Question: Cast iron or ceramic lap? Diamond Spray or dry Powder? How many Variations needed?

[Fetzi_DLL]

Hi Folks,
after trying to find ways to get around the big investment in a GRS Power Hone i am now convinced i won't get around said investment.
Also thanks to the engraving podcasts beginner Episode.

But now there are some other things:
I have the 180, 600 and 1200 diamond laps.
For heel polishing i'll need either a ceramic or the cast iron lap.
In the forums i've noticed there seems to be as switch from ceramic laps to the cast iron ones due to longevity in combination with the price and ease to use. Is this correct or is a ceramic lap still needed? Its still a heavy price tag that i would want to avoid on top.

Also: Which kind of diamond polish to get with the laps? Any advantages of dry or wet? And which stuff to get?

And: If i have the 1200 grit diamon wheel as highest, which micron or grit diamond sprays/powders do i need. Like how many steps to go?

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day

 

[AllenClapp]

If you haven't done so, check out the instructions for both the cast iron lap and ceramic lap wheels on the GRS website. https://grs.com/manuals-documents/ Under the SUPPORT tab, go to MANUALS, and then to SHARPENING and it will move you down the list to where you can download the respective sheets. The CAST IRON LAP manual has the most info as to the differences between the two and size of diamond particles to use, but check out both of them.

 

[pblack]

To add a third option, there is a polishing film that you can use. Tira Mitchell (engraver.com) sells a polishing film that comes in disks and mounts onto aluminum wheels that fit power hones. I haven't used it yet; my work just ordered a set ($50). I have used the Mirror-Grave film from Steve Lyndsay's website and it gives a fantastic heel polish. It only comes in sheets from Steve.

 

[Mike576]

I use Steve’s mirror grave sheets, only used 2 since I started 3 years ago (although I bought 5) They last a long time. A specific lap plate to me isn’t worth it at all. I have a 100 grit and a 1000 grit diamond wheel on my drill press and a 2000 grit hand diamond stone. I just lay the mirror grave sheet on the stone and a few swipes later it’s a mirror.

On a side note a variable speed drill press can always be used instead of a graver hone. Takes up a bit more space but way cheaper. Steve sells arbors to hold the 6 inch laps and aluminum backers can be found on Amazon for 20$. With this someone can have a grave hone setup for about 210$ (100$ drill press, 2 diamond wheels 10$ each, 2 aluminum backers 20$ each, 2 arbors 20$ each. And one mirror grave sheet 10$). Plus in the end now you have a drill press and a home in one, more bang for your buck.

 

[Fetzi_DLL]

I use Steve’s mirror grave sheets, only used 2 since I started 3 years ago (although I bought 5) They last a long time. A specific lap plate to me isn’t worth it at all. I have a 100 grit and a 1000 grit diamond wheel on my drill press and a 2000 grit hand diamond stone. I just lay the mirror grave sheet on the stone and a few swipes later it’s a mirror.

On a side note a variable speed drill press can always be used instead of a graver hone. Takes up a bit more space but way cheaper. Steve sells arbors to hold the 6 inch laps and aluminum backers can be found on Amazon for 20$. With this someone can have a grave hone setup for about 210$ (100$ drill press, 2 diamond wheels 10$ each, 2 aluminum backers 20$ each, 2 arbors 20$ each. And one mirror grave sheet 10$). Plus in the end now you have a drill press and a home in one, more bang for your buck.

I'll take a look and need to calculate if shipping + taxes + customs is still cheaper than the european option.
Buying engraving equipment outside the US is quite a pain
But thanks for the tipp

Wouldn't a drill press be quite wobbly? My DIY approach was, the one of a friend too, i'm tired of solutions that all have some kind of drawback. Just want to ask befor i invest another few hundre bucks before realising i could have not cheaped out on the power hone.

@pblack thanks, i'll take also a look and calcualte

 

[Mike576]

It may depend on the quality of the drill press you get. If the chuck and quill have a lot of runout the diamond hone would wobble slightly. My drill press chuck has some runout (about .003) and I notice a slight wobble to the diamond hone but nothing which affects the sharpening or finish at all. I’ll post a photo of my setup in a bit. Makes things very repeatable and a quick setup to change disks at the same height each time.

 

[Mike576]

I use the 123 blocks to set the height then tighten the keyless chuck. The HDPE block along with the 123 block get the height gap to exactly 1/2 inch needed for the Lindsay system.

 

[Travis Fry]

I'm quite happy with the film from Tira Mitchell. There are different films for steel vs carbide, and both work wonderfully. Not sure on the long term durability yet since I've only been using them for about a year and don't engrave a ton, but once you get the aluminum disc the adhesive sheets are pretty inexpensive anyway.

 

[DKanger]

once you get the aluminum disc the adhesive sheets are pretty inexpensive anyway.

It's been my experience that the aluminum discs are the cause of the run-out problem, especially when used with an arbor on a drill press. They are castings and often need to be trued so both sides are parallel. Otherwise they wobble all over the place. I even have one that does the whoosie-do on the power hone.