Patrick Cross on mon 18 dec 06
I'd never actually seen the real thing...a lapidary machine. So just to
elaborate on what I was saying in the last message...after looking at the
HIS Glassworks page that was mentioned by Paul, I really see very little
difference between the models offered and the temporarily converted potters
wheel idea. I had intended that the set-up be used with water added. And
it appears the prices have jumped since Paul found his machine. Here's the
8" model for $330 (yikes)...Does that price even include the diamond disc?
It doesn't sound like it from the description
http://www.hisglassworks.com/cart/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=119
Shows more models and accessories...
http://www.hisglassworks.com/cart/cart.php?m=product_list&c=63
I see no real problem setting up a little water drip reservoir either if you
want to get fancy. By using a potters wheel (most with at least a 12" head)
you'd have more surface area to work with. Oh and you can get 12" sandpaper
discs too by the way. The first place that comes to mind is from ShopSmith.
http://www.shopsmith.com/
Patrick Cross (cone10soda)
On 12/18/06, Patrick Cross wrote:
>
> Good news...I'd bet you sort of already have one...if you have a potters
> wheel that is.
>
> You can handle a lot of minor and not so minor surface problems on the
> bottoms of fired pieces by taking a smallish bat and covering the top with
> the appropriate abrasive...like even wet/dry silicon carbide sandpaper. I
> like GatorGrit 400...600(super fine)...Look at Lowe's in the
> painting/refinishing section.
>
> Then you can turn your potters wheel into a make shift lapidary
> polisher...and save space in the studio at the same time. You could
> dedicate two or three different bats for different grits. I don't think
> you'd want to do major grinding with an expensive potters wheel but for
> removing the odd bits of kiln wash and knocking down 'scratchy' bits on the
> bottoms of pots this method would work great...and you could really vary the
> speed far better than any other set-up I would think.
>
> Patrick Cross (cone10soda)
>
>
> On 12/18/06, sumiko braithwaite wrote:
> >
> > I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> > Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
> > kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
> > whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
> > to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
> > cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
> > experience with grinders. Any help would be
> > appreciated.
> > I also want to thank everyone who responded to my
> > question about cracking double wall vase bottoms. I
> > tried to send my thanks two different times but for
> > some reason they never got through. I haven't tried
> > all the suggestions yet (I've been rebuilding my
> > studio} but It's finished now and I will be throwing
> > some new pots soon.
> > Happy Holidays to all from:
> > Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> > http://mail.yahoo.com
> >
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________________________
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> > melpots@pclink.com .
> >
>
>
Richard Mahaffey on mon 18 dec 06
Sumiko,
I bought a wet grinding wheel at Harbor Frieght (They have a website).
It has one wheel that runs parallel to the axis of the motor (Right
angles to a normal grinder wheel). You fill the trough with some water
and start the wheel. It is geared down so it runs slow. It does a
pretty good job then I follow up with the diamond pads that Hank
mentioned from Master Wholesale in Seattle (They do have a website, but
I don't know the address since I just stop in when I need something).
For really nice pieces (potential show pots) I visit a friend who has a
Wet angle grinder with diamond pads, also from Master Wholesale, and the
bottom comes out like polished glass. It is messy because it throws
water and muck all over the place, but it is worth the effort (It is
expensive and might not be a good value unless you have lots of
otherwise great pieces to clean up).
check out harbor Frieght, I think I paid $34.99 or $39.99 for my wet
grinder.
Another option is a green grinding wheel that is meant for carbide
tools. It is much finer than most grinding wheels, cut clay and glaze
quite quickly and wears like "iron" and seems to last maybe three times
as long as normal abrasive wheels.
Rick Mahaffey
Tacoma, WA
sumiko braithwaite on mon 18 dec 06
I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
experience with grinders. Any help would be
appreciated.
I also want to thank everyone who responded to my
question about cracking double wall vase bottoms. I
tried to send my thanks two different times but for
some reason they never got through. I haven't tried
all the suggestions yet (I've been rebuilding my
studio} but It's finished now and I will be throwing
some new pots soon.
Happy Holidays to all from:
Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Patrick Cross on mon 18 dec 06
Good news...I'd bet you sort of already have one...if you have a potters
wheel that is.
