Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Fritz]

Hi all, pretty new around here as far as posting goes. I was wondering if anyone has opinions on the quality of these Reentel arbors (top of the page): http://lapidarysupplies.com/catalog_pages_2016/page_11.pdf versus these Lortone models: http://lapidarysupplies.com/catalog_pages_2016/page_10.pdf. By quality I mean how smooth they run, bearing life (w/ proper maintenance), horror stories, success stories. 4 - 6 wheel models. Eyeing up the 66-MX. edit: I have a motor already

[55fossil]

   I purchased a Lortone 10 inch stainless steel saw and a Covington 8 inch two wheel arbor, heavy duty. I like anything stainless and bearings that you can lubricate. On the saw I had to provide my own motor and base. This was logical due to the cost of shipping and I could buy a motor cheaply that was heavier duty. On the Covington I purchased the Variable Speed unit because it came complete with a 1 HP motor and base for a little more than if I did it myself. Compare what it will cost to put wheels and motors on the unit you pick compared to the Covington. I also had to buy 8 inch rubber wheels as I wanted all new. My retirement present to myself.

Johnson Brothers Lapidary had the best price. They are slow, it was dropped ship by the manufacturer. The sales people were turds in my book but that did not change the price.

Do you want to use diamond wheels like on a Genie or the 3 x 8 inch wheels with silicon carbide belts? This is a big decision. Buying a few SC belts is cheap. When you need new diamond wheels it is expensive. Changing belts on a 4 wheel machine did not seem like fun. Since it is so fast to change belts on a 2 wheel machine I went with that. I feel it will run better and last longer. Hope this did not make your head hurt....

[jakesrocks]

First a Question. Do you need a machine that can be moved from place to place , Or do you have dedicated bench space where equipment can be bolted down ?

If you have the bench space, you might want to look for a couple of the old tried & true Poly arbors. Put a pair of silicon carbide or diamond wheels on one for rough grinding & shaping, and expando drums on the other with either silicon carbide or diamond belts.

For expando drums, pay the little extra & get good American made drums. The cheaper Chinese made ones are junk.

[peruano]

If I were to start over with a clean work table, I'd do exactly what Jake suggested above.  The flexibility of changing out diamond belts on the 2 expando wheels would let me jump from agate to turquoise with a belt change.  I have both 6" and 8" expando wheels but most of my work gets done on Nova wheels until I get to the high polish stages.  It works but it could be better. 

[Fritz]

Thanks for the replies. Portability is really important, I have a decent work space now but that may change in the not so distant future. I haven't delved into the world of cabbing, yet. This would be more for polishing one side of small to medium rough agates, usually after trimming off a side to expose a nice clean surface for polishing. Not bookend type stuff or slabs, it doesn't have to be perfectly flat.

I was thinking 2 hard wheels on the left and 2 of the expandos on the right. Would it be better to put the 2 drums on the outsides and the hard wheels on the inside because they are changed out less often?

I was also looking at the bare bones Cabmate but I thought changing out for every stage might be a bummer after a bit. I like how you can flat grind on it though, at least I think you can from what I read. I really have no experience at all outside trim saws and tumblers besides reading about it. Are you guys recommending a custom setup because it will run smoother and last longer than the brands I was considering, or is it more about convenience when swapping belts/wheels?

[Slabbercabber]

If this is just for polishing cut surfaces, you could save a lot of working time by going to a belt sander instead.  I use a woodworking belt sander with SiC belts for this but there are wet sanders and diamond belts available.  The flat belt sander yields a more attractive surface.

[jerrysg]

I would also look into a wet grinder. Much cheaper than a cabbing setup and easily portable.  I brought mine to our lapidary shop so one of my students could use it.

Highland Park introduced one last year and I bought it at one of the Tucson shows.  Lower price than others on the market at $195 including 7 velcro pads of various grits.  Here's a link that includes a video the describes the grinder in detail: http://www.hplapidary.com/en/highland-park-wet-grinder-with-pad-kit   

I have used this grinder to polish Richardson Ranch thundereggs, agate slabs and the face of a large piece of Arizona pet wood. Very easy to use and change grit pads.  For the thundereggs and the pet wood, I held the rock in one hand and the grinder in the other.  My hands are small but it was easy to control the grinder with one hand. For the agate slabs, they lay on a table on a perforated rubber pad that held the slabs and allowed the water to drain.

