Top of the morning to you!

May you be half a hour in heaven before the devil knows your dead.

 

James

Welcome from Canada!

 

James

Thanks!

I guess I can play with it. Nothing to lose really.

James

Looks like my piecce.

But even if you cabbed it that way (1/2" wide) as soon as you try
to round out the sides it will go blackish. Correct?

James

The piece I have is about 1/2" thick. 2 1/4" long and 1 3/4" wide.
Sort of a heart shape. Laying it on the table the brown (hematite)
layer is on the bottom and the blackish layer is on the top.
You see the stripes running up and down on the sides all the
way around.

If I understand your post it looks like this piece will not work.
To have the stripes running left to right on top the piece would
end up only being 1/2" wide.

James

On the piece of tiger eye I have, I ground down the brown (Hematite we assume) and
since it ground down nice and smooth I figured I would leave a thin layer of it and that
would be the bottom of the pendant.

Then I started grinding off the black layer on top. I figured one you get that off then the
tiger eye would show through. But it isn't. It still blackish (like the stone hasn't shaved
in a few days - LOL!).

Is it always like that? Do I have to have the orientation of the tiger eye stripes running
from left to right looking down on the pendant and not up and down looking at it from the
side? I thought maybe be then I would still have the blackish on the side.

Any info appreciated.

Thanks,

James (getting frustrated)

I actually wanted it to be more difficult to remove.

I tried the higher grits without the color and could not tell if it was working or not.
At the higher grits you would swear the discs were smooth. A couple of times I
actually checked it wasn't upside down. LOL!

With the silver color I know it's working and can't miss any spot.
It also stops me from being impatient and hurrying up to the next grit up.

I also like using it to highlight pits, big scratches, etc... before I get to the higher grits.
That way I don't find a scratch at the higher grit discs and have to back up to a lower grit
to remove it. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be so it's easy to miss a pit or scratch.

James

Thanks!

Even at a dribble at 1500 grit it still takes lots of pressure to sand the
silver color off the back.

Having fun though!

James

I do bevel them but only at the 240 grit stage. Not much though
as I like edges but you can't not bevel a bit as they can be as sharp
as a razor if left the way they are at the grinding stage.

I find if I do it before that stage I can bevel to much in one spot
than in another. Then you end up playing that game of a little off
here, oh, a little more here. Back and forth. LOL!

James

Holy mackerel. When I get up to the finer discs (1200, etc..) I run
into 2 problems.

Hydroplaning - If I use a lot of water the stone hydroplanes.
At first I couldn't figure out why the disc wasn't sanding off
the silver coloring I covered the bottom of the stone with using a Sharpie.
It has to be flat. I just sanded off the color at 800 grit. Then I realized
the stone was actually floating on the water. Wasn't hardly touching
the disc.

Suction - So of course I press harder and then the stone sticks to
the discs like you know what to a blanket. Sometimes the suction is
so intense I have to stop the flat lap and sort of pry it off.

Why haven't I read about this here? 
I guess I missed something or .....

So many times I have read use lots and lots of water. But I have to
turn it down.

Anyone else experience this?

Oh, and at the higher grits the stones get as slippery as an eel to boot.

Great Fun! 

James

Welcome from Mississauga, Ontario!

 

James

Excellent!

Thanks!

James

Thanks!

I ordered one without the lights. 16" with 4 backdrops of different colors.
Reviews were O.K. Wasn't a lot so took a chance.

And then ordered a set of lights on their own.
The lights I chose have standard fixtures. They come with CFLs (110V 45W 5500k Day-Light)
but being standard I can get others or LEDS if need be. Stayed away from the ones with proprietary
bulbs (like fancy LEDS) that you can't get anywhere and are usually expensive.

Hopefully they are not bad.

Thanks for the link. Will check it out.

James

Does anyone use one of these?

Looking at a variety of them on Amazon and they look O.K. but the
main gripe that many reviews have is the lights that come with them. Yellow light
instead of white. Get hot. Not bright enough. The LED ones seem to fair better.

I assume that getting the box and then looking for separate LED light(s) would be
a better option.

Opinions?  Suggestions?

Thanks,

James

Thanks!

I will be able to tell better also once I see the shape and pin count on the card.

James