My work is done

Well once again Ive managed to upset a few people, but don't worry about that I don't. A few things have been questioned including my qualifications.
But now lets ask the question. What value is a 100% money back or new replacement worth if a product isn't thoroughly quality controlled. We make mistakes we all miss little things and our own opinion isn't the same as anothers especially when it comes to exceptable quality. Quality control is your profit. If you say send a lap out that comes back and its not always faulty then the cost of resending that item eats away your profit. So sending a faulty lap is a sure way to lose money. Sending a lap across an ocean is one hell of loss. SO for the health of your business and to minimise your customers frustrations you need to QCQCQCQC.
I also have laps that come back in fact all my laps come back every year for resurfacing and a balance check.

That's the last I have to say about laps.

I don't really wish to get involved in this debate as I have no issue with any of the people involved. And when there was an issue with a lap it was resolved immediately without any problems. I own several laps by the same manufacturer, only ever had problems with one.

I do think Rough2cut has a point regarding qc, I was initially surprised when the manufacturer said that he did not test his laps for balance before sending them out. I did understand his reasoning - that pre-testing a lap may leave small marks or scratches that may be nothing more than totally cosmetic when it comes to using it but buyers are put off because they expect to see an absolutely perfect shiny surface without a mark. Regardless of the fact that the lap will no longer look like that after its very first use yet we continue to use it happily as long as it was us that put the marks on it.

Personally, I would prefer to buy a lap that came with a few very tiny marks on the understanding that the marks were caused by testing the lap for perfect balance before it was sent out. But if the manufacturers experience has been that most people will not accept this then I guess there isn't much point.

Is there no way to balance test without causing any tiny marks? I thought the lap would simply be put on a machine and spun, no need to apply a stone to the surface. I guess a scratch barrier even a fraction of a mm thick may affect the test result?

I don't want to pour any fuel on this fire, I'm just curious to know why it isn't possible test for a property so fundamental to the functioning of the lap without marking it.

It is possible to test and balance the lap.
But instead of buying it for a $100, you'll pay 150.

Balancing + correcting the balancing takes a little bit of time and so it costs money.

For my interest, is it a 6" or an 8" laps that cause you trouble?

I may not have seen all that was said everywhere and by everyone, but I thought the agent in Aus offered to exchange your lap at no cost, that is a fairly good deal?

I understand this policy of exchange instead of putting a proper QC in place. It all depends of the reject rate.
Imagine you have 5% of rejects because of balancing issues, because the casting and the alloy has some imperfection.
It is cheaper to replace for free those 5%, and throw the reject to the bin, rather than testing 100% of the disc and balancing the 5% faulty.

Balancing is the last process. You have to finalise all your machining. Balancing means it goes in my case to a balancing machine pictured below. The lap will stop when the heaviest section of the lap settles to the bottom of the balancer. You then mark its spot and take material from top of the lap to balance it.This is done on a rotary table on a milling machine, and the holes are drilled as close and evenly as possible. I then retest it after material removal and most often needs a bit more or if I've removed too much material I then add a lead filler to the hole or drill in the opposite position. Ive done a few laps that look like swiss cheese. Note: never drink and balance. When a good balance is achieved the lap will sit stationary on the balancing bars in any position, it is then placed on my faceting machine and spun at 2500 RPM(this is the maximum speed of most new Gemmastas) I give it the fingernail test and make sure the water bowl is still.
Its a thrilling feeling to see a new lap spinning at that speed looking like a CD and appearing as if its stationary.
I know about the handling scratches and Ive been getting better results with new things like cotton gloves and lap holder the remove laps from machines, but you cant stop every scratch. Even if a customer wants to view a finished lap they always want to feel the weight and will leave finger prints or nail scratches, yes some laps can be that soft. Ive only been balancing my laps for the past five years as its essential with sintered laps. When you see porosity in a lap and it usually occurs in patches and balancing becomes mandatory. Combining two different materials or laminating laps can also need more attention paid to balancing. You just cant play the numbers with castings.
Hey I thought I wasn't talking about this anymore but this is very important stuff, at least for facetors.

GallicProspector: Heres a simple answer to your post.. If your producing that many laps you should maybe have a faceting machine base with a plastic master lap and water bowl for the vibration test. Im using my faceting machine for that but Have thought about a dedicated unit for balancing. How much time does it take to talk to your customer about there lap issue ,find a lap that's good from stock, package it fill out the postage details and get it to the post office where you will stand in a queue. Also the cost of postage compared to the ten odd minutes to balance a lap that is only 5% of production that's no good and will need balancing. All this still doesnt fix the pit holes that are visible, only good QC will do that. We all have QC issues at sometime and when they fail you add more protocols.
As for paying $150 my laps are $140 at Gemcuts $20 more than the lap in question and its single sided fabricated but it is balanced. Would you pay more???? The dollars crashing pretty fast might be level soon.

Sorry Rough2cut, it is not a personal attack (English is my second language, I may be rude without wanting it), I just wanted to explain the two different approaches a business can have to quality issues.

As per your laps, I didn't knew it was the lap sold by Gemcuts. Good to know. Is it this one?
http://www.gemcuts.com.au/type-metal-faceting-lap-for-polishing-150mm

You should stop by the lapidary club in Concord some day, I am usually there on Saturday morning and Monday evening, and the faceting classes are usually on Tuesday evening.
Or I should move my lazy ass to your workshop.

There was nothing offensive in your post and I didn't take as anything but a view. What you said is avalid point. Too busy cutting to get out these days.Have you seen Dirks faceting system. Thed isc is one that I make. I make about six types of laps for them.