[Fritz]

Jerrysg thanks, would that work for smaller agates, as small as 2x1"? Maybe put them in a vise (gently) and then use the wet grinder on the small flat face, is that practical? Trying to go cheap as possible while still getting good results, two things that I know don't really go hand in hand. I was also considering buying some cheap flat lap discs and scrubbing the small agate faces across them by hand. I don't have a ton of things to polish so speed isn't critical, within reason. I have tumblers but I don't always want to loose the rough natural shape and just want to face it.

[metalsmith]

If this is just for polishing cut surfaces, you could save a lot of working time by going to a belt sander instead.  I use a woodworking belt sander with SiC belts for this but there are wet sanders and diamond belts available.  The flat belt sander yields a more attractive surface.

This suggests you work dry. I really hope you use a spray to suppress dust. Please do a little research into the effects of dust - even seemingly inert materials like quartz are far from harmless.

[Slabbercabber]

Yes, I do work this dry.  It is way faster.  I also wear a mask and work in the wind or with a large fan outdoors.  In fact though there is very little dust if the saw had done it's job well.  My saw leaves a surface that looks like it has come off a 400 or 600 grit sanding wheel.

[Fritz]

I just looked at a couple sanders. I saw the cheapest model Covington wet/dry on sale for $300 somewhere which is really tempting. I would like to keep the cost of the unit itself (not including wheels, drums, belts) around that level. And I can go right through polish with the right belt, I think?

Also still tempted by the CabMate bare bones kit but it would probably be close to $300 after adding my own pan, base, belt, belt cover, hardware, and drip system. At that price it looks like I can get a 2 wheel blue powder coated Lortone for $275 online. That would be more flexible for general purpose stuff but probably not as good for nice flats like the belt sanders, I think. Wanted to pick up directly from Lortone but I think they stopped making the powder coated models so hopefully someone still has them in-stock.

[jerrysg]

Jerrysg thanks, would that work for smaller agates, as small as 2x1"?

Fritz,

Yes it will work on smaller agates. I have used my wet grinder on some Luna Blue agate from the Alpine, AZ area that were slabbed and ended up almost exactly 1" x 2".  I lay them on a folding aluminium slat table and use a perforated rubber sheet to hold them. It's called a router mat by the woodworkers ( http://www.rockler.com/non-slip-router-mat ) or shelf lining by RVers.  There is sufficient friction to hold them in place while working with the wet grinder.  Also you can hold the small piece gently in one hand and the grinder in the other.  I prefer the rubber pad because I can set a number of them out and work all of them with minimal handling.

It's dark now but I will get some pictures outside tomorrow to show you.

Jerry

[jerrysg]

Fritz, managed to get some quick pictures today.  It's cold and windy here in sunny AZ.

The first picture is the light weight aluminum slat table that I use. It folds and we carry it in our motorhome. I use it because the water won't hurt the aluminium and will drain through the slats.

Picture 2 shows the router mat on the table with a few slabs. There's some Luna Blue agate, obsidian and in the upper left corner is some "1000 year old" slag from an excavation in Germany. Bought it at Tucson last Feb. Don't know what I'm going to do with it. I've polished similar pieces of the Luna Blue with the grinder on the router mat. Haven't done these yet.

My previous post gave a link to a web woodworking site for the mat but you should be able to find one at a local woodworkers supply. If not, the non-skid mats used by RVers as shelf liners are lighter in weight but can be found at Walmart.

Picture 3 shows the Highland Park grinder on the table. It has the 50 grit velcro pad mounted. For size reference the pad is 4".

Picture 4 shows the grinder with the GFI circuit breaker on the long cord. It also shows the water tubing inlet with a standard garden hose connector.

Hope this helps with your decision.

Jerry