Lapidaryforum.net
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Dohickeys => Fixing, Modifying and Refurbishing your Lapidary Equipment => Topic started by: robirdman on June 17, 2019, 07:38:23 AM
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I cleaned up this old Frantom combo unit that I hadn't used for decades. I had replaced the original SiC wheels with diamond ones, and I had added an apparatus which I could use to finish the cylindrical jars I cut using a special rock drill. I am wondering how this worked originally as the other wheels have a basin, while it looks like the water fed to the outer wheel is going to go all over the place. Was this standard?
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I think a picture or two might help.
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I took but forgot to add.
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Normally the outer wheel would be a felt or leather polishing wheel. There would be no water drip on that.
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I have used different diamond belts or pads, but there is a hole with a nozzle above.
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Yes, it has been modified. The spray tubes on the blade are also additions. Is that a belt tensioner to the right of the photo?
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When I bought it, it had those holes and water spigots. I just changed some tubing. If you mean the thing with 2 bearings, that is what I added to polish jars. It doesn't have the shaft going through. With that I would dop wax the jar to the shaft and then it pivots in different directions and turns by hand to polish using the diamond belts. I can't remember if I used water though. I think if I didn't, they would overheat and wear out sooner, but I don't remember what prevented water from going all over.
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No ideas?
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Hi I just joined the forum. I have a Frantom just like yours. I want to upgrade it to diamond wheels. Is it hard to do?
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Anytime you replace wheels on a machine where the bearings are on the outside you could be in for some struggle. Or on the other hand, things just might slide off. I replaced the SC with diamond wheels on an old Frantom .It was just a grinder/polisher only, no trim saw on the end. When I had it apart, I did the bearing as well. They were off the shelf bearing, easily obtainable. I don't remember any problems. But then again I don't remember yesterday, chuckle. A trick is to polish the shaft with a strip of emory cloth. You'll see some in the plumbing section of hardware stores. You polish the shaft like you are a shoe shine boy. I use 120 grit. For your threads, a fine wire wheel on a drill. Hope this helps.
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Be very careful polishing the shaft. A reduction of .001" diameter changes the fit by up to three classes. If you remove more than about .003" your fit becomes so bad that in an industrial setting it would be discarded. If I need to polish a shaft I use nothing more coarse than emery cloth. Thorough cleaning is much preferred.
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I am also wondering what blade is the best for cutting agats using water?
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I asked that same question around, so I looked it up. For the club's 10" Old Highland Park. We bought a Chinese 10"x .040 x5/8". For a club saw that will get abused, the cheap blade made sense. For the wife's saw we had got a good American made MK-301. Alex uses water on his saws. He is more of a carver and collector. But his answer was to use bigger motors and heavy blades. A retired geologist , who at one time ran a jade mine in the Dease area of BC. An industrial answer. I also heard that a couple of other times.
For my wife's shop and the club shop, we use two 6" trim saws, one oil and one water. Oil for most things and water for opal. Oil has couple advantages over water, it lubricates the, blade extending life, and it cools the blade. Water unless you have a high flow flood system like they use in the metal industry, doesn't cool well. The water at the cutting end turns to steam which has no cooling ability. In fact I think it insulates. The rules for the club's water saw are that after each use it has to be drained and cleaned, making using it a pain.
My wife testing the oil trim used fresh Lortone oil in it. It stunk, smoked and likely dusted. Alex and I saw the cloud in the light. We (wife) switched to mineral oil and use it "wet" with out any problem. Though, I had to make a Lexan splash guard for it. That was least repair I made on the 11 machines that I refurbished for the club.
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Thanks that helps.