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[olaf]

Does anybody of you have experiences with the "hi tech diamond all u need" ? It is now also available in Germany and according to its small size it would be good for me.

Greetings,
Olaf

[Barclay]

The Hi Tech was my first grinder back in the 90s.  i have a couple beefs with it.  1) I liked it fine until the plastic housing cracked and got water in the motor.  2) It is very tall so it is difficult to use sitting down and standing over it is a pain.  3) When you lift off the top for cleaning it looks like a rat maze and it is difficult to clean rock dust out of all those channels.

I recently purchased an Ameritool for about the same money and have none of those problems.  Also stay away from the Inland Lapidary swap top.  It is trash.

[hummingbirdstones]

I have an All-U-Need, which I've had since 2002.  I have never had a problem with it.  It was my first machine when I first started cutting and although I now use a Genie for most all of my cutting, I still use the All-U-Need for polishing backs and I will cut opals on it because I have a bit more control with the speed control.

Regarding cleaning the grid -- there is a set screw that you can unscrew and take the whole grid out to clean.  Some running water and a scrub brush cleans it up quickly.

[olaf]

Thank you for your answers,

Greetings,
Olaf

[lithicbeads]

I have used one since they came out and still use it . The machine has always worked fine for me and I have given it heavy intermittant use. I believe the machine is now being made for a new owner however so it may be like comparing apples and oranges . All lapidary machines marketed in the U.S. have deteriorated in the last few years even the Titan.The days of getting 30 years of daily use out of a cabbing machine are sadly over.

[olaf]

Thats absolutely right! I have bought a Pixie in December 2015 and now something is wrong with the shaft, I don`t know. The machine suddelny doesn`t work anymore. I must really say, sorry for that words, but the PIXIE is a fucking Plastic shit!. I can only advise everyone to buy a machine with a solid metal housing.

[Slabbercabber]

I've bought and sold several of the Pixie, Genie machines.  They do a very good job and save a lot of space.  I've never kept one because motors fail and when it does on one of these machines, the entire machine is scrap.  How many of the older conventional machines still have the original motor?

[olaf]

I have bought the machine new (export model, 230V) by a german seller. The motor is running but the shaft and the wheels were suddenly blocked by something. I built the shaft out but I don`t know where the problem is. It is also very, very awkward to build out the shaft on the Pixie. Fortunately the Pixie was only my "second Machine". I have already a solid machine from Homberg & Brusius from Idar-Oberstein (some of you maybe know this company)

[hummingbirdstones]

Olaf, have you tried contacting Don at Diamond Pacific to see if he can help?  They are very responsive and if something is wrong with the machine they may be able to help you out.

diamondpacific@aol.com
International customers 1-760-255-1030

[olaf]

I have now put it on ebay as "defective machine" maybe a handicraft enthusiast can repair it. To be honest I don`have the pleasure and patience to screw on the machine and phone to the USA (I also don`t know what this cost). In the future I wil stay well clear of machines with plastic housing like the Pixie. A professional cutter in Idar-Oberstein told me that the best machines are the old ones because they never break (his machine was from ca. the 1960s). But it is hard to get them because no one wants to sell them. The only possibility is when a professional cutter goes in retirement or a company is dissolved.