[Jewelry making - Article 01247] - Re: [Orchid] Diamond Impregnated Tools

[John Donivan]

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    Hi, John. There's lots of options for diamond tools and laps. Your
    main question though is easy. There's two kinds of diamond
    impregnated tools: sintered and plated. Sintering is the same
    process that is used to make carbide tools and inserts. A tool and
    die presses a shape out of a mix of metals or whatever, then that
    shape gets baked in an oven, which makes it hard. In the case of
    diamond it's a mix of a metal or solder that I don't know what is,
    and diamond grit. This means that the entire working part of the tool
    is filled with diamond, and exposes fresh grit as it wears, just like
    a grinding wheel. Plated tools have diamond grit sprinkled on the
    surface, and then a heavy plating of usually nickel is applied,
    which coats it all and holds the diamond. Obviously sintered tools
    are far superior, and obviously they are also far more expensive.
    There's other ways, too, all of which involve charging the wheel,
    like a polishing wheel - using diamond powder and oil, which is what
    diamond cutters traditionally use, diamond paste, which I like, and
    for polish there's even diamond sprays. It's not really that
    complicated - whatever wheels you use will either already be charged,
    or will require charging, in which case use the compound that suits
    the wheel. No doubt you'll also get replies from other lapidaries,
    too.........

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
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