Building a Lap Machine
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Building a Lap Machine
I am interested in building a machine, or should I say having my husband build one. I have seen the plans on HisGlassWorks and would probably use them. I would love to hear from those who have already done this. Any comments, suggestions, etc.
Thanks
Lesley
Thanks
Lesley
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You can find some pictures and plans at the link below, This is one I built about 2 years ago. It's designed for loose silicon carbide grit and dripping water.
http://mrcol.freeyellow.com/grinder/fla ... rinder.htm
I use it all the time for grinding bowl bottoms. It would be nice if I had diamond pads, but just one pad costs more than my whole grinder.
I just put this page up so if it doesn't work right, let me know.
Ron
http://mrcol.freeyellow.com/grinder/fla ... rinder.htm
I use it all the time for grinding bowl bottoms. It would be nice if I had diamond pads, but just one pad costs more than my whole grinder.
I just put this page up so if it doesn't work right, let me know.
Ron
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I spent about $200 on mine. My disk was free and I had the motor.lauren wrote:ballpark figure how much this would cost? is the wheel the biggest expense?
do you just use the same grit size on it, or do you clean it after every use?
interesting...wish i was the least bit mechanically inclined, but i'm willing to try one day..
thanks for the info
peace
- l
A new disk might be as low as $150. Bearings cost about $25 each for 1 inch bores and the arbor I used for the jack shaft was about $40 including the bearings, shaft and pulley. Other parts came from the hardware store, belts, nuts and bolts.
Ron
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Marty,Marty wrote:Lauren- if you're going to use grit, you'll need a separate machine for each size of grit- you can't just clean the machine and change the grit. That's one advantage of using diamond pads. Marty
Do you use grit or pads? If pads what have you found to be a good source for quality pads? It's a considerable expense and I'd like to get it right the first time.
Jack
Huh? Until diamond pads came along, that's what we did. BrockMarty wrote:Lauren- if you're going to use grit, you'll need a separate machine for each size of grit- you can't just clean the machine and change the grit. That's one advantage of using diamond pads. Marty
My memory is so good, I can't remember the last time I forgot something . . .
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Really? I guess I never learned that part.Marty wrote:Lauren- if you're going to use grit, you'll need a separate machine for each size of grit- you can't just clean the machine and change the grit. That's one advantage of using diamond pads. Marty
Rinse the disk, clean the work and grind with the next grit size, works for me. Now, if you happen to get a speck of the old grit on the disk, it's back to square one.
Ron
Jack- I'm using HIS's diamond pads. Major contributions to the kid's college fund: for 24" diam. 45 grit for roughing- about $850. The finer the diamond, the "cheaper" the pad. And BE glass seems to be really rough on the diamonds.
Ron- I've used grits and multiple machines in a glassblower's shop. Rinse everything, change aprons, and don't sneeze between grits, and we still had occasional contamination. And it's very expensive, time-wise, to go back and re-do the step.
HIS is warning against recirculating the water draining off the plates- he says that diamonds can come loose and hit you just when you thought you were through with the damn polishing. I'm normally only going to 140 and then blasting with 180 so it doesn't affect me much- until I get a piece that needs polishing.....
Ron- I've used grits and multiple machines in a glassblower's shop. Rinse everything, change aprons, and don't sneeze between grits, and we still had occasional contamination. And it's very expensive, time-wise, to go back and re-do the step.
HIS is warning against recirculating the water draining off the plates- he says that diamonds can come loose and hit you just when you thought you were through with the damn polishing. I'm normally only going to 140 and then blasting with 180 so it doesn't affect me much- until I get a piece that needs polishing.....
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Hey all;
Thanks for the link to the site for home built. I am also interested in building a lap wheel for our studio.
What we did in school was use 80 grit to rough grind, then clean everything and use 120. After that we used a separate piece of float glass with each size of abrasive with a litlle dish soap.
In our studio we have an old lapidary polisher which uses 22 7/16" belts for the coark and a felt on the opposite mandrel.
Bill
Thanks for the link to the site for home built. I am also interested in building a lap wheel for our studio.
What we did in school was use 80 grit to rough grind, then clean everything and use 120. After that we used a separate piece of float glass with each size of abrasive with a litlle dish soap.
In our studio we have an old lapidary polisher which uses 22 7/16" belts for the coark and a felt on the opposite mandrel.
Bill
Bill Jamieson
Vitreous Designs, Mayne Is, B.C.
Vitreous Designs, Mayne Is, B.C.