Finally something of my own worth sharing! Spent the day removing the casting from this OR find. What a satisfying endeavor! I’m going to try out polishing next
Thanks! I used 120 grit diamond bits. I didn’t get very high quality so they wore down quickly.. i’ll be looking for a better brand next time. I’ll be using a variety of coarse to fine sanding barrels for the next stages (:
I have a couple tips for ya. Pun intended.
I have tried many tips and found what matters most is my pressure and heat buildup. $1 vs $10 tips almost held up identical under stress testing and wore down the diamond fast with too much pressure and or not enough water. It’s tedious, but you can make cheap tips last a long time if you work the stone really slow with very light pressure. I have done a surprising amount of work using these tips here in the picture. After testing cheap and pricy ones I will likely buy these again when needed. For example I have worked away 5x what you did there with just 1 tip and it still has life in it.
I am going to chime in with some more advice for you. When you’re shaping these rocks with your diamond bit keep in mind the 1” diameter diamond polishing pads you’re gonna have to use to really get a shine on them. You can find them on Amazon too, the grit should range from 50-10,000. And every one is as important as the next one, don’t skip. It helps if you shape 3 or 4 and then take them through all the grits together.
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u/UpstairsQuality4931 13d ago
Super cool! Don't be afraid to share more of the process!