JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 751
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Post by JR8675309 on Sept 13, 2021 20:49:44 GMT -5
I may not be a vibe lapper. I haven't made up my mind, but I may sell the Lortone 20" Vibratory Lapidary that have set up and running with everyone's help.
I honestly thought I would enjoy it more, but I see it may require more babysitting er "care" than I expected.
For those that are still reading, I have some questions if you'd be so kind to humor me. If you use a Richardson sander or something similar skip to #4!
1- For you that have vibe laps, please share some info about why you use it, what you're polishing and why it's better than an alternative you've identified for your person "workflow".
2- For those that don't have a vibe lap and want one, why do you want one?
3- For those that have found a different way of doing things, what are you doing and why would one not work for you?
4- What do you like about the Richardson sander or any other method you are using? What do you not like?
**Note from the author. Admittedly, I should have done a bit more vetting, that said I'm going to employ a phrase I personally hate: "you don't know what you don't know." So I didn't realize the volume of water needed and living in the high desert I feel like I'm on shaky drought ground on that one! It's also louder than I ever thought it would be.
Thanks for reading this far, give yourself 10 points if you still have a pulse!!!
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Post by HankRocks on Sept 14, 2021 8:21:30 GMT -5
JR8675309 I use my Vib Lap to polish flat surfaces. Split Geodes, Petrified wood pieces, Brazilian agates, larger slabs etc, etc. It does a very nice job for me. In theory I could polish smaller pieces using sanding/polishing belts and I have done this with smaller pieces in the past. Larger pieces became more difficult to do and the Vib lap does the job easier for me and less of my time. I prefer to spend any "hand to rock" time with cutting, grinding and shaping pendant stones. As for baby-sitting, to me it's not that much. Cleanout and setting up next stage is the only real time consumer in the process. Adding water and maybe more grit only happens every 4 to 6 hours or more. Please note that I do not run the Lap while I am away from the house for more than an hour or so and when I am sleeping. If I was going to go the Belt route I would add another machine so that I could have all the belts on and ready to go. Changing belts is difficult and frustrating for me so I kind of shy away from it. I do have about 100 small hollow geodes that would not be practical to polish on the Vib lap, just too light. So they set in one big flat waiting on me to get back to the belts. The home made machine I bought only has 2 Expanding drums so it needs several belt changes to work rocks to polish. With Covid increasing my at-home time and the lack of Shows to sell at my stock of Vib Lap polished pieces has increased significantly. With 3 more shows canceling this fall the stockpile should continue to grow. Here's a not so good picture of the largest piece I polished on the Vib lap, a piece of Texas Palm about 13 to 14 inches across. DSC_0439 by Findrocks, on Flickr I
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AzRockGeek
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2016
Posts: 635
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Post by AzRockGeek on Sept 14, 2021 8:44:22 GMT -5
If you decide to go with a high speed dry sand/polish, you are still going to need to have some type of polish phase for the best shine. Use your flat lap for polishing and dry sand to prep them.
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JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 751
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Post by JR8675309 on Sept 14, 2021 8:53:32 GMT -5
Well that's thinking outside the box @azrockgeek. Clean outs not as tedious. This is why I come to the great hive mind:) HankRocks, I am sad about all the shows cancelling... for you and all of us who go to them. Thanks for sharing the above Info, maybe I shouldn't give up on the vibe yet (it Is still freaking loud though). I admit it's been nice and quiet without it running. Also HankRocks, sounds like you are polishing with your cabber expandos? I have one expando and I shouldn't complain as it's really easy to pop the belt off... some machines make it look laborious. To both of you, thanks for giving me something to think about.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Sept 14, 2021 11:11:59 GMT -5
A Richardson sander and a polishing wheel they also sell will produce very high quality results and high production rates. I know a major agate dealer that has done tens of thousands of agate cuts this way and they come out collector quality. this setup costs less than $1000.00 and is very fast. That being said this is a dry method and you have to deal with the dust and the danger to your health. For that reason I can not recomend it to any hobby person. There is an upper size limit to what you can polish of about 6". This is all hands on and you will develop very strong arms in the process. Due to the dust danger most clubs do not operate these in Lapidary shops. They are also very loud when in operation.
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Post by HankRocks on Sept 14, 2021 11:20:41 GMT -5
A Richardson sander and a polishing wheel they also sell will produce very high quality results and high production rates. I know a major agate dealer that has done tens of thousands of agate cuts this way and they come out collector quality. this setup costs less than $1000.00 and is very fast. That being said this is a dry method and you have to deal with the dust and the danger to your health. For that reason I can not recomend it to any hobby person. There is an upper size limit to what you can polish of about 6". This is all hands on and you will develop very strong arms in the process. Due to the dust danger most clubs do not operate these in Lapidary shops. They are also very loud when in operation. The sander approach also lends itself to "Hot grinding". It can put a shine on flats, but the dust is a real issue. As you mentioned, rock dust is something to be avoided. I like my lungs the way they are now, not looking to do damage to them.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Sept 14, 2021 22:51:59 GMT -5
We have one of those high speeed sanders, came as an all or nothing sale. It is the least used machine in our little shop, vibe lap, rotary lap, Genie, and Star Diamond grinders. The thing is really loud, dust control difficult, and it heats rocks real hot, real quick. The heating needs to be controlled to avoid hot cracking. My 2cts.
