Would somebody recommend which polishing cabinet (with motor) is
better to use and where to buy it. I do not have one yet. There are
four kinds that “Rio-Grande” offers, and several at “stuller”.
Thanks,
Sergiy Nagorny
NV Design
Wapello, IA
Sergy~ I think the choice of best polishing motor is easy - Baldor.
They are well-made, last forever and give you trouble-free service.
Breathing polishing dust is dangerous to your health. Given the
high cost of the open models that have built in fans and filters, I
believe that the very best savings is to build the box yourself, or
have it made.
A second idea might be to use a low-cost double arbor motor that you
can get from most tool dealers, They can be outfitted to change out
hard and soft polishing wheels and regular grinding wheels,
I bought a used motor and built a box for it, using an ancient
computer printer box. It has a light, vent hole for vacuum hose, and
foam for sound dampening and for my need, a padding to prevent damage
to any piece ripped from a too-loose grip. It would be extremely
easy to build the same kind of box for about $40, tops!
Good luck,
Frif
Hi Vera, There are a few good machines out there…I like the 3hp
Handler or the I-Shur dust collector cabinets and a separate Table to
hold a dual spindle Redwing motor for polishing and a separate Split
Lap for the sides. I’ve found that the recovery of the polishing
dust more than pays for the machinery over time plus a good vacume
will keep the rouge off your face. I would suggest the 3/4 hp
redwing and a 1/2 hp split lap.
If you don’t have the room for a large setup and want a smaller
standup machine be sure to look at the filters. The hanging bags are
easiest to clean, work the best and don’t need to be replaced ever.
Also go for the stronger polisher…the 1/4hp motors just don’t have
enough strength.
If you are in the NJ area let me know…I have used equipment from a
friends shop just like what I described above. Sorry, but I won’t
ship this stuff though.
Good Luck,
Mark
I have sent a personal email to Vera Babich with some of my thoughts
on this issue. Now, please add advice to me! Your responses will
help me and possibly help Vera in that regard.
I started with a benchtop polisher/dust collector. More recently,
the polishing cabinet has been the Handler type, two motor with
filter bags in the collection area. This came from Gesswein. The
machine worked superbly, two Baldor motors and one with two speeds.
The problem is the filter bags. Changing these bags is a real pain.
Do you have experience with the same type cabinet using either
fiberglass or pleated disposable (shipped to the refiner as is) kinds
of filters? I have left that work and am back to the benchtop type
polishing machine, yikes! I suspect the old first set of filter bags
from the Handler machine are still in the storage box, waiting for
someone to wash the bags and then eventually collect the sediment in
a drum of some sort.
Are the fiberglass filters or the pleated burnable(by the refiner)
filters more cost effective? As a side note, the Handler with the
cloth filters needing washing was paid for in 1 =BD years from filter
contents refined. Still, the filters in cloth bag form are a true
pain and tend to be neglected unless there is a worker assigned this
duty directly. I am a professional jeweler and the filters were
also my job.so, the filters were neglected. This work was in a
retail, guild type jewelry store.
Any experience with the larger, Handler type of machine using
fiberglass or other consumable filters would be greatly appreciated.
In recognition of one of the Ganoksin advertisers, a similar machine
is seen at this web address:
http://www.contenti.com/products/polishing/polishing_units.html
Any input would be appreciated! Remember, the joint effort of
Ganoksin and MGSA is a real boon to all of us. I am so happy to see
this happen.
God Bless.
Thomas.
@Sp.T
I think your making a dangerous mistake using a 3/4 horse polishing
motor, 1/4 horse is plenty and probably won’t remove a finger when
you have that momentary lapse of consciousness when polishing a
chain… There is no reason to need that strong a motor if you stall
it you obviously are doing something wrong, We have four jewelers in
our shop and the polisher gets used all day without problem. Karel
I think the biggest deciding factor is how air is moved through the
machine, measured in cfm (cubic feet per minute). The more cfm, the
more it filters. Lights are nice, universal motor mounts are nice
(what happens if you need your motor repaired or replace it?), easy
access through a hinged cover for changing the filters are really
nice. Paper filters trap more than fiberglass ones. Quiet ones are
nicer than cheap noisy ones. Try to get to someplace that will let
you compare different ones, preferably while polishing. You’ll soon see
the difference, literally.