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[Mossagatemac]

Hi everyone,
I'm pretty new to this and unfortunately there's no rock club in my area.  I'd like to start making some cabs eventually and so I'm in the planning phase of setting up a cabbing machine and need some advice on wheels.  Metal bonded, resin bonded, expando drums, 6+ steps of grit, belts, diamond paste, holy smokes! - could someone point me to, or give advice on, what I actually need to get going that will give decent results without too many headaches?? 

[peruano]

Its all been written. Its up to you to read and decide for yourself.  If you cant find enough here, try the Rock Tumbling Hobby site.

[lithicbeads]

It comes down to how handy are you and how much do you want to spend.

[hummingbirdstones]

peruano - It's unhelpful and rude to respond to a new member's post for help by responding in the way you did.  If you can't give any advice or point them in the right direction by providing a link to an old thread with the info, please refrain from responding to the post at all.  Suggesting that they go to another forum is DEFINITELY not helpful.       Thanks.

[Enchantra]

peruano - It's unhelpful and rude to respond to a new member's post for help by responding in the way you did.  If you can't give any advice or point them in the right direction by providing a link to an old thread with the info, please refrain from responding to the post at all.  Suggesting that they go to another forum is DEFINITELY not helpful.       Thanks.

I second this.  Please play nice on this forum. 

[ToTheSummit]

It comes down to how handy are you and how much do you want to spend.

This is most true.  What kind of budget do you have to play with and do you have the ability/desire to refurbish an old piece of equipment or even build a custom machine.   These two things will dictate the direction you go in.  I had the good fortune to have a local club to start at, but my first piece of equipment for my home shop was a custom-built machine. Then as finances allowed I started buying equipment.

Probably the easiest way for someone to get started on their own is a common, commercially produced machine like the Diamond Pacific Genie.  Theres tons of used ones out there as well as new ones still being made.  And many people have lots of experience with them so they are relatively easy to troubleshoot, refurbish and repair.

[kent]

Hello Mossagatemac,

Welcome to the forum !!

There are a lot of variations to answering your question. When my father purchased his Highland Park B 12 it came with two carborundum wheels, a 3" x 8" flapper sander, a muslin buff and a leather buff. This unit also comes with a 10" trim saw. It was every thing he and I needed to cut small rocks to slabs, pre-trim, ruff grind, moderate grind and final shape before polishing. We were happy with the results and I would offer that the girls at school that I gave pendants to were also thrilled 

The lapidary has a lot more choices these days and most allow us to get to the end result faster however costs are higher for that privilege. There is another element that many of us face as we dig deeper into our craft....we can never have enough wheels.....I purchased a few diamond grinding wheels for my beginning shaping, both 80 grit from Covington. Their standard diamond wheel is my main go to wheel to start. If I have an exceptionally hard stone I use their 80 grit sintered. The sintered is a hard cutting wheel and can tend to tear and chip so I don't use it much.

I then use a 200 grit standard diamond to get some of the deeper scratches out and minimize the facets. Then on to a 3" x 8" expando wheel. For me this is where is all happens. One wheel with sandpaper between 80 grit and 800 grit. I'm using silicon carbide belts. I recently purchased a single 100 grit diamond belt which will last much longer but at a price.

Next up is a 1,200 grit diamond resin wheel then a 3000 resin wheel. At this point most stones are smooth and fair and have a pretty reasonable gloss. Polishing is next up on a muslin buff with cerium oxide or a leather disc depending on the stone. 

If I had a wish list it would be MORE WHEELS !

You can get by with just a few wheels. If you had an 80 grit standard diamond and an expando you could get a good beginning, get lot done and then lust for MORE WHEELS....

Cheers

Kent

[hummingbirdstones]

Just wanted to let you know that you can also access our old forum archive from the homepage of this forum.  It is toward the bottom of the page.  The specific link for this type of topic is here:  http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=vavhvchnjaoo6c5ae05k7j42i7&board=42.0

There's a wealth of information in that archive and it's worth the time to peruse it just to see what's there.   

[Mossagatemac]

Thanks for everyone's feedback!

Kent -really appreciate you walking me through your process.  Like I said, I don't have a club in my area.  Part of my problem right now is figuring out which questions to even ask!

After reading your response, I think part of my confusion stems from reading some posts which say they go to polishing after using 600 grit sanding and some go to 3000+ before polishing.  Could you help shed some light on the difference? Or what's really needed to get good results?

As for cost - I don't want to cheap out in this because I think it would lead to frustration down the line, so I was exploring what it would take to build or refurbish a machine with new wheels. 

[Enchantra]

After reading your response, I think part of my confusion stems from reading some posts which say they go to polishing after using 600 grit sanding and some go to 3000+ before polishing.  Could you help shed some light on the difference? Or what's really needed to get good results?

A lot depends on the stone.  Some stone types work up better on the lower grits.  I know with stones that are soft, often the lower grits are enough to get a good shape and surface before progressing to polishing.  Someone who actually cuts stones will be able to answer this better than me.

[jakesrocks]

Welcome aboard Mossagatemac.

I think when someone mentioned going from 600 grit to polish, they were talking about using silicon carbide belts on expando drums. Before diamond was commonly used, silicon carbide belts seemed to cut off at 600 grit. They now have them in finer grits. An old timers trick was to use a worn out 600 grit belt for semi polish. The worn out belts averaged about 1,200 grit. (This is how I started out).

Your setup will depend a lot on how much space you have for machines. I'm in the process of accumulating enough 8" Poly arbors, hoods & drip pans to set up an arbor with 80 & 220 grit diamond wheels on it, and 3  more arbors with expando drums with diamond belts. This is to save the need for changing belts between sanding stages. It also allows plenty of room between wheels. I have a supply of spin on discs in both left & right hand threads to use as polishing discs.

If you are limited for space, any one of many brands of 6 wheel diamond machines may be the best way to go. I personally have a DP Genie which I've been using since the early 90's, but I also have a Lortone 2 wheel arbor with expando's & silicon carbide belts. Don't know if it's just me, but some types of material seem to respond better to the old school belts.

Ask plenty of questions. We're here to help if we can.

[Amethyst Rose]

I agree with most of the posts above.  My personal preference is for the Diamond Pacific Genie.  The standard Genie will cut almost everything and with the interchangeable polishing pads for the end, you can switch to the polish that works best for the stone you are working with.  I also like that you can get a trim saw attachment for the unit..  If size is an issue, they also make the Pixie but it does limit to an extent the size of the stone you can work. 

If you are going to be working mostly agates almost any unit will do and it takes practice to get the perfect shapes and smooth curves with out flat spots and scratches. 

Good luck in your adventures

Bob Johannes
The Amethyst Rose

[jakesrocks]

Just spotted this on another forum. Hell of a good price for original Highland Park equipment. It could be refitted with your own choice of wheels. http://andy321.proboards.com/thread/77144/highland-park-cabbing-station-sale?page=1&scrollTo=898791

[Phishisgroovin]

Just spotted this on another forum. Hell of a good price for original Highland Park equipment. It could be refitted with your own choice of wheels. http://andy321.proboards.com/thread/77144/highland-park-cabbing-station-sale?page=1&scrollTo=898791

people still visit other forums after all the slaving Enchantra the rest of the staff and i did to make this lovely hole in the WWW? (kidding)

[sammygator]

A nice price for that HP machine.  Too bad I'm so far away.