You can handle a lot of minor and not so minor surface problems on the
bottoms of fired pieces by taking a smallish bat and covering the top with
the appropriate abrasive...like even wet/dry silicon carbide sandpaper. I
like GatorGrit 400...600(super fine)...Look at Lowe's in the
painting/refinishing section.
Then you can turn your potters wheel into a make shift lapidary
polisher...and save space in the studio at the same time. You could
dedicate two or three different bats for different grits. I don't think
you'd want to do major grinding with an expensive potters wheel but for
removing the odd bits of kiln wash and knocking down 'scratchy' bits on the
bottoms of pots this method would work great...and you could really vary the
speed far better than any other set-up I would think.
Patrick Cross (cone10soda)
On 12/18/06, sumiko braithwaite wrote:
>
> I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
> kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
> whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
> to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
> cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
> experience with grinders. Any help would be
> appreciated.
> I also want to thank everyone who responded to my
> question about cracking double wall vase bottoms. I
> tried to send my thanks two different times but for
> some reason they never got through. I haven't tried
> all the suggestions yet (I've been rebuilding my
> studio} but It's finished now and I will be throwing
> some new pots soon.
> Happy Holidays to all from:
> Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Paul Borian on mon 18 dec 06
i bought one about 5 years ago from a place called HIS Glassworks, i am not
sure whether it is H.I.S. glassworks or HIS glassworks but i am sure you
could google them and find something. I use that thing all the time, has
saved me thousands of dollars but it was not cheap, close to $200 as i
recall. It has diamonds embossed on the surface and is a "wet" grinder
which is good, no dust.
-Paul
Hank Murrow on mon 18 dec 06
On Dec 18, 2006, at 4:10 PM, sumiko braithwaite wrote:
> I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
>
Dear Sumiko;
I have a Baldor grinder motor with 10" Merit flap wheels in 80 and 180
grit. this always worked well for me, thought the dust flying around
was troublesome.
Now, most of my cleanup is done with diamond pads mounted on stiff foam
blocks. I purchase these from Master Wholesale in Seattle, and they run
around $40 total for 70, 120, 220, and 400 grit pads. If the bottom is
pretty gnarly, I give it a first rub with 60 grit alumina oxide sanding
belt material cut to playing card size. I have found that with careful
treatment, these foam-backed diamond pads can last through the cleaning
of two or three thousand pots. For glaze drips and other major repairs,
I resort to sharp chisels and the Baldor grinder with flap wheels.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
www.murrow.biz/hank
Dannon Rhudy on mon 18 dec 06
The best, least expensive thing to use for smoothing
pot bottoms is a flap sander. You can buy the sander
and attach it to your bench grinder, if you have a bench
grinder. They also make a little flap sander that attaches
to an electric drill, but they are awkward and not
so effective.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
> I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
> kind of grinder I can get.
Richard Walker on mon 18 dec 06
Sumiko,
Silicon Carbide sanding disks attached to a small disk is a great suggestion and is part of my arsenal devoted to smoothing bottoms. I get the sanding disks at my local pottery Suppliers. I also have a dremel tool which I use continually. I again use a silicon carbide bit (a shank with a carbide disk at the end) which attaches to the dremel tool. Not only does this work well for rapidly removing bits of glaze or kiln wash, or kiln stuck to the bottom, but it also quickly removes small glaze drips on kiln shelves. As a bonus the other bits that come with the dremel can be used to decorate clay pieces at both greenware stage, and at bisque. You can probably get a dremel at any hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Cost will vary with the size of dremel kit, and will range from around $40.00 - $50.00 and up. A flexible shaft for the dremel is also worth spending a few extra dollars for.
Good Luck,
Dick
>From: sumiko braithwaite
>Date: 2006/12/18 Mon PM 06:10:05 CST
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Lapidary grinder
>I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
>Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
>kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
>whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
>to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
>cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
>experience with grinders. Any help would be
>appreciated.
>I also want to thank everyone who responded to my
>question about cracking double wall vase bottoms. I
>tried to send my thanks two different times but for
>some reason they never got through. I haven't tried
>all the suggestions yet (I've been rebuilding my
>studio} but It's finished now and I will be throwing
>some new pots soon.
