|
|
Post by killgorelapidary on Aug 30, 2018 17:25:48 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by woodman on Aug 30, 2018 17:56:40 GMT -5
Looks like you got learning curve in front of you. It is not a faast process, each step takes time. You might call Richardson ranch and ask advise. You might catch them on a good day!
|
|
goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368 
|
Post by goatgrinder on Aug 30, 2018 18:15:35 GMT -5
Hey Kilgore and welcome to the RTH. You gotcha some great lap machinery and a whole lotta pet wood too.
In the military it's called "eating the elephant". You ask "how do I eat the elephant?", answer is
one bite at a time. I hope that you have a saw or two to trim off the corners and edges. And you may
tumble some of this. Shape your stones before you put them into the sphere makers.
We have some great sphere makers here at RTH and I'm sure that they will chime in to help.
Start with one rock. Good luck.
|
|
|
|
Post by killgorelapidary on Aug 30, 2018 20:37:34 GMT -5
Thanks. I guess I'll ask a couple of questions in here instead of making more threads. If they get answered, I'll add the question and answer to the top.
What kind of wax do people use to fill vugs if you want to keep them intact? Is it worth getting a vibrating tumbler to polish the inside of the vugs (e.g. in pet wood)?
How big of a saw do I need for 5 inch spheres?
I've seen some people using a core drill to cut out preforms. Would that be a better purchase than a saw? The local rock club has some saws, but I'm not sure I could get on them for hours at a time.
Should the heads on the three head machines be level? Angled slightly up? Down?
|
|
AzRockGeek
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2016
Posts: 703
|
Post by AzRockGeek on Aug 31, 2018 8:57:39 GMT -5
Hop on Youtube check out some videos, I believe the new HP Lapidary may have some videos, chuck a preform in and start playing around. Plan on converting to all diamond, much faster and easier. Sphereheaven.com good page to check out. You can get some good grinding cups from JSGEM's that will take the diamond pads the counter top guys use, pads cheap when order out of China. NRG will have some great input. If you are only planing on cutting spheres, get a 14" Drop saw, Very fast for preforming. Otherwise look for an nice used 18" saw on CL. Good luck, Tim |
|
|
|
Post by rmf on Aug 31, 2018 14:02:54 GMT -5
@kilgorelapidary So if you are looking for opinions. A 5" spheere is the finished diameter so you are starting out with something that is 5.5" to 6" unless you just cut a perfect cube then a dodecahedton when you cut off the corners. The inside bushing for a saw blade say 14" is about 4" in diameter (seat of the pants not measured) so a 14" saw will saw a rock that is 14" long if you have the room in the saw for the length but the max height is going to be the radius of the saw (7" in out example) minus the radius of the center bushing 2" and minus a little more for the fact that the vice may not allow you put the stome exactly where you need it. So at best if everything was perfect a 14" saw would be the absolute min. Probably a 18" saw would be better. For the price diff I would just go to a 24" because you will always have a rock or two that are bigger than your saw will handle. BTW that is true if you buy a 24" saw as well.
It is true that vib tumblers are better at polishing concave spots in a tumblestone. However small filler pebbles in a rotary may do an adequate job. Do some experimentation to if it is worth the extra $$.
Seal cracks in the pwood before grinding with CA glue. If you need water thin CA or any other viscosity try:
PaleoBond
1067 E. US Highway 24 #191
Woodland Park, CO 80863
651-227-7000
customer.service@paleobond.com
|
|
|
|
Post by greig on Sept 1, 2018 10:50:19 GMT -5
You have a wicked looking machine! Looks like many hours of fun ahead for you. Someday, I would like to try making a sphere with rock containing silver ore.
|
|
juzwuz
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
|
Post by juzwuz on Sept 3, 2018 16:09:13 GMT -5
Did you get your sphere machines up and running? It looks like you have some nice sphere preforms to try out.
A silver ore sphere would look awesome.
|
|
