Post #265877 by Tamapoutini on Fri, Nov 10, 2006 8:20 PM

On 2006-11-10 18:38, GMAN wrote:
I need to figure out how to remove the material around the profile without killing my small diamonds. I need a dang wheel like you have. I'll figure something out....

Im pretty sure you can get away with using a fine-ish grained carborundum/alum. oxide wheel, the type that normally comes on a double-ended 'bench-grinder' for general metal grinding/ tool sharpening.

Shroud/guard the thing to protect from water, run a dribble onto the wheel via a sponge, fire it up & have a go on a spare bit of stone! You'll probably be grinding the wheel away faster than the jade, but its worth a crack! I know of a few carvers who use big whet-stones like this, 2 or 3 mounted side by side on a single axle, for carving BIG mere/Maori greenstone club. There is a huge amount of 'rough-out' grinding necessary on those things & this method saves big money on chewing through diamond wheels!

Diamonds are obviously better of course & for jewellery sized work you really only need one wheel. I would recommend a 180 grit as a starter. They usually start out pretty course/scratchy for the first 50-100hrs running but slowly get finer/slower over time (my first 180 grit wheel is now used as an approx '400' wheel, sometimes used for carefuly refining shape) This is after 2-3 years of use almost every day & could still be used exclusively, albeit a little slower than preferable.

*Damn, should have put this in the Stone:Q&A thread really...

Cant wait to see your jade Hei-tiki!
(Dare I ask to be considered its future owner..? I would certainly understand if it becomes too preciousssssss to part with, but...
Puh-leeeeeeeease..?!! Name your price. TamaTheTiki-lover