>Happy Holidays to all from:
>Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
>
>
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
>http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
David Hendley on mon 18 dec 06
I use an "expanding drum sander" to smooth the bottoms of all
my pots, and I like it better than a flap-wheel sander.
I bought mine from a jewelry supply company, but the best
price I have found since then is at "Dad's Rock Shop:
http://www.dadsrockshop.com/sc_products.html
I have a 6" diameter drum because that was all that was available
at the time, at the place I bought it. Today, I would pay the
extra $12 and buy the 8" diameter model from Dad.
Here's the description:
"Sanding Drums made with resilient rubber. Angled expansion slots through
the heavy rubber rim allow the drum to expand when rotated, thereby locking
the finishing belt in place while sanding. Belts can be quickly changed
merely by slipping off the old belt and sliding on the new one. Bushing
included to fit 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" or 1" diameter shaft."
The drum fits on a grinding wheel motor, like a grinding wheel,
and then sanding belts fits over the expanding drum.
The belts are a couple of bucks each, and last quite a long time.
Something in the range of 100-220 grit is good for pot bottoms.
All potters who sell their work should smooth the bottoms of their
pots before they leave the shop.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
>I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
> kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
> whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
> to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
> cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
> experience with grinders. Any help would be
> appreciated.
Fredrick Paget on tue 19 dec 06
Quite a few years ago when I was doing crystal glazes I invested in a
cheap 6 inch diameter flat diamond lapidary disk ($30) that I glued
to a bat and used on my wheel with water drizzled on from a hand held
jumbo size sponge. The grit is 100 mesh and it will take down a ratty
foot ring a quarter inch in about 5 or 10 minutes of grinding. These
disks have diamond all over the surface and are used in lapidary work
to true up flat surfaces. They may have a bare 1 inch circle in the
middle with a mounting hole or they can be had with a screw on the
back for mounting and no bare area in the middle.
I use a Jepson wheel which has a 3 gallon splash pan that holds water
so the drainage is not a problem for me. When I was doing a bunch of
these I put 2 gallons of water in the pan and a tiny fountain pump
with a copper tube that delivered water where needed. You have to use
water or you will ruin the diamond disk if you don't.
No dust to worry about.
Works well on wood fired pots too where the foot ring is damaged
pulling off wadding or from glaze drips. The finished job is
perfectly flat and beautiful.
My wife later gave me for my birthday, a deluxe 8 inch disk ($200)
with screw mount. I use that too but the old one still works well.
Fred Paget
--
Twin Dragon Studio
Mill Valley, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
Ilene Mahler on tue 19 dec 06
creative Industries has one that we use to grind the bottom of crystalline
pots...Ilene in Conn
----- Original Message -----
From: "sumiko braithwaite"
To:
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 7:10 PM
Subject: Lapidary grinder
> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender: Clayart
> Poster: sumiko braithwaite
> Subject: Lapidary grinder
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
> kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
> whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
> to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
> cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
> experience with grinders. Any help would be
> appreciated.
> I also want to thank everyone who responded to my
> question about cracking double wall vase bottoms. I
> tried to send my thanks two different times but for
> some reason they never got through. I haven't tried
> all the suggestions yet (I've been rebuilding my
> studio} but It's finished now and I will be throwing
> some new pots soon.
> Happy Holidays to all from:
> Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
William & Susan Schran User on tue 19 dec 06
On 12/18/06 10:03 PM, "David Hendley" wrote:
> All potters who sell their work should smooth the bottoms of their
> pots before they leave the shop.
I agree, but potters should also consider the dusts that are created when
using any dry abrasive system, whether sanding drum or disk.
With crystalline glazes I have to often do quite a bit of grinding.
My bench grinder with silicon carbide grinding wheel makes a lot of dust.
I do this process outside and always wear eye protection & respirator.
I use an 8" portable flat lap with 260m & 325m diamond grinding disks, for
evening out and smoothing the foot. This is a wet process that I can do
inside the studio. I use the flat lap because it spins at 1200rpm, thus
doing a quick job, using speed instead of pressure.
