Vince Pitelka on tue 21 dec 10
Far and away, the best mounted grinding points/burrs for use on fired =3D
clay and glaze in these grinding tools are the diamond-impregnated =3D
points that have become so widely available. You can find abundant ones =
=3D
available on eBay and other online sources very inexpensively, and they =3D
have worked extremely well for me. Periodically moistening the surface =3D
to be ground speeds up the process and reduces the dust. Here's a =3D
repeat of a post I sent just a week ago describing a good source for =3D
diamond media. Their mounted points have 1/4" shanks, appropriate for a =
=3D
die-grinder, whereas most of the ones I have found on eBay and at the =3D
jewelry sites have 1/8" shanks to fit a Dremel.
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For those who use diamond media for cutting, grinding, or drilling =3D
refractories and fired ware, the best prices I have seen are at =3D
www.mcgillswarehouse.com. In the horizontal row of links at the top =3D
click on "tools and hardware," and then scroll to the bottom and click =3D
on "saw blades" to see diamond blades and wheels of all sizes, click on =3D
"polishing pads, adapters, and grinder cups" to see polishing pads, =3D
grinding disks and diamond cup wheels, or click on "drills & drill bits =3D
& adapter" to see diamond core drills and mounted diamond points and =3D
burrs that can be used in your Dremel or your Foredom flexible shaft =3D
tool. They actually have 5000-grit diamond dry polishing pads for your =
=3D
angle grinder, and it would be nice to know how high a shine you can =3D
achieve.
If you ever need one, it's nice to know you can get a 10" diamond core =3D
drill, or a 24" diamond blade, both for remarkably reasonable prices. I =
=3D
suppose those giant saw blades are for the big portable masonry saws =3D
they use on sidewalks and pavement.
I have found that the diamond points, with a little water applied to the =
=3D
surface while drilling/grinding, will drill through high-fired glazed =3D
ware. I am not recommending this as a general practice without a proper =
=3D
water-irrigated diamond-drill setup, but if there is fired glaze in the =3D
attachment holes for a teapot handle, these will do the trick. A bit of =
=3D
water applied to the surface with a spray bottle or squeeze bulb while =3D
drilling helps a lot, with the usual caution about using water anywhere =3D
around electricity. That's why I like the Foredom flexible shaft tool. =
=3D
The business end is nowhere near the electric motor. Another option is =3D
to use a pneumatic grinder or drill.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu=3D20
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka
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