Belt Sander or Lap Wheel

[Cherie Knopf]

Hi, we have a small fused glass business and want to keep expanding our tools for the studio. I was curious, of your thoughts on tools. We have a wet saw and grinder, and ringsaw, but are thinking about getting either a lapwheel sander or a sanding belt sander to do more of the coldworking/finishing. For those of you that do a lot of cold working on fused items (usually plates, small dishes, jewelry - would you suggest our next purchase should be the lapwheel or a belt sander. What do most folks doing fused glass tend to prefer? We have a large non-profit studio where we can go to do some of this coldworking, but wanting to get more at home so we don't have to drive in. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks
Cherie

[jim burchett]

Sander first then lap wheel...the bigger the better

[Morganica]

I agree, wet belt sander first, lapwheel second. The belt sander can be made to do flat surfaces (although it's not ideal) and straight edges, but it's tough to get a lap wheel to cover contours the way a belt sander can.

[jim simmons]

What jim and cynthia said
The other jim

[Marty]

what jim, cynthia and jim said
but
get bigger machines than you think you need.
In a year or so you will curse the benchtop sander and the 12" grinder.

[jim simmons]

I made an assumption, and we all know that assumptions are the mother of all screw ups :>)

I assumed that she would get the biggest one that she could afford.
The other Jim

[misteroldhouse]

I agree with all, First the WBS, than a diamond lap.

In my experience, diamonds cut faster & deeper; one often has to use the WBS with t's silicon carbide wet belts in order to remove those fine diamond-produced scratches!

Larry