Folks can buy silicon carbide disks of various grits that have self-adhesive
backs that can be attached to a plastic bat. You can also get self adhesive
diamond disks that can also be attached to a plastic bat. This is how I
ground my pots before I got the flat lap.
I used water with both the silicon carbide & diamond disks. Put the bat on
the wheel and it worked fine. Just used a plastic milk container (quart or
gallon). Used a fine threaded screw through the wall at the bottom. Set the
jug up on a brick, pulled out the screw and a small stream of water kept the
grinding disks cool and no dust.
Got the flat lap because of the number of pots to grind and the wheel didn't
go fast enough.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Gayle Bair on tue 19 dec 06
I dunk a bench grinder wheel in water
put it in my giffin grip and smooth away.
No dust flying & no figuring out where
I'm going to put a bench grinder
in my limited studio space.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
www.claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Of Ilene Mahler
creative Industries has one that we use to grind the bottom of crystalline
pots...Ilene in Conn
----- Original Message -----
From: "sumiko braithwaite
>
> I am looking for a grinder to smooth my pot bottoms.
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to where or what
> kind of grinder I can get. I don't want to spend a
> whole lot of money but at the same time I don't want
> to buy junk. I'd rather have a good used one than a
> cheap new one. I would love to hear about your
> experience with grinders. Any help would be
> appreciated snip>
> Sumiko Braithwaite in Sunny San Diego.
>
>
karen gringhuis on wed 20 dec 06
You can also put together a rig like Dave Hendley
describes from the Rio Grande catalog - their tools
catalog, not the gems and findings catalog.
They have the motors, drums, belts, etc and their tech
advisors are very good.
Karen Gringhuis
KG Pottery
Box 607 Alfred NY 14802
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
William & Susan Schran User on thu 21 dec 06
On 12/21/06 7:41 PM, "sumiko braithwaite"
wrote:
> I finally decided on a
> flat lap from HIS Glassworks.
That's the very same 8" flat lap that I use.
Got it from another company.
Price from HIS Glassworks is better.
You'll enjoy using the flat lap.
Don't press down on the disk, let the speed of the machine do the work.
Hold the pot firmly!
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
sumiko braithwaite on thu 21 dec 06
Thanks to all who made suggestions and shared their
experiences. I visited a lot of stores, craft and
glass shops, and even the local gem guild. I met many
very nice and helpful people. I finally decided on a
flat lap from HIS Glassworks. Thanks to Paul Borian
for the info. "HIS" has exactly what I'm looking for,
or will have after the first of the year. I called
and they are closed for inventory the rest of this
year. But I was able to talk to someone there and he
was very helpful.
Thanks again to everyone. I really appreciate the
help.
Sumiko in sunny San Diego
www.ceramicsbysumiko.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
sumiko braithwaite on sat 23 dec 06
Bill
Thanks for the info re: pressing down on the pot. One
more question. What size "grit" are you using? I was
thinking of getting one 80 grit diamond disk and one
140 grit diamon disk. Do you think that is
sufficient? Have a great Holiday Season. Thanks
again.
Sumiko
--- William & Susan Schran User
wrote:
> On 12/21/06 7:41 PM, "sumiko braithwaite"
>
> wrote:
>
> > I finally decided on a
> > flat lap from HIS Glassworks.
>
> That's the very same 8" flat lap that I use.
> Got it from another company.
> Price from HIS Glassworks is better.
>
> You'll enjoy using the flat lap.
> Don't press down on the disk, let the speed of the
> machine do the work.
> Hold the pot firmly!
>
>
> --
> William "Bill" Schran
> wschran@cox.net
> wschran@nvcc.edu
> http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
William & Susan Schran User on sun 24 dec 06
On 12/23/06 4:16 PM, "sumiko braithwaite"
wrote:
> One
> more question. What size "grit" are you using? I was
> thinking of getting one 80 grit diamond disk and one
> 140 grit diamon disk. Do you think that is
> sufficient?
Depends if you want to just grind or if you also want to smooth the surface.
I use a silicon carbide grinding wheel to grind off material, then the
diamond disks for smoothing.
80 grit may be a bit of overkill.
140 grit will probably work well for grinding.
260 or 325 for final smoothing.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
| |
|
