Lapidaryforum.net
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Dohickeys => What Equipment to Buy and Where to Get it. => Topic started by: drnihili on February 19, 2015, 06:37:07 PM
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So, I finally got the expanding wheel set up and retired the thumper. This raises the question of what belts to get. The plan is to get diamond wheels in 80 and 220 and then use belts after that. The wheel came with a 600 grit belt. What should we be looking at for belts to get us from a 220 diamond wheel up to ready to polish?
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60/80/100 to 220 to 400 to 600 to 1200 to 3000 then buff polish. If it merits further shine, 3000 to 14,000 to 50,000 to an oxide on a buff of some sort. Every rock type is different and needs different handling.
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Thanks Phil. It sounds like its roughly double the grit at each stage. and the higher you go the better. I'm afraid I'm nowhere near knowing what each rock needs, I'm having a hard enough time figuring out what each rock *is*. :D
Teresa, on the other hand, will surely appreciate having the proper tools in her much more capable hands.
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when to stop? That's easy... when it gets nice and shiny, no need to go further. SOme rocks don't need to go beyond 3000, and some look lots better at 14K or etc... Most rocks you can stop at 3000. A good clue is if it's expensive rock, go high. If it's not, then go low. But time and experience will tell you, and that;'s the only real way of learning.
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So, I don't see SiC belts above 1000, after that they seem to go to diamond, as does the price.
One thing I'm unclear on is the difference between sanding and polishing. You say to sand until it's nice and shiny. What, then, it the difference between sanding at, say 10k, and polishing/buffing?
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I used to get mine from Thunderbird jewelers supply, but stopped using Sic years ago. Maybe John at http://www.jsgemslapidary.com/ will speak up.