Question: High Polishing Gravers

tayloredcreations · Jul 31, 2017

What lap do you prefer to use when putting a high polish on your gravers? I've seen both ceramic and cast iron and I am looking to pick up one of these for myself, but cant figure out which route to go.

Thanks!

mitch · Jul 31, 2017

use the "Site Search" up between "Forums" & "What's New". this topic has been beaten to death.

tayloredcreations · Jul 31, 2017

mitch said:
use the "Site Search" up between "Forums" & "What's New". this topic has been beaten to death.

Will do, thanks Mitch.

Andrew Biggs · Jul 31, 2017

I've been getting better than excellent results with the ceramic lap charged with the GRS diamond powder here

It gives a mirror bright polish, it's easy to use and a little bit goes a long way.

Basically you put a little bit on the lap, smear it round with a wet finger and let dry. I've been using it for weeks without recharging. It sharpens heels beautifully.

Cheers
Andrew

Archie Woodworth · Jul 31, 2017

Cast iron lap with diamond spray...from Lindsey works great and way cheaper than GRS. Have been using one for years and it will polish the edge to a mirror finish.
The process I use is to first rough grind the face and sides on the diamond hone, next polish the top face with the iron lap and then just polish the heal of the graver to whatever width you desire.
http://www.airgraver.com/sharpening.htm

tdelewis · Jul 31, 2017

Ceramic with diamond spray. I think it is the best to start with if you haven't don't it before.

oiseau metal arts · Jul 31, 2017

I use ceramic with diamond spray, but have not compared it to cast iron with spray or powder yet.
I get pleasing results this way so have no reason to buy the cast iron lap yet.
it was not a known option when I bought what I use.

it seems you cant go wrong with either.

Andrew Biggs · Aug 1, 2017

Yes, I used the ceramic with diamond spray with good results as well...........Try the ceramic with the powder and you will get even better results.

When cutting into gold rings you will notice a big difference in the sparkle factor

Cheers
Andrew

Marrinan · Aug 1, 2017

One additional piece to the puzzle is when cutting very hard metal try using a highly polished carbide or the like. Each micro-scratch on the graver surface is a line of fracture. High polish 90 degrees to the last grind direction will reduce fractures. IMHO Fred

Archie Woodworth · Aug 1, 2017

~$130.00 for iron disk and diamond powder vs. ~$330.0 for ceramic disk and diamond powder....sure seems like a "no brainer" to me as the disk is only carrier for diamond powder. If you are using 1/2 micron diamond on both iron and ceramic, then it seems to me that the same finish / polish can be achieved on both ... cause after all, it is the diamond powder (not the iron or ceramic) that is doing the actual polishing. I know everyone has their preferences...so all good, no matter which you choose.

Brian Marshall · Aug 1, 2017

Taylor,

You can come and try out both the cast iron and ceramic here. I believe I even have one of each available for sale...

Brian

Archie Woodworth · Aug 1, 2017

Good option ... see first hand.

Brian Marshall said:
Taylor,

You can come and try out both the cast iron and ceramic here. I believe I even have one of each available for sale...

Brian

Roger Bleile · Aug 1, 2017

Marrinan said:
One additional piece to the puzzle is when cutting very hard metal try using a highly polished carbide or the like. Each micro-scratch on the graver surface is a line of fracture. High polish 90 degrees to the last grind direction will reduce fractures. IMHO Fred

I always bought into that reasoning. Eliminate stress risers by polishing the face to reduce them. Then one day someone on this forum asserted that they did some testing and found that the polished face chipped sooner than one left with a course grind. I found that for gun engraving, I don't need to spend all of the time with the high polishing like people do for jewelry and precious metal.

When I was in Italy and Germany I visited the schools and individual gun engravers. I saw nobody doing all this high polishing of their gravers for gun work.

Andrew Biggs · Aug 1, 2017

Hi Roger

It's an interesting topic alright.

Naturally for jewellery work where as much sparkle and bling is needed in the cut, then high polishing the graver is desirable.

With cutting on gun metal type surfaces then it's not needed and in fact undesirable.

With watches I've found it to be a mixed bag. On some watches (316L stainless) just a 600 to 1200 grit finish works most of the time. But I did have a set of watches that were 316L stainless where a polished heel and face definitely made the carbide graver tip last longer.

So I'm not sure weather that was me, the metal or the graver, or a combination of them all. Who would know???

So it just goes to show when you think you have it all figured out..........something comes along out of left field and throws a wild card into the mix

I was also getting good results with a brass plate charged with diamond spray and diamond paste but you had to be careful so as not to scratch the brass which was a bit of a pain. I have also read on this forum somewhere that someone used a ceramic with graphite......and all sorts of other wonderful ways of doing it.

Cheers
Andrew

Brian Marshall · Aug 1, 2017

First time I've heard of graphite being used as an effective abrasive/polishing agent for carbides? Musta missed that post...

I have used graphite on an abrasive surface as a sort of "lubricant" - to reduce friction - on bonded grit laps and stones. That does work.

Also seems to slightly reduce the cutting. For example, makes a newer 1,200 grit lap behave more like well worn 1,200 or even 1,500 lap.

Kinda fills the spaces between the grit and the graver more or less "floats" a bit.

Not something that is often useful, but if you want a less aggressive/slower finish, it's another way to get there.

Messy, in practice...

Brian

jerrywh · Aug 2, 2017

For cutting hard metal guns a high polish on a carbide graver doesn't seem to make a lot of difference as far as how long the tip will hold up. I do use a pretty high polish and a ceramic with diamond spray. What does make a big difference is I put a tiny flat on the bottom of the heal. that will extend the life of the graver about 300%. I have a cast iron lap but never have used it. Can't see any need so far. I put on a high polish when I need a bright cut. High polish or not when I cut some of the modern gun barrels I sometimes had to sharpen about every fourth or fifth cut until I put the flat on the heal. Tough stuff.

Question: High Polishing Gravers

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