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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:26 pm 
Well, I finally received the replacement table adapter to replace that wonky one that they sent to me with the faceting device, that one was the 45 degree looking one, this one is one that you can't screw up (unless it was milled wrong), as it is like the one that was previously posted here in this thread as a suggestion of a different style of table adapter.

I must say that it is HUGE compared to the other ones I've seen, but I guess for sure now I'll have NO problems reaching the top of the cutting surface from the mast mount that's for sure!

Take a look at this table adapter, has anyone ever seen one like this one before?

Chris ;)

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This is the old one that needed to be replaced, as it needed to go up way too high on the mast in order to get the thing to meet up properly on the cutting surface of the top of the cutting disk:

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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:12 am 
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Hi Chris,

Looks good, you have options there to pop in another hole or two if need be, otherwise nice and solid. Are we gong to see a stone coming off that machine any time soon, the suspense is killing me.

Regards

Sean


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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:34 am 
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That's a lot of cantilever, and I expect it to "ring" in some conditions, but it will probably work if used with light pressure in a trailing direction.

Tablers like these do have their merits. Often, using an angle adapter is a bit of a nuisance to line up.


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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:18 am 
Sean Lines wrote:
Hi Chris,

Looks good, you have options there to pop in another hole or two if need be, otherwise nice and solid. Are we gong to see a stone coming off that machine any time soon, the suspense is killing me.

Regards

Sean


Thanks for your reply Sean and Gearloose,

I'm still waiting for parts, I finally got the aluminum plate, but have been too ill to do anything with it, I could barely even lift it into the house, and I'm sure your aware that aluminum isn't very heavy...LOL

I'm waiting for the belting material to arrive, it hopefully should be here soon, and I still have to set up the motor controller board on the speed controller that drives the motor that I have, which I'll probably need assistance with, just so that I am sure I know what I'm doing,.

I'm an electronics tech by trade, but I'm not completely familiar with those motor controller boards, as I've never had to really tweak one up, and therefore don't know off hand what pot does what, and what voltages should be where, or what the proper procedure is for setting the upper and lower speed thresholds are.

Being in the industry I have been in for years, I am of the philosophy that if you do not know EXACTLY what you are doing, you DON'T just go turning a bunch of knobs and dials, "hoping" that you are doing it right!

Many a smoke show in my younger years reminded me of this concept of reading the manual, (RTFM ....read the #@$@#% manual....LOL) and having schematics readily available BEFORE tweaking ANYTHING!! Unfortunately, I neither have schematics or a manual for this, so I'm basically relying as usual in the charity of others to help me.

The only other things I have to do really are to bore the mounting holes in the aluminum plate, and the hole for the motor shaft, as well as the slot for the faceting device to be mounted on, and i have to work out a mount for the motor, so that I can line up the 2 pulleys properly. I also have to make a thin metal shim to allow the mounting of a standard pulley onto the metric motor shaft, and then it's all about putting it all together.

Of course I also have to make a water shield around the arbor and the polishing lap on the top of the machine, and install a water supply, but those should be very minor things to work out.

I am a bit puzzled as to how to make the water shield, when most faceting machines I see have a portion cut away so that the quill arm can lay flat to cut the girdle, and I've always wondered how water doesn't just fly out that slot cut in the side of the water guard, and go all over the faceting machine, or the deck of the machine and make a big mess. Any suggestions on this?

If the lip of the water guard comes up a few inches above the top of the lap all the way around, then the water is kept inside the "bowl" and then exits via the drain, but if there is a portion cut away on the side so the faceting device can reach the edge of the lap to polish a girdle for example, how does one prevent a mess fro occurring?

I am used to super messy cabbing machines that have water flying everywhere, so maybe, what I'm not grasping is the fact that faceting uses substantially less water, and it is only a dribble compared to a "flow" on a grinder/cabber.

I've noticed that some faceting machines basically only have the water guard come up a matter of millimeters above the top of the lap's polishing surface, why is it SO low?

Is there not the "need" to contain as much water or flying material that is removed from the stone or something?

What I actually have for the water guard and to capture the water after it falls off the lap is a rubber feeding dish meant for livestock, it is just over 8" in diameter, so the lap fits nicely inside of it with enough clearance around the edges to grab it easily, and it is very thick and flexible, made from some kind of industrial rubber, so I'm hoping this will work out fine for this application.

I "was" going to go with an aluminum one, as I see on many machines, but couldn't seem to find just the right shape or size, I've searched everywhere from Walmart's kitchen section to value village for a small cake pan...LOL

What do you suggest for this piece around the lap to capture the water?

Chris ;)


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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:49 am 
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Quote:
I am a bit puzzled as to how to make the water shield, when most faceting machines I see have a portion cut away so that the quill arm can lay flat to cut the girdle, and I've always wondered how water doesn't just fly out that slot cut in the side of the water guard, and go all over the faceting machine, or the deck of the machine and make a big mess. Any suggestions on this?

Don't bother with elaborate metal frying pans, etc.
Silicone rubber baking dish. Cheap, inert, flexes out of the way for girdles, etc. Bonds to metal and other silicones perfectly.
Take a SPECIAL note of the anti-flood dam at the hub. There must NEVER NEVER be water or swarf in the bearings, or they will be ruined in minutes.

Image

After cementing the SILICONE drain hose in place, trim with razor.

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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:58 am 
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Quote:
Unfortunately, I neither have schematics or a manual for this, so I'm basically relying as usual in the charity of others to help me.


*sigh* You do. I realize the thread has gotten long.

Look way, way back on Page 6:

http://www.kbelectronics.com/data_sheets/kbic.pdf


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 Post subject: Re: New to faceting, need help mounting mast!
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:11 pm 
OK, either that is one of those posts that didn't show up on my browser because of that weird refresh issue I have sometimes on this forum, or it's an example of how my memory issues screw up my daily life...lol.

I'm tending to lean towards my memory issue, sorry I forgot about that John, and thanks for directing me towards that once again!

Your right by the way, this thread HAS gotten extremely long! Sorry about that!

Hopefully I'll put an end to it soon when this finally gets built, and the next things you see posted here will be examples of my crappy first faceting attempts...lol.

By the way, what is "swarf "? Sounds like something the doctor gives one antibiotics for...hehe.

I actually went to great lengths to build such a "flood dam" on my flat lap, because the person who had it before me didn't take those precautions, thus resulting in a bearing that really needs to eventually be replaced.

No matter though, when my cabbing machine is up and running, and also this faceting machine gets built, my current flat lap will be downgraded to a dual disk polisher instead for cerium oxide ;)

Chris ;)


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