Diamond Smoothing Disks

[Taz]

I recently purchased some diamond smoothing disks from Aussie Sapphire so that I could do some cabbing on my faceting machine but I'm finding them far from aggressive.  I have a 325, 600 and 3000.  I've never used them before but I'm finding that the 325 hardly marks the polish on a cab of larimar that I'm reworking; the other two are much the same and don't work as expected.  Has anyone had any experience with this type of disk?  Do they need to be broken in before they work well or is there some other trick to them? 

Thanks
Taz

[Aussie Sapphire]

Hi Taz,

Hopefully others will chip in as well but just a few thoughts:

a) what speed are you running at?  Would recommend running these faster than you normally would on a faceting machine.  The Hi-Tech machines that these pads are supplied with run at 2400 rpm so may be quite a bit faster than you normally work at.

b)  although they go down to #325, they are only for smoothing, not for serious removal of material.  Electroplated laps will be more aggressive than these resin bond types.

c) yes, breaking in should be beneficial.  As the diamond is embedded throughout the resin bond, it can sometimes be helpful to dress them to remove some excess resin and expose more of the diamond particles.  Lightly go over with some abrasive material if needed.

I think flashgp uses these??  We sell a lot of them but that name springs to mind on the member list here. Perhaps he can also help with some advice.

cheers
Leah

[Taz]

Thanks Leah,

The speed increase worked.  I'm not to impressed with them though.  After only 12 cabs the 325 is already through to the backing and the 600 is not far behind, the 3000 seems OK at this stage but because of working out most scratches with the 325 and 600 it only needed minor usage to finish pre-polish.  I've used only light pressure and not put any sharp edges on them.  What sort of life should I be expecting from them?

[Aussie Sapphire]

 In this game I have learnt there is always a First time
  We sell large numbers of this USA made Soft Diamond Pad and have for several years,we dont sell large Numbers due to Early Failures but because they are Popular.
 Several Schools , Universities and Training groups also use this same Pad and are more then happy with them. In fact most have changed from the Dearer Eastwind Pads as Damage to these Pads also happens .
  Be happy to hear from anyone else who has seen the same sort of concern,keen to hear
 I have asked the USA factory today to comment back to us to so will have more from them soon.
 Taz I can only go on past experience and a lack of any complaints and believe me customers are Quick to complain if they think there may be a problem

 Ideas Maybe:
 Not enough Water ? If the Diamond Gets to Hot it will Die
  Cabs using soft Diamond  Pads should be done with a Soft Rubber backer,this does a few things including reducing to much direct pressure which can wreck the Pad.
 Also Reducing Flat Spots.
Also Soft Diamond Pads are for Polishing not Grinding.

I'm not to impressed with them though.

 
  While we wait to hear from the USA Factory taking into account its Sat there now and Tuscun is on.  If you are unhappy with the Pads please return them and we will refund you.
Andrew

[Taz]

Thanks Andrew,

I'll see how the 600 and 3000 go first but I used plenty of water and cabs had been well pre-shaped so I was only smoothing, definitely no grinding.  I also used a rubber backing.  Don't worry about returns, this is not a complaint, but I am interested in hearing what you get back from the US factory particularly how much use I should be able to expect.  The odd failure doesn't worry me but I'd like to be sure I can expect better longevity from them before I purchase more.

Regards
Taz

[FlashGP]

I bought three, a 220, 600 and 3000 pad.  So far have not noticed wear, but have been using them to polish opal and the back of a couple of agates.  I use plenty of water, a dripper running abt 3 or 4 drops per second.

Most success last weekend spinning 6 inch laps at about 2200 rpm, a 3 inch pulley driving a 2 inch pulley.

Regards

[Taz]

  While we wait to hear from the USA Factory taking into account its Sat there now and Tuscun is on.  If you are unhappy with the Pads please return them and we will refund you.
Andrew

Andrew/ Leah,

Thank you for chasing this one down for me.  I've been puzzling over why this may have happened and I finally came to the conclusion that I may have still had some vinegar in my water on my faceting machine.  I don't know if this would cause the epoxy to soften but I do notice since using a fresh supply of water I'm not experiencing any accelerated wear on the 600 or 3000 laps.  I'm going to give the laps the benefit of the doubt and I've just ordered a 220  so I'll see how that one goes with plain water.

Regards
Taz

[Ghost]

Hi Taz,
Do you mind me asking why you put vinegar in the water on your faceting machine>
Regards, Ghost.

[Taz]

Mainly to remove calcification in the container but I had also read that some US faceters used it so I was giving it a try.

[Ghost]

Thanks.
Ghost.

[FlashGP]

A professional cutter uses citric acid in his water to speed up cutting, probably has the same effect as vinegar.

Careful though, it got into his faceting head and rotted out one of the springs.  Javi (Facetron) fixed it under warranty but advised they wouldn't do it again.

He showed me where to oil to help avoid the problem.

Best be careful using chemicals in your water when faceting.

regards
Flash

[Aussie Sapphire]

Adding vinegar or other weak acids is generally NOT recommended as it can damage your faceting machine (particularly any aluminium parts).  While this practice was common a few decades ago, it has mostly fallen out of favour now (possibly due to people having to replace parts on their machine and often finding little or no positive effect).

This topic has been discussed a number of times on Gemology Online - this thread is typical of the current thinking on the subject (page 6 of Graves 5XL thread):

http://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16465&hilit=vinegar&start=75

cheers
Leah

[dughug]

When mixing diamond spray I usually add a couple of drops of lavender oil to the mix. It appears to help the cutting and spreads the diamond suspended liquid and the laps stay "wet" longer.

The reason I started was that the water here in Adelaide was so poor any unused liquid in the spray bottle soon stank.
Call me a bit of a sheila but the lavender oil certainly smells better and it appears to help with the cutting and polishing.

Though I'm not that much of a sheila that I have started putting it into the machines water reservoir.

Vinegar seems a bit harsh although a local manufacturer of a composite polishing disk still suggests you add lemon oil to the spray mix. But being from Adelaide he may also suggest this to stop the smell from our water.

[Lefty]

I've been puzzling over why this may have happened and I finally came to the conclusion that I may have still had some vinegar in my water on my faceting machine.  I don't know if this would cause the epoxy to soften but I do notice since using a fresh supply of water I'm not experiencing any accelerated wear on the 600 or 3000 laps

Taz, a while back I had a piece of malachite glued to a bit of timber with about half a tube of epoxy. I was advised to soak it in vinegar to remove it. After soaking overnight, the epoxy was as soft as putty and the piece of stone pulled away easily. It had actually partly dissolved and turned green, presumably having absorbed copper from the malachite.

I also removed a garnet that had be epoxy resined to the dop with vinegar - the stone just fell off overnight.

In my experience, plain white vinegar will definately attack epoxy!

[Lefty]

Call me a bit of a sheila but the lavender oil certainly smells better and it appears to help with the cutting and polishing.

Even faceting is becoming metrosexual by the sounds