Vince Pitelka on mon 13 dec 10
For those who use diamond media for cutting, grinding, or drilling
refractories and fired ware, the best prices I have seen are at
www.mcgillswarehouse.com. In the horizontal row of links at the top click
on "tools and hardware," and then scroll to the bottom and click on "saw
blades" to see diamond blades and wheels of all sizes, click on "polishing
pads, adapters, and grinder cups" to see polishing pads, grinding disks and
diamond cup wheels, or click on "drills & drill bits & adapter" to see
diamond core drills and mounted diamond points and burrs that can be used i=
n
your Dremel or your Foredom flexible shaft tool. They actually have
5000-grit diamond dry polishing pads for your angle grinder, and it would b=
e
nice to know how high a shine you can achieve.
If you ever need one, it's nice to know you can get a 10" diamond core
drill, or a 24" diamond blade, both for remarkably reasonable prices. I
suppose those giant saw blades are for the big portable masonry saws they
use on sidewalks and pavement.
I have found that the diamond points, with a little water applied to the
surface while drilling/grinding, will drill through high-fired glazed ware.
I am not recommending this as a general practice without a proper
water-irrigated diamond-drill setup, but if there is fired glaze in the
attachment holes for a teapot handle, these will do the trick. A bit of
water applied to the surface with a spray bottle or squeeze bulb while
drilling helps a lot, with the usual caution about using water anywhere
around electricity. That's why I like the Foredom flexible shaft tool. Th=
e
business end is nowhere near the electric motor. Another option is to use =
a
pneumatic grinder or drill.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka
Lee Love on mon 13 dec 10
These are great, especially if you woodfire:
http://www.toolocity.com/diamondhandpads.aspx
I recommend 50, 100 and 400.
--
=3DA0Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi
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