Is This a Flat Lap Replacement? // Super Flat Polishing With The HP Flat Platen
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- This certainly can make something flat, really flat, but is it really a contender to replace a flat lap?
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I think you are too hard on judging yourself. 90+ percent of the people out there would be very happy with the polishes you are able to obtain. If you're not going into competition does everything need an A+ polished surface? Since you're so hard on yourself, you'll never get there. I've also found parts that HP has made to improve their products and the new machines come with them standard. However, people with older models have to purchase them at inflated prices. As always another informative video.
Maybe you're correct. I guess I can help but to chase the perfect polish.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding Me several years ago looking at my work: "Not bad." Me looking at that same work today: "That's not very good." Personal standards are constantly improving with any craft. Your shop is a thing of envy.
A-.... nothing is ever perfect although it is perfectly acceptable. I like the new addition to your shop.
You have all the cool tools. You said to call you crazy...CRAZY! I don't like the wear on the seam, but it's part of it. I'll pass on this one, stainless steel or not. I think you like it because of the stainless steel. That was a true surface. Excellent job. Thanks for sharing! 😷⚒ 👍
I do love stainless everything.
i recommend you radius the top edge of the platten so it doesn't chip away at the seam of the belt and it can ride up on it cleanly.
Loved the video. Flat Belt Abrasion Surface for Lapidary. What A Concept!
You might want to round over the top front sharp edge of the platen. This should help the back of the belt to transition onto the platen. Just a thought!!
Your website information is so well done!
Thank you!
Good info love your polish.
I like your experimental approach to grinding/polishing. Nice work!
Nice work, I guess you strive for perfection. Like you I'm very critical of my own work and find myself trying to go the extra mile. Thanks for showing the belt sander.
The lap faceting machines seem to benefit from the relatively large surface area of freshly hydrated diamond to scroll around. I wonder if you'd have different results with a cab sized flat that you can slide back and forth across the belt. For large stuff you might have to pulse it against the surface like drill pecking, giving the face a chance to get splashed. Could get a more precise water delivery, I just built something that another lapidary showed me - a hand-pumped garden pressure sprayer attached to a needle valve, mounted to a magnetic base. Can snap the magnet to your stainless steel and twist the arm around so the needle is pointing right at the gap between the face and belt, so when you pulse the water's immediately getting where you need it, and only where you need it.
You could try cutting some holes in some plexiglass to make a splash shield for the right side so the rest of the machine stays drier. I don't know how much room you have between the rollers and the rest of the machine though.
That belt sander can do all kinds of other things, too. Just change belts. I know a knife maker that would love your belt sander.
Good video.
I think you did great! And I think you should get an A+
Having water nearby for polishing multiple items is very important.
But yeah, that attachment should come with the equipment.
Edit: you wouldn't like the eggs I'm working on. I had to seriously grind down on them to remove the imperfections from cutting by hand and the surfaces are not flat.
It really seems like something that should be standard as it's pretty good, but I think it could still use some improvement. Numerous people here left comments talking about rounding the upper edge of it, so the seam of the belt floats over it better.
That sounded like the perfect alternative to the flat lap but it's going to have its drawbacks just like the flat lap did. But nothing you can't find a fix for. So for larger stones, and ones you can lift and hold in place without hurting yourself, it's an ok alternative to the flat lap. That is good to hear. Now people have another potential way to polish up their rocks! Thanks Jared! Ever the wealth of information on products out for the lapidary! You're the best❣️
Thank you!
That polish is really good!! 👌 I think it is a solid A! Would it help if you rounded out the edge on the plate where the belt is hitting? Otherwise great video!!
Drill small holes in the plate for cooling.
Cool accessory! I spent a lot of time with a 4x36" bench top sander on wood projects. I never had a seam come apart but the leading edge of the "platen" was rolled. Eventually I accepted the thumping as part of the design. Writing this I keep thinking about the wider woodworking sander options and wonder if there's any belts suitable for lapidary....
Anyway, nice results👍👍
I will very likely round the edge of this.
Woodworking belts are softer and made of from aluminum oxide vs lapidary, which uses silicon carbide.
Glue a piece of nylon sheet to the stainless, cut the top at an angle to give the seam a landing to ride up. Could also use holes in the sheet with pressurized water feeding it so that the belt hydroplanes. Disclaimer; I have no idea what i'm talking about.
3:50 -ish. Hey, .... Amazon... Reptile Fogger Spray Nozzle etc...+ Small water pump = magic!
That is one well built machine. I would be tempted to grind the leading edge so the belt seam doesn't strike the platen so aggressively to reduced wear-and-tear/noise. Watching this makes me wonder how large slabs of marble and granite several feet in each dimension are polished so flat and even. What do those machines look like and are there videos of that process?
I think I will try grinding the leading edge.
I'm a 40 years old in wood working sharping tools for precision.and have learned attention to detail. I have a Robert Sorby Sharpening System for some of my lathe tools as well as my chisels. It is a belt system typical to your set up with the "platen", I notice the belt does not make contact with the platen, it runs about 1/32 off the platen when its running and only makes contact when a tool or in your case a stone is applied. If you have'ant, try this to see if it make's a difference. I like your thinking process.... Maybe this will help with the belt drag/clicking issue......
I will dry spacing it out. Thank you.
I feel like HP should sell that attachment with the machine.
Bevel the edges
Hi buddy, I really prefer the machine I made for polishing. It's great but that position is tiring
I guess I don't understand what you're saying here really. This is made for polishing.
Are you going to try the HP intarsia machine? I feel like all their machines are expensive and arguably overbuilt, with all possible attachments sold separately. For the intarsia machines, each angle bevel is a separate $50 jig. Should be able to set a machine like that to any angle at all, or encourage people to make their own jigs with the machine.
I would love to buy one of their 8" intarsia machines!
You've given yourself a few B+ grades now. Do you have anything in your collection that you'd consider an A or A+? Would you compare it to your B's for all of us watching?
I do have some rocks that are 100% perfect A++ flawless polished that even when viewed under 10x magnification you cannot find any flaws at all. Next time I make a video like this, ill have some stuff to compare against.
I would say this is very rare and just about 95% or more of people who polish rock get C and B polishes, which isn't bad since those are passing or acceptable grades. As well, when someone constantly says everything they polish is perfect, they would be misleading you and other online.
I could 100% show my work in ways and lighting that hides all the flaws, but what's the point of that? The goal is to improve all the time, and you will not get better if you pretend everything you do is perfect, which many people do on TH-cam.
Ya know….In my Amazon cart is a 35$ stainless circular 1 pound weight designed to go on the back of a 360 extension pole. It’s a counter weight that goes at the end of the handle screwed in place by a 1/4”-20 screw extending from the weight. Designed to ease wrist torque and balance the pole. If I had a really pretty flat faced rock with a hole drilled down the middle and a 1/4 20 mount. That might work! It doesn’t have to be a streamlined fit or balanced just heavy at 1-1.5 pounds. The balance is found through where the handheld finds it because of different extension lengths. If you were ever looking to do a project….
I'm in favor of a rock counterweight, I will have to think about that some.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding Please do. No worries or obligation, just an idea.
I’ve been meaning to ask you, since very often flat laps can create a sharp edge where the husk meets the flat face of the agate, do you ever have an issue with that edge getting caught on your carpet wheel? I primarily use a vibrating lap and sometimes a sharp edge will just shred a hole through my polishing pad.
That can be an issue. When using the carpet wheel you put more pressure on the back edge of the stone so it never catches.
Why not round off the top edge of the metal plate?
I will try that.