rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Aug 19, 2021 13:03:51 GMT -5
Just wanted to see who is using the handheld wet polishers to do rocks and slabs. I just started working at this and would welcome any input. With all this hot weather it is a great way to cool off if you do not mind getting wet. The cost of the pads and supplies has come down so much over the years and the equipment is not that expensive.
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lunker
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2021
Posts: 430
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Post by lunker on Aug 20, 2021 12:44:50 GMT -5
 Here's what I use. 4 inch resin pads to 3000 grit then 4 inch felt with diamond paste to 80,000 grit. With the resin pads I just dip the rock in water when it starts to dry out, then run dry with the felt. It works pretty good for me on bigger rocks. Here are a couple I've done that way.   |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,595
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Post by jamesp on Aug 20, 2021 13:10:57 GMT -5
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Post by HankRocks on Aug 20, 2021 13:37:05 GMT -5
Redneck Engineering strikes again!!! I like it!! |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,595
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Post by jamesp on Aug 20, 2021 15:09:35 GMT -5
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unclesamster
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by unclesamster on Aug 22, 2021 23:54:48 GMT -5
I've been using a harbor freight polisher with electronic speed control. It's a little tiring working on a bunch of smaller rocks one handed and it can be difficult to keep things wet as you go, but it worked really well on some rootbeer onyx and septarian nodules. I put one on the drill press that I let my 7 year old polish some rocks too whenever I'm polishing. That bench grinder setup looks perfect for the kind of stuff I do. That's a pretty sweet and smart setup you have there.
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 26, 2021 13:41:25 GMT -5
Just wanted to see who is using the handheld wet polishers to do rocks and slabs. I just started working at this and would welcome any input. With all this hot weather it is a great way to cool off if you do not mind getting wet. The cost of the pads and supplies has come down so much over the years and the equipment is not that expensive. I've got the Makita wet polisher, the one where water is fed through the middle of the disc pad holder. I've used it to grind and polish big rocks. Never tried it on slabs, but that might be tricky. You'd need some way to hold the slab down without obstructing access to the surface. And it would be tough to keep it level across the face of a slab. Maybe if you started with 100+ grit it wold be done, but I think the 50 grit pads would be hard to handle on a slab. Maybe a slow speed would help too. The tool works well, but goes through the discs pretty fast if using it on gnarly rocks. The pads wold last a very long time if used on flat surfaces since the wear is caused by the rough surface ripping off the rubbery matrix. As you say, the discs have gotten very cheap lately. May be the cheapest entry into diamond abrasives. |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 26, 2021 13:47:53 GMT -5
I've seen this legendary machine pop up on threads over the years. Do you actually use it or is it a museum piece? Best thing about this is the 6 work stations and the power from those buffers. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,595
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Post by jamesp on Aug 26, 2021 15:36:47 GMT -5
I've seen this legendary machine pop up on threads over the years. Do you actually use it or is it a museum piece? Best thing about this is the 6 work stations and the power from those buffers. Lol, It has not been used in years Jonathan. Those bench grinders are little $39 Walmart 5" units. 1/12 HP maybe ? Best thing about this set up is having stepped abrasives without changing pads. Worst part is the shower provided ! Going counterclockwise, 100-200-400-800-1500-3000. They polished a lot of hard rock faces yet the pads are the original epoxied-on-face plate pads. Face plates were hand made w/welder. Mostly used to polish 4 to 8 inch petrified coral pseudomorph specimens. www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/albums/72157632856764438 |
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Post by HankRocks on Aug 26, 2021 17:19:07 GMT -5
I've seen this legendary machine pop up on threads over the years. Do you actually use it or is it a museum piece? Best thing about this is the 6 work stations and the power from those buffers. Lol, It has not been used in years Jonathan. Those bench grinders are little $39 Walmart 5" units. 1/12 HP maybe ? Best thing about this set up is having stepped abrasives without changing pads. Worst part is the shower provided ! Going counterclockwise, 100-200-400-800-1500-3000. They polished a lot of hard rock faces yet the pads are the original epoxied-on-face plate pads. Face plates were hand made w/welder. Mostly used to polish 4 to 8 inch petrified coral pseudomorph specimens. www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/albums/72157632856764438Love those multi-color bytryoidal filled coral pieces. |
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 26, 2021 17:43:36 GMT -5
jamesp, if you don't mind me asking, what grinding/polishing discs are those? I have a 5 inch bench grinder laying around that I want to use for something like that.
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