Barranca Diamond SUPER CABMAKER-GP8 - Manual (Page 16)

16
Fig 14 - Carbide stick applied to dia-
mond wheel
Fig 15 - Resin belt installed and cen-
tered on expandable drum
Fig 16 - Polytex pad being applied to
the convex polishing disc
EXPANDABLE DRUM AND DIAMOND RESIN BELTS
The GP-8 Super Cabmaker comes with four diamond resin belts (8“ OD x 3" wide) in abrasive grit
sizes: 400, 600, 1,200, and 3,000. These are to be placed over the edge and outer rim of the 8" x 3"
rubber expandable drum (Fig 15).
Be sure to center the diamond resin belt so that the width of the belt fits completely over the width
of the rubber drum. Once the GP-8 Super Cabmaker is turned on, the rotation of the shaft and rub-
ber drum will cause the drum to expand outward, which will expand the rubber drum and tension the
belt on the drum. It is to be expected that the diamond resin belts will slide somewhat sideways while
sanding or polishing material. To safely and correctly use the belt, shut the unit off and reposition or
realign the belt over the drum and restart the unit.
Under no circumstances should the belts be used dry, as the build-up of heat from the grinding friction
with the gemstone material will cause the belts to wear out prematurely and possibly tear. Therefore,
keep a constant stream of water from the needle water control valve on the top of the hood (far left
valve) on at all times. Do not circulate dirty water from the reservoir tank or from a collection container
back into the water valves or else contaminant abrasive particles may scratch the gemstone. Always
pump from a clear and clean water reservoir to the diamond wheels and belts. For best results, al-
ways dry the gemstone material and check for scratches before proceeding to the next wheel or belt
diamond grit size. Do not skip belts in the four belt sequence (400, 600, 1,200, and 3,000 grit).
POLISHING WITH DIAMOND PASTE
The GP-8 Super Cabmaker comes with three syringes (5 grams each) of diamond paste in abrasive
grit sizes: 8,000, 14,000 and 50,000 mesh. These diamond pastes are to be used with the three 8"
OD Polytex polishing pads with adhesive backing on the foam covered convex 8" end polishing disc.
Once the gemstone material has been sanded and polished with the 3,000 grit diamond resin belt,
remove the paper backing on the Polytex pad to expose the adhesive surface, placing it firmly without
creases on the foam rubber convex surface of the 8" end polishing disc on the left side of the GP-8
Super Cabmaker (Fig 16).
Lightly smear with your fingertip a small amount of diamond paste on the center of the mounted Poly-
tex pad with the unit operating and the polishing disc rotating. The diamond paste will evenly spread
over the surface of the Polytex pad once polishing of the gemstone starts. Move the gemstone in a
rocking and rotating motion from the center of the disc toward the outside edge to achieve a uniform
polished surface.
SUPER CABMAKER GP8 OPERATION AND ADJUSTMENT