I've been cutting a number of stones after purchasing a used Facetron last fall, and recently accidently dropped my stone/quill on the wrong side of my running Crystalite 600 grit lap, throwing my stone across the room but also putting a decent ding right in the center of the lap.
I can still cut in the center/on the edge, but would like to take this opportunity to upgrade to a sintered lap. There doesn't seem to be many options out there, so recommendations are appreciated!
And of course there is Thomas Adamas's sintered laps here http://adamasfacet.com/sintered.html, most likely be my choice now if I were in the market to invest in a sintered lap. Mainly because of the experience of those who have created them. I have no personal opinion on how they perform, as I have never used one.
Reviews are typically mixed on all of them, as we all have our own methods of faceting per se.
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:41 am Posts: 153 Location: Germany
If I may jump in here with a question. What is the difference between a Cristalite Lap and one of these Toppers. Is it just a Topper glued to a solid base?
I am a bit surprised that dropping a stone onto a lap can damage it beyound use.
Thanks for the comprehensive breakdown! I'll start by seeing if there's anyone responding to the Adamas contact email (given Gearloose's post earlier), but take a closer look at the others in the meantime.
And for my current lap, definitely not unusable. There's a clicking everytime I sweep across the center of the lap, I'm a little worried it could chip an edge since the hit ultimately raised some material above the rest of the lap surface. I can stay on the inside/outside of the lap to avoid my stones across that raised material.
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:58 pm Posts: 1424 Location: San Marcos, CA
capcuadrate wrote:
If I may jump in here with a question. What is the difference between a Cristalite Lap and one of these Toppers. Is it just a Topper glued to a solid base?
I am a bit surprised that dropping a stone onto a lap can damage it beyound use.
Martin
Not all toppers are manufactured to the same quality standards, the commercial diamond industry is a vast area. Diamond being used in the manufacturing of laps, burrs, blades etc. will all have in most cases differently graded diamond. So not all toppers are created equally. Everyone has to decide their own budget, I have had $10 dollar toppers that cut just fine, but the next one of the same is a metal disc that can be used to scrape the floor for new tile.
Agree, with beyond use.
There are few different styles of Crystalite laps, not sure which one your exactly referring. "The Standard", "Solid Steel", and "Crystalmet" are the three most commonly used for faceting, not that you can't use the other specialty laps as well if you wanted.
This is a pic of a 1200 Standard, I have had for quite some time.
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This is a pic of a Solid Steel not a Crystalite but a very similar import for about half the price. It also shows the aftermath of the damage a stone can cause to a lap, this lap has had 3 occurrences. Not just dropping a stone on the lap, these were caused by chatter while re-cutting tables on native cut corundum, solution was not to use a 1200 on the first pass but a 600 to cut a new surface. Also just a facet point facing against the rotation of the lap hitting can dig into a lap and cause a very slight indentation in a steel surface, remembering that everything has a hardness value and steel is typically the weaker surface then many gemstones that are placed in between a spinning lap and the quill of the machine. I still use this lap, simply use a sacrificial dopped 10-12mm square synthetic corundum, place for facets @45 degrees on the the four main index positions, Cut a small temporary table and use this to knock the high points off the damaged areas. Yes this process will wear the lap, so it is a choice you make avoiding the area or repair. By all means avoiding this happening is the best solution, it is possible that extreme damage can occur to the machine. And common safety practices should be practiced like eye protection.
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Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:58 pm Posts: 1424 Location: San Marcos, CA
Gsim89 wrote:
Thanks for the comprehensive breakdown! I'll start by seeing if there's anyone responding to the Adamas contact email (given Gearloose's post earlier), but take a closer look at the others in the meantime.
And for my current lap, definitely not unusable. There's a clicking everytime I sweep across the center of the lap, I'm a little worried it could chip an edge since the hit ultimately raised some material above the rest of the lap surface. I can stay on the inside/outside of the lap to avoid my stones across that raised material.
Take a wider tipped dark marker and spin the lap slowly and mark the lap directly on the area of the damage is an option to keep you aware visually.
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:41 am Posts: 153 Location: Germany
I have used up quite a few toppers. They get dull after a while and I think they can not be dressed. If the Cristallite is just a good topper glued to a base plate it should not last much longer. But most users write, they used it for years. I am confused.
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:58 pm Posts: 1424 Location: San Marcos, CA
I think that is just a matter of how you use your laps compared to others. And again your generalizing "topper" like one brand is the same as another. Hence the reason why there is a sintered style lap market, an almost infinite lasting lap of a designated mesh, only requiring an occasional dressing. My personal opinion is that I have rarely found a good cheap 1200 or 3000 topper lap consistent in cutting results other than the Crystalite.
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