I think you are too hard on judging yourself. 90+ percent of the people out there would be very happy with the polishes you are able to obtain. If you're not going into competition does everything need an A+ polished surface? Since you're so hard on yourself, you'll never get there. I've also found parts that HP has made to improve their products and the new machines come with them standard. However, people with older models have to purchase them at inflated prices. As always another informative video.

i recommend you radius the top edge of the platten so it doesn't chip away at the seam of the belt and it can ride up on it cleanly.

You might want to round over the top front sharp edge of the platen. This should help the back of the belt to transition onto the platen. Just a thought!!

You have all the cool tools. You said to call you crazy...CRAZY! I don't like the wear on the seam, but it's part of it. I'll pass on this one, stainless steel or not. I think you like it because of the stainless steel. That was a true surface. Excellent job. Thanks for sharing! 😷⚒ 👍

Glue a piece of nylon sheet to the stainless, cut the top at an angle to give the seam a landing to ride up. Could also use holes in the sheet with pressurized water feeding it so that the belt hydroplanes. Disclaimer; I have no idea what i'm talking about.

A-.... nothing is ever perfect although it is perfectly acceptable. I like the new addition to your shop.

Loved the video. Flat Belt Abrasion Surface for Lapidary. What A Concept!

The lap faceting machines seem to benefit from the relatively large surface area of freshly hydrated diamond to scroll around. I wonder if you'd have different results with a cab sized flat that you can slide back and forth across the belt. For large stuff you might have to pulse it against the surface like drill pecking, giving the face a chance to get splashed. Could get a more precise water delivery, I just built something that another lapidary showed me - a hand-pumped garden pressure sprayer attached to a needle valve, mounted to a magnetic base. Can snap the magnet to your stainless steel and twist the arm around so the needle is pointing right at the gap between the face and belt, so when you pulse the water's immediately getting where you need it, and only where you need it.

Nice work, I guess you strive for perfection. Like you I'm very critical of my own work and find myself trying to go the extra mile. Thanks for showing the belt sander.

You could try cutting some holes in some plexiglass to make a splash shield for the right side so the rest of the machine stays drier. I don't know how much room you have between the rollers and the rest of the machine though.

That belt sander can do all kinds of other things, too. Just change belts. I know a knife maker that would love your belt sander.

I like your experimental approach to grinding/polishing. Nice work!

Having water nearby for polishing multiple items is very important. But yeah, that attachment should come with the equipment. Edit: you wouldn't like the eggs I'm working on. I had to seriously grind down on them to remove the imperfections from cutting by hand and the surfaces are not flat.

Your website information is so well done!

Good info love your polish.

Drill small holes in the plate for cooling.

I'm a 40 years old in wood working sharping tools for precision.and have learned attention to detail. I have a Robert Sorby Sharpening System for some of my lathe tools as well as my chisels. It is a belt system typical to your set up with the "platen", I notice the belt does not make contact with the platen, it runs about 1/32 off the platen when its running and only makes contact when a tool or in your case a stone is applied. If you have'ant, try this to see if it make's a difference. I like your thinking process.... Maybe this will help with the belt drag/clicking issue......

That sounded like the perfect alternative to the flat lap but it's going to have its drawbacks just like the flat lap did. But nothing you can't find a fix for. So for larger stones, and ones you can lift and hold in place without hurting yourself, it's an ok alternative to the flat lap. That is good to hear. Now people have another potential way to polish up their rocks! Thanks Jared! Ever the wealth of information on products out for the lapidary! You're the best❣️

That polish is really good!! 👌 I think it is a solid A! Would it help if you rounded out the edge on the plate where the belt is hitting? Otherwise great video!!

That is one well built machine. I would be tempted to grind the leading edge so the belt seam doesn't strike the platen so aggressively to reduced wear-and-tear/noise. Watching this makes me wonder how large slabs of marble and granite several feet in each dimension are polished so flat and even. What do those machines look like and are there videos of that process?

Cool accessory! I spent a lot of time with a 4x36" bench top sander on wood projects. I never had a seam come apart but the leading edge of the "platen" was rolled. Eventually I accepted the thumping as part of the design. Writing this I keep thinking about the wider woodworking sander options and wonder if there's any belts suitable for lapidary.... Anyway, nice results👍👍

3:50 -ish. Hey, .... Amazon... Reptile Fogger Spray Nozzle etc...+ Small water pump = magic!

I think you did great! And I think you should get an A+

Good video.

Hi buddy, I really prefer the machine I made for polishing. It's great but that position is tiring

Are you going to try the HP intarsia machine? I feel like all their machines are expensive and arguably overbuilt, with all possible attachments sold separately. For the intarsia machines, each angle bevel is a separate $50 jig. Should be able to set a machine like that to any angle at all, or encourage people to make their own jigs with the machine.

I feel like HP should sell that attachment with the machine.

Bevel the edges

You've given yourself a few B+ grades now. Do you have anything in your collection that you'd consider an A or A+? Would you compare it to your B's for all of us watching?

Ya know….In my Amazon cart is a 35$ stainless circular 1 pound weight designed to go on the back of a 360 extension pole. It’s a counter weight that goes at the end of the handle screwed in place by a 1/4”-20 screw extending from the weight. Designed to ease wrist torque and balance the pole. If I had a really pretty flat faced rock with a hole drilled down the middle and a 1/4 20 mount. That might work! It doesn’t have to be a streamlined fit or balanced just heavy at 1-1.5 pounds. The balance is found through where the handheld finds it because of different extension lengths. If you were ever looking to do a project….

I’ve been meaning to ask you, since very often flat laps can create a sharp edge where the husk meets the flat face of the agate, do you ever have an issue with that edge getting caught on your carpet wheel? I primarily use a vibrating lap and sometimes a sharp edge will just shred a hole through my polishing pad.

Why not round off the top edge of the metal plate?