Flat Lap For Intarsia & Diamond Mesh Abrasives – Gemstone Cabochon Jewelry Design

by georgeingraham on December 8, 2009

Gosh…. Been a while since have added a blog post… Been a bit of a blogging slacker !

Thought might share a bit about a flat lap set up I picked up.. Purchased this with the intent of starting to try my luck with intarsia type cabbing. That and wanted to give some 8″ padded diamond mesh discs a wirl. Thought they might work as well if not better than mesh type belts. Plus they will last much longer.. Decided to start out with just the 1000, 2500, and 5000 mesh. I know folks do go much finer, but just to experiment.. , started with these to see how working up to just a 5000 worked out.

Also picked up both a 100 and 360 grit flat laps for making nice flat surfaces for intarsias.

The entire set up revolved around the choice of a magnetic base. All of these adhere to that..

10″ Magnetic base
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Lap discs
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Diamond mesh pads
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Ok.. Then for the unit itself.. At first I mounted the motor upright.. Then changed it because the motor bearings were starting to sound wrong. Now that it is set up it became apparent that the lap unit itself needs a new bearing. Vibrates just a bit.

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Have not tried any intarsias yet.. Will share any success with them later ! The padded mesh discs are working excellent. They are my first experience with diamond mesh. I am sure there must be some additional polishing improvements with the use of even more fine a mesh. Even upwards of a 50,000. Yet just with working up through the 5000, the end result is outstanding. A huge difference from just coming off a 600 grit silicon carbide paper. 600 grit silicon carbide really has always done a great job for the most part. But I have noticed a huge difference on certain minerals with the diamond, and improvement on the basic Jaspers and Agates in the final polishishing.

Thanks for stopping by !

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