I love your rants and honesty when it comes to this stuff. Keeping it real and making sure our dollars are well spent!
1 month ago
| 7
Enshitification is everywhere. Sad, but really shows the value of learning how things work and why they don't. Once you know the basics, cars, appliances, machines, even software (I'm a Cloud architect by trade) opens up and puts you in a position to create what you want, yourself.
1 month ago
| 3
Now would be a great time for one of those sellers to put their machines to the test and send you one. I haven't seen any of those makers doing anything innovative. They're just infringing on copyright to sell a worse version of what we already have. Mike I think is an exception there but he's not mass-producing.
1 month ago
| 2
Thankyou for the info as I am currently :) looking into this myself. The cost of wheels seems high but the enjoyment is worth it. Thanks again
1 month ago
| 2
Thank you for clarifying making yourself can still work and that you have equipment you have made yourself. I feel 3D print parts can still be part of that build yourself - short term or long. Maybe honest reviews and wear and stress tests of those 3D printed machines that are being sold would be a good video series. Or maybe community supported videos of 3D printed parts as tools or customized parts for common machines would be a good video series. Either way I appreciate your input and thoughts on this subject!
1 month ago
| 2
For folks who haven't invested in lapidary equipment and just want to see if they like it, they gotta start somewhere. Lapidary is a pay to play hobby. (That being said, I don't think there's anything wrong with learning on the cheap laps.) And for beginners, not knowing if you'll turn around and get disinterested is a factor. Then you're left with equipment you don't want. So if you can spend a little extra for quality, I would recommend it because it would be hard to resell 3d printed equipment if you decided that lapidary wasn't for you. And if you end up loving it, then you have quality equipment to continue learning on. 😁
1 month ago
| 1
That's alot of information in a short post! hahaha I do know that there are some extremely high end 3D printers printing with metallic powders using a process MAM (metal additive manufacturing) with primarily aluminum but sometimes steel, nickel, copper or titanium. Not sure of the structural integrity of such a printing process but it's being done. I agree that plastics are NOT the way to go for long term usage. I personally live in a world where if I want something I set a goal and then work to achieve it...I have one machine that I just put together after purchasing used parts from here and there and everything else purchased either new or used. Yes, it's been a bunch of money over the years but now allows me to pursue the hobby as I please and my body allows. Thanks for sharing sir. Have a nice weekend!
1 month ago
| 1
You know I’m a brute and not gentle with things. We have a 3d printer. I’m a smallish human but I often crush things made of PLA on accident with my hands.
1 month ago
| 1
Curious if this includes the Wollemi as it looks pretty decent and the disclaimers are pretty honest about what it is and isn't while also being one of the cheaper options outside of the USA.
1 month ago
| 1
Maybe you should do a test with the one of the makers that use PETG and not PLA. I haven't ever done 3-D printing, but I have had to bend PETG tubes for my water cooling rig and that stuff is very durable and even handles chemicals pretty well.
1 month ago
| 1
I have reached out to 3 of the people making them, none responded. I asked them each if they wanted me to test them and give them a fair shake against the flat lap.
1 month ago
| 2
If you print your own, I think it’s a fair cost effective option for entry, but I definitely wouldn’t purchase one. I actually started out with an everything “Gumball” machine that I 3D printed myself in Petg when I was just getting into lapidary a few years ago and wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit to the art with a $1000 initial investment. I didn’t belong to a rock club yet, so no access to a shop. It was my saw, my flat lap, slant lap, etc. I now belong to a rock club and have the Hi-Tech Diamond 6” trim saw and 8” all-u-need. It’s a money pit hobby, but i love it! Now i need a real slab saw and cab machine.
1 month ago
| 1
I didn't realize Covington made the Ameritool. I see them once in my area for ~$300. One day...
1 month ago
| 1
Thank you for the information. Now, coffee in hand. Time to digest the information.....
1 month ago
| 1
Sweetgumnyc here on YT has a really sweet project involving this. It's really meant for people with space constraints. I've been following his project for a couple of years now. It's come a long way. Ya'll should check it out! Even a collaboration with you and Sweetgumnyc would be awesome! I'll be on the lookout. Have a great day, everyone 😀
1 month ago
| 1
I love your rants and honesty when it comes to this stuff. Keeping it real and making sure our dollars are well spent!
1 month ago
| 1
Currently Rockhounding
3D-Printed lapidary machines are a waste of money.
Nearly every one of them being sold on Facebook, eBay and Etsy is printed from the cheapest material, which is PLA plastic, which will break down and deform over time. Nearly all of them have large print lines, which looks terrible and is a sign of both being printed on a low-quality machine quickly and being done poorly.
The people who make and sell these things make bold claims as to the quality of these printed machines, but from what I can see, there has been little to no real testing of them or comparisons to more traditional machines.
The most popular 3D-Printed machine seems to be a 6" flat lap. They often range in price between $140-$175 and they come with no laps. Add the cheapest garbage-tier set of diamond laps from Amazon for $45 which comes with electroplated laps in the grits of 100/200/320/500/600/800/1200/2000/3000 and you're at a total price of around $200.
I have bought some of these cheap electroplated discs for testing in the past, and nearly all of them were contaminated with larger diamonds when viewed under the microscope, meaning when running a 1200 grit disc, it has some large 60 grit diamonds on it that just leave a deep scratch mark on whatever you're working on.
So you saved money on the machine by going with a questionable 3D-Printed one but now you need to buy some decent laps.
If we're looking at the laps that Hi-Tech Diamond offers, the price can really add up. Electroplated 80/180/260 is $120 and then some smooth discs in 220/325/600/1200/3000 is another $125. 3000 grit is an okay ish finish, but most people will want a better finish than 3000, which means getting a cerium oxide finishing disc, which is another $16. So now you're $260 in a decent set of laps that are still pretty small at 6" which means you only really have a working space of 2" - 2 1/2".
So these 3D-Printed machines and decent laps will run you $410 + shipping and taxes.
Let's price out the two other options for a real 6" flat lap machine. You have the Hi-Tech 6" All-U-Need and the Ameritool Universal Grinder from covington.
The Hi-Tech is $550 but it comes with a 180# electroplated diamond lap, 325, 600, 1200 smoothing disc, polishing pad, 2-gram 14,000# diamond paste syringe, and four acrylic backing plates. This will get you going, but you really need to get more discs if you don't want to spend forever working on one stone.
The Ameritool is $625 and it comes with a 180g electroplated diamond disc, 325g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 600g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 1200g Pro Sanding Disc w/ Backing Plate, 1-Polish Pad w/ Backing Plate & 1-5g syringe of 14k Diamond Compound. So it's basically the same as the Hi-Tech.
When adding all the laps you will want to these machines, you get the Hi-Tech coming in at $696 and the Ameritool at $771.
I know this is a lot of money for these, but the reality is that lapidary as a hobby or job is expensive, and trying to save money by getting a 3D-Printed machine seems to me to be throwing money in the garbage can because they are not durable, they will break, they have zero resale value, and you will be buying a better machine in the future, which means you will be paying more in the long run.
Lastly, there is the option of buying used or making your own flat lap, which is a great way to save money. Nearly every machine I own I got used or made it myself.
1 month ago | [YT] | 78