second hand equipment to get started

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Joined
Feb 15, 2013
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Nowra, south coast NSW
Managed to pick up a second hand Agate master 12" slab saw and what I think is a flat lap today. The saw works , but needs to be cleaned and have a bench made to put the saw on and mount the motor under. Paid $300 which seemed like a reasonable price.
The flat lap works, though I broke the belt when I tested it. It will need some laps and I think some work on the arm, but I thought for $20 it was worth grabbing?
Now just got to find the time to get it all cleaned and together :rolleyes:


 
Nice trim saw and faceting machine shivan :D
For $20, looks better than my $150 one and yours has easier adjustments. Looks great mate :)
Now you just gotta get either sone copper laps and diamond powder..or some pre set laps ( chinese set seem to be working ok for learning )

Did any extras or tools come with the faceting machine?

I'd love to see that faceting / index arm a bit closer to see how its made

Great scores though mate! My faceting machine belt seems to be just a strip of leather held together with two small steel clips
 
Haha, glad you mentioned the belt. On my machine it's the same, it only snapped where the clip was biting so I should be able to get it back together.
No extra tools, so I have a few bits to get before I can play.
Will take a few pics of the arm for you a bit later, not sure how complete it is.
 
Nice find there. That saw looks identical to one of the older ones at the club. That's about the last thing I really need to complete my collection for my purposes. I have a 4-inch trim saw, a 7-inch trim saw, a 6-wheeled cabbing machine and a faceting machine - just need a bigger slabbing-type saw.

What breed is that faceting machine?
 
Both items I brought from the club, I was surprised the saw did not go straight away as it sounded like there were a couple of people interested. I will feel very bad if you were one of them Lefty.....
The faceting machine I have no idea on the make. I cant see any stamps or stickers with any kind of mark. The index arm seems in better nick than I had thought, I need to make a stop for one side, but apart from that it seems in good order. So I think I need a water reservoir, laps and dops to get it working.

Here are a couple of pics of the arm AR.


 
Not a bad buy, the saw looks solid.
The flat lap/faceting machine looks home built or at list modified, but for $20, nothing to be worried, it is a good buy.
 
$20.. what a deal shivan hahaha

Your water reservoir can just be any bottle with a little tap to control flow. Being such a cheap grab the dops and laps will seem nothing

How much do you know about the faceting and machine / setup etc, I can pass on what I learnt about mine soo far if you'd like as they are very similar

Cheers for all the photos too, I may be able to copy the arm for mine ( I don't know if arm is the correct word..we may be scolded haha )
 
Cheers guys.

AR, I know nothing about faceting or the machines, so my terminology is probably going to be bad.
I got told it seems to be a mast on the left machine and to look at the Gemmasta dops. So I have somewhere to start looking. Though I may end up shooting you a PM if I get stuck.
Just trying to get my head around the different types of laps at the moment.
 
Nice one Shivan, was that through the Illawarra Lapidary Club because i know one of the blokes just bought a heap of second hand equipment for the club with the intention of selling most of it i think. Hope they work/run well for you.
 
G'day trev, yes it was through the Illawarra lapidary club.
I had heard that the club has picked up a bit of equipment from clubs closing down in the past, I will keep my ear out for anything else that comes up, thanks for the tip.
 
Both items I brought from the club, I was surprised the saw did not go straight away as it sounded like there were a couple of people interested. I will feel very bad if you were one of them Lefty

Wasn't me, Illawarra too far away for me :) I spend most of my time faceting so there's nothing there that the 4-inch and 7-inch can't handle. But I'll still be wanting a bigger saw as I get my workshop set up. Cabbing material often comes in chunks too big for even a 7-inch to handle.

Cheers
 
Was just lucky enough to pick up an old 8 - 10 inch trim/slab saw. Needs a motor and blade, but seems to be in good order. I may even be able to set it up with the motor from the larger saw, until its cleaned and mounted.

I see a lot of cleaning and restoration coming up. But hopefully it will be worth it.
Now I just have to find some wet grinders for cabbing before the wife put her foot down....


 
Still have not got the saws set up yet, but have kind of got the faceting machine working.
I am in the process of machining up some dops, as my machine takes 7.9 mm dops which i do not think are made any more :/
Only have two dops so far, but have almost made a 45 degree table dop as well.
Made a drip tank today and had a little play with a piece of garnet. Was not trying do cut anything in particular just having fun, but its a start :D


 
Are you sure your dops are not 7.62mm or 0.3"? They would be the same as the Hall machines and the Jersey instruments (OMNI).
Otherwise contact Anthony (Rough2cut), he can make dops for you.
 
I wish they were a more standard size. I almost brought a set of the omni dops when i first got it, but luckily got a digital caliper first. They measure at 7.96 mm.
The first dop we tried machining got cut back too much and it was actually 7.6 mm, there was a lot of play in the arm so just started again.
I knew Rough2cut made laps, but did not know he made dops as well, cheers.
 
G'day AR, I have had a play around with the faceting machine using the cutting discs, but am yet to get a pre-polish and polishing laps. As i am still limited with dops for now i have only been able to cut small stones. The first stone i found out i needed to keep the bolts on the mast tight, or there is play in the angle :/ . The second stone, i managed to drop while i was transferring and broke the stone in half :rolleyes: . The third i had vaguely resembling a cut stone before i smashed it into the side of the lap 8.( . The fourth stone i managed to cut, but there seemed to be a problem in transferring, as the angles did not line up. I tried to fix them by eye, but it ended up slightly out.
I think i have found a few problems i will try to fix whilst saving for polishing laps and hold off more cutting till then.
Have also been shaping a few stones for cabbing and doing a few flats.

These are the two stones that survived my butchery.



As for the saws, i have pulled the smaller saw apart, sanded and painted it. Have oiled the bearings in the arbor and cleaned the vice. Just need one more coat of paint and a blade. The bigger saw is still sitting there as i am still in the process of building a bench for it. Also trying to decide if i should pull it apart and clean everything first. Slowly getting there though.
 

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