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Post by Rockoonz on Sept 14, 2021 23:13:26 GMT -5
Agree with quartz. I have owned 2 HS sanders over the years, sold both and never used them. Club shop had some at first so I had to learn how to use them so I could show others how to do it relatively safely. For thunder eggs and small to medium display rocks that were flat and fairly thick it's ok, especially if you have several and can rotate them through the grits, laying on the table to cool in between and sometimes dipping in water. for slabs forget it, they heat up too quick and are dangerous to hang on to. Heck, everything is dangerous, the edge of the insanely fast spinning sanding disc cuts deeply into fingers that stray above the surface to be polished, only thing we used bandaids for in the shop. Don't like vibe laps either, finding that perfect slurry consistency is a moving target. Either big wet rotary laps or wet angle grinders with the diamond counter top discs is my choice for display flats.
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Post by Rockindad on Sept 15, 2021 8:47:01 GMT -5
Great initial post and responses. I’ll answer #2- over the years we have accumulated some larger rough that I would like to face polish. They are too large to use any other method at our disposal. Most of these were bought sight unseen with the intention of breaking them down for tumbling. After seeing them up close we set them aside because of their nice patterns which would be lost when broken up.
Ive hesitated due to some of the things you mention. At this point in our lives we are always on the run. I am just not home enough to monitor the process. Tumbling fits our schedule well- work on it when time allows, let the machines run and check them once a day. Our next foray will be into proper cabbing for much the same reasons. Easy enough to walk away regardless of where we are in the process of a particular piece.
No interest in the Richardson sander for reasons mentioned. Been thinking about a wet grinder as we do not have a lot of pieces and do not plan on going into production mode.
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JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 751
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Post by JR8675309 on Sept 16, 2021 15:25:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the input everyone, I am leaning towards not going that route...
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Sept 16, 2021 16:28:11 GMT -5
I use a wet grinder a lot and the pads keep getting cheaper. It is not the best at making cuts perfectly flat but close. The key word is wet and you will get wet. I am in southern California so I use it year round outside but in New York that may not work so well. It will throw water everywhere.
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Post by Rockoonz on Sept 16, 2021 18:30:53 GMT -5
I use a wet grinder a lot and the pads keep getting cheaper. It is not the best at making cuts perfectly flat but close. The key word is wet and you will get wet. I am in southern California so I use it year round outside but in New York that may not work so well. It will throw water everywhere. Raingear or swimwear.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Sept 16, 2021 18:45:23 GMT -5
A cutter in Australia sent me photo a few years ago of a young lady using a wet grinder on a boulder of Mookaite on a nice sunny day no raingear, no swimwear. You can post that type of thing downunder but not here. The person that posted the question lives in New York so 9 months of the year you can pack the wet grinder away.
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bstone
spending too much on rocks
www.sterling-n-stones.com
Member since August 2019
Posts: 290
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Post by bstone on Sept 16, 2021 22:42:05 GMT -5
I use two richardsons polishers and flat lap. Be careful with dust and watch your hands. Do wear a mask and do not wear gloves.
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Post by Rockindad on Sept 17, 2021 6:02:39 GMT -5
I use a wet grinder a lot and the pads keep getting cheaper. It is not the best at making cuts perfectly flat but close. The key word is wet and you will get wet. I am in southern California so I use it year round outside but in New York that may not work so well. It will throw water everywhere. So using it in a couple feet of snow will be an issue? Actually sounds nice on a hot summer day!
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Sept 17, 2021 11:29:33 GMT -5
[/quote]So using it in a couple feet of snow will be an issue? [/quote] I lived in Minnesota so I know you would not be using a wet grinder in the Winter September to May. Hunting for agates in the winter is out also.
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JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 751
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Post by JR8675309 on Sept 17, 2021 23:18:06 GMT -5
rewdownunder, question poster not in NY . But we do get snow and it's cold so I do not think I want to go that route!
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Sept 18, 2021 10:55:24 GMT -5
rockindad was listed as Western New York so that is why I made the comment. But anywhere that has cold winters is limiting for use of a wet grinder.
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JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 751
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Post by JR8675309 on Sept 18, 2021 21:04:26 GMT -5
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,176
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 19, 2021 10:02:33 GMT -5
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