -5
paulshiroma I'm planning on getting a vibe lap soon. I am looking at the Covingtons. Do you like yours? Thanks for sharing the steps you take to get such a great shine. Garage Rocker. What kind of vibe lap did you just get? Andrea
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 9, 2016 15:27:31 GMT -5
paulshiroma I'm planning on getting a vibe lap soon. I am looking at the Covingtons. Do you like yours? Thanks for sharing the steps you take to get such a great shine. Garage Rocker. What kind of vibe lap did you just get? Andrea Hi meviva: Well, the Covington is the only one I have any experience with so, while I am very pleased with it, I don't have anything to measure it against. I did pickup mine through "The Agateer" (https://www.facebook.com/theagateer/info). I think the contact was Judy. She was great and gave me a LOT of advice and information on using and setting it up. She even dropped by to giveme a hand with the setup and drop off an extra pan. I use two pans, one for the "rough" grits up to 1000 AO and one just for the cerium oxide. I did that mostly so that I can keep as much cerium oxide as possible (it's expensive) in a single pan and not have to worry about constantly washing pans all the time. I met Judy at one of the local shows one year and made something of an impulse buy - which is not always a good idea LOL. In this case, it's been one of the best tools I've bought for the hobby. Ping me if you have questions; I'll answer with whatever I've done that has or has not worked. A lot has not worked. Thanks Paul |
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
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Post by meviva on Oct 9, 2016 22:16:41 GMT -5
paulshiroma I'm planning on getting a vibe lap soon. I am looking at the Covingtons. Do you like yours? Thanks for sharing the steps you take to get such a great shine. Garage Rocker . What kind of vibe lap did you just get? Andrea Hi meviva : Well, the Covington is the only one I have any experience with so, while I am very pleased with it, I don't have anything to measure it against. I did pickup mine through "The Agateer" (https://www.facebook.com/theagateer/info). I think the contact was Judy. She was great and gave me a LOT of advice and information on using and setting it up. She even dropped by to giveme a hand with the setup and drop off an extra pan. I use two pans, one for the "rough" grits up to 1000 AO and one just for the cerium oxide. I did that mostly so that I can keep as much cerium oxide as possible (it's expensive) in a single pan and not have to worry about constantly washing pans all the time. I met Judy at one of the local shows one year and made something of an impulse buy - which is not always a good idea LOL. In this case, it's been one of the best tools I've bought for the hobby. Ping me if you have questions; I'll answer with whatever I've done that has or has not worked. A lot has not worked. Thanks Paul Thanks for the info. I'm going to order one tomorrow. I've cut so many slabs lately and have many end cuts that I would like to polish. Andrea |
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 10, 2016 7:54:18 GMT -5
meviva, awesome! I forgot to mention one item - get the largest diameter one you can afford. You'll find that you'll wish you had more space later if you bought the smaller ones. Post photos of your new purchase!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 10, 2016 13:09:09 GMT -5
Thanks, paulshiroma, for the vibe lap info, I'm saving that for later. I'll get a chance to play around with mine someday. It sounds like I need to be watching the slurry the whole time, so I MAY get to run it one day a week. My weekend schedule is often crazier than the work week. |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 10, 2016 13:17:41 GMT -5
It's an antique, Andrea. I bet you'd be hard pressed to find another one like it out there. I'll try to get a picture up later. |
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 10, 2016 19:54:26 GMT -5
Thanks, paulshiroma, for the vibe lap info, I'm saving that for later. I'll get a chance to play around with mine someday. It sounds like I need to be watching the slurry the whole time, so I MAY get to run it one day a week. My weekend schedule is often crazier than the work week. Actually Garage Rocker, that's how it works out with me. I run it when I have time. The total time only comes out to several days. I never have the time to just be in the garage every hour or so, either. So, it ends up being a few hours here, a few hours there. In between those times, I put enough water in to keep the pan from drying out and then powering the motor down. By the time, I'm ready to give it some attention, the water has gone down enough to restart things. I generally, do not leave the rocks in there - I brush them off with a toothbrush and store them in a bucket of water. meviva: Post photos of your new toy. By the way, I think john from JSGems (a Forum member) sells these as well. I buy my saw blades from him regularly as I tend to warp them regularly. you might check with him as well. He's always got great service. Paul EDITED: Cause I can't read or spell today...LOL |
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 11, 2016 6:06:00 GMT -5
Nice job Paul. I had mixed results with cerium in an old Lortone lap but never did the 1000 grit prepolish. Most serious vibe lap people swear by tin oxide.
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 11, 2016 8:09:24 GMT -5
Nice job Paul. I had mixed results with cerium in an old Lortone lap but never did the 1000 grit prepolish. Most serious vibe lap people swear by tin oxide. Thanks for the tip, John. I had seen tin oxide but had never tried it. Will have to give it a try when the cerium oxide runs out. Hope the trip is going well! |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 11, 2016 10:02:07 GMT -5
Thanks, paulshiroma , for the vibe lap info, I'm saving that for later. I'll get a chance to play around with mine someday. It sounds like I need to be watching the slurry the whole time, so I MAY get to run it one day a week. My weekend schedule is often crazier than the work week. Actually Garage Rocker , that's how it works out with me. I run it when I have time. The total time only comes out to several days. I never have the time to just be in the garage every hour or so, either. So, it ends up being a few hours here, a few hours there. In between those times, I put enough water in to keep the pan from drying out and then powering the motor down. By the time, I'm ready to give it some attention, the water has gone down enough to restart things. I generally, do not leave the rocks in there - I brush them off with a toothbrush and store them in a bucket of water. Thanks for all the tips, Paul. I've got to tinker with my machine a little and maybe I'll give it a try this weekend. I'll keep you posted on results and I'm sure there will be some questions along the way. Just make sure to stay by your computer all weekend.  |
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Oct 12, 2016 7:23:28 GMT -5
Very nice pieces, what a shine!
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