Silicon Carbide Polishing Sticks Sth Hemisphere

[mace ngata]

Does anyone have a source for silicon carbide polishing sticks in Australia or new zealand or at least one the southern side of the equator ?

lol please ? , not trying to get out of looking for myself but was going to buy some only to find it will cost me 50$ shipping for a 12.50 item

Anyway fingers crossed

Thanks

Mace

[Billy]

Kiaora Mace.

 

Diamond edge in Auckland have dressing sticks if that's what you're after?

 

http://www.diamondedge.co.nz/product/artists-tools/?keyword=Silicon+Carbide+Square+Dressing+Stick&category=artists-tools

[Tony N]

try carba tec or temberly her in new Zealand but all the best

[Lachlan]

www.jadecarver.com has silicon carbide sticks of all grit $23 shipping with plenty of room in the package for more items.

Your after SC for smoothing jade carvings or dressing diamond wheels?

[mace ngata]

Thanks for your advice every one, very much appreciated , on the money there lachlan, the sticks i was looking for are the ones people are using to smooth off curves / remove tool marks etc.

at the moment i am finding it a struggle to get the curves i want , to be able to give the jade that organic fluid look that i am chasing after.the site you suggested

jadecarver has what i am looking for and more lol guess i know where the tax returns going this year what between tools and buying material to play with i can't see alot of change being left over-):-):-)

Cheers

Mace

[Lachlan]

I got a set of diamond files in 120, 400? and 600 grit from ebay. They are great for shaping and smoothing. I also got some diamond needle files but they are crap. The silicon carbide wears very fast with not much jade coming off, it is perfect for smoothing once the shape is close though.

[michael B]

Mace, I use old silicon carbide lapidary wheels-6 inch 100, 200 grit cut these up in my saw to whatever shape needed, as far as Australian suppliers of finer grits I have not seen any, jade carver in the US, another is Artco rotory tools US, larger blocks and up to 600 grit, I think Jade carver goes to 1200, the artco blocks are more aggressive.

[David G]

From memory the House of Jewellery stores in Oz have then, I would ring to check first though. As Mick said old lapidary carbide wheels work a treat and most older lapidaries have a few still hanging around in the shed.

[Janel]

Can these abrasive sticks be use with metals or wood? There are times when a solid and reliably flat abrasive other than a file might be just what is needed with some really hard woods. I will give it a try with some old bits and pieces of broken wheels we have for pot bottom smoothing when fresh from the kiln.

 

Janel

[Lachlan]

Metals definitely as its the same stuff as in knife sharpening stones. With woods though I think you'd be better with sandpaper on a flat surface? With the SC sticks Ive only ever used them with lubrication (either water or oil) and they create quite a gunk that I think would stain the wood. I use SC sandpaper on bone but wouldnt use one of these sticks on bone.

[Billy]

House of Jewellery doesn't have them. Best bet's Diamond Edge in Auckland as I said.

[Janel]

Thanks Lachlan,

 

It is good to know that the SC sticks are best with water or oil, same as with larger sharpening stones I'd guess.

 

Janel

[mace ngata]

thanks again all, I will prob buy a couple of sticks from diamond edge , keep an eye out for old discs as suggested and buy a couple of the finer grades , for some reason I thought that the differing types of compounds binding the abrasive might make a difference with avoiding the faceting effect that i imagine would occur if not careful with the abrasive sticks that have a slower break down rate .lol prob just me reading to much into it

thanks for the heads up lachlan i had bought some needle file sets that turned out to be all but useless, tended to skate over the stone rather than cut it , gave that option away as a bad joke after applying to much pressure to try to get some sort of cutting action happening and dropping a piece that broke, will shop around now for some more reputable brands now that i know there are ones out there that can be used to good effect.

having seen how efficiently the burrs that some carvers were using in nz cut, i am surer that investing in some " brand " burrs , less shapes but with a larger grit range will probably save a wee bit of frustration too. At least if I purchase from the likes of jadecarver, diamond edge , lopaki and the like I know that I am starting with tools that others with experience have found works for them.

Tho on that front does anyone use diamond on bone ? I always thought cutting burrs would be the go but have seen that dental applications seem to be leaning towards the use of diamond burrs ?

Again my thanks for your suggestions , they are very sincerely appreciated.

cheers

mace

[yloh]

" the differing types of compounds binding the abrasive might make a difference with avoiding the faceting effect that i imagine would occur if not careful with the abrasive sticks that have a slower break down rate "

 

But, on the other hand, if you want to get rid of some tool marks, the broken down abrasive of the stick will cut the bottom of the tool mark as well when you are rubbing/honing the your piece.

[Lachlan]

Your correct the different binders do make a difference. www.gesswein.com/‎ sells a range for that very reason. The same applies to sintered products- the harder the material your working on the softer the matrix you want the diamonds in. You can always shape the sticks with diamond products too.

 

I use diamond burs on bone. I use carbide cutters for sharp lines and burrs for everything else. I treat them like small sanding drums and find the higher grits or more worn burrs to be the most use. They will last for ever on bone. I use them dry no worries.

 

I buy cheap burrs in 1/8 in, 1/4 in I got from lopacki and Ive got some other sizes from other places and honestly I dont see much difference to the cheap chinese 1/8. Im happy with them for general work especially at $20 for a set of 20 pieces in each 120, 240, 400 and 600 grit!! At $20 I can buy many sets.

 

I was thinking of starting a thread looking at peoples favourite burr shapes. I religiously use 3 main types in different sizes. Sometimes though variety is good for some obscure cut etc.

[Janel]

Hi Lachlan,

 

Yes, it would be interesting to have you start a topic about favorite burr shapes. For most of the work (non-metal and non-stone) I do not use my diamond burrs, but will be interested in figuring out how they will fit into certain situations.

 

"They will last for ever on bone. I use them dry no worries." ... except for using a dust catcher so you are not breathing the dust.

 

Janel

[Lachlan]

Yeah I use a dust mask. Ill start the topic a bit later

[mace ngata]

thanks for the info lachlan , its answered alot of questions that have been floating around in my head , I very much appreciate the time everyone has taken to my queries , its easy to get a bit lost when pottering around by yourself , which i guess is one of the great advantages of sharing thru an online community like this well ,off to spend some coin !!

 

cheers all :-):-):-)