oldtrojan66
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2017
Posts: 2 
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Post by oldtrojan66 on Nov 10, 2017 10:33:49 GMT -5
I am new to the rock carving hobby, but I love it. I just got a Foredom flex grinder yesterday and it is WONDERFUL! Big step up from Drexel!
My question involves what comes next. I ordered several kinds of diamond wheels with 1/8” shaft. That gets me a rough shape, but I don’t know what to use after that. I have tried some alum oxide wheels for the Dremel, with no success. Maybe I just wasn’t patient enough. What do I get to bring finish to a high polish? More accurately, how do I get from 60-90 grit diamond wheel to where I can even start to polish?
Thanks in advance for your help!
David
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,981
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Post by Tommy on Nov 10, 2017 11:10:45 GMT -5
Hi David welcome to the board! I'm going to move your post from "cabochons" to "carving" where I think it will get the right exposure and lots of help from the carvers here.
Again, welcome.
Tommy
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 10, 2017 11:44:30 GMT -5
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Post by gmitch067 on Nov 11, 2017 0:43:02 GMT -5
oldtrojan66 Hi David. Kurt kk has done some exceptional carved pieces, and has mentioned that he uses different grit sanding papers to finish his pieces in prep for polishing. I do not do any carving (hands are not steady enough). I have only made pendant cabochons (cabs) using a dremel and wet/dry Silicon Carbide sandpapers (grit sizes: 220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, and 5000). Usually after the 3000 grit, I apply polish using a dremel felt pad. Tela rockjunquie created a thread showing this in a little more detail: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/80300/hand-cabbing-info-requestI hope this helps. Glenn
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Post by Rockoonz on Nov 24, 2017 14:59:02 GMT -5
Aluminum oxide is not hard enough to do you any good. I use Silicon Carbide cut off wheels on a mandrel, stacked 2 or 3 high for some smoothing and concave carving, and there is no substitute for lots of shapes, sizes and grits of diamond burrs. Jade carver on ebay is a good resource for a lot of it. One of my teachers had us use nylon bristle brushes with diamond paste for final sanding and polishing. christopherl1234 sold me a set of Diamond Pacific nova burrs that do a good job with larger pieces, they are about 1/4 inch diameter so they don't fit everywhere. The thing I'm finding about carving, and cabbing as well, is that the closer you can get to your finished shape with hard wheels and burs the better. I do everything that I can reach with the Genie, really speeds things up. |
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 15, 2018 20:49:41 GMT -5
I do a lot of carving and my go to sanding method is to use wood dowels. I cut a 1/2" long piece of soft wood 1/2" diameter. I mount it on a screw tip mandrel and shape it as it is spinning with a coarse file. I then soak it in water for a few minutes and roll it firmly in tumbling grit. It is now ready to sand with. Recharge it with fresh grit frequently. You will be surprised how fast it sands. Keep it spinning slowly as you are carving to prevent the grit from slinging off the wheel.
You can shape the dowel to fit wherever you are trying to sand.
I do the same for polishing. Shape it, soak it and roll it firmly in polishing media - usually AO.
I have a small plastic condiments holders with water in them for dipping the wheel into during the process.
Bob
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Post by kk on Jan 15, 2018 21:05:39 GMT -5
90 grit sounds very rough to start sanding, never mind polish.
I use 200 grit burrs and then switch usually to a succession of 400, 600, 1200 and 2000 grit paper before starting to polish.
For polish I use 14K and 50K on cloth and/or felt (burrs).
There are lots of methods, and it often depends on the material worked on.
Give us some pictures as to where you are, and I'm sure we can talk you through, if needed step by step.
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