Hey Jason, sorry again about your dad. That's tough. I don't think that the 500 stage turned gray because of silicon carbide. I think that's the aluminum from the pan and the rock wearing down. It's like sawdust when sanding wood. You would expect it to be the color of the wood, not the color of the sandpaper. I really enjoyed this video. It's something I've never done but have been curious about. I usually prefer watching something from someone with experience, but since you explained what you were thinking and learning along the way, it was very educational. I'm sure you'll do more videos as you get better to show more efficient ways to get the job done. It sure did turn out nice in the end. You have to be very happy with it. Great video. I like one long video rather than two videos.

Sorry for your loss. Lost both of my parents and it was hard. I never "got over" it but you do learn to cope. Additionally, you can fill the voids with a thin viscosity epoxy (clear), before you start polishing, and you won't have holdover grit problems.

I'm sorry for your father. Condolences!

So sorry for the loss of your father but i am pretty sure he was proud of how good of a father you became.

I am so sorry about your dad. If he was half the dad you are he was really great. My condolences to your family, too.

So sorry for your loss

The dark color of the slurry probably came from the metal base grinding down. That's why it didn't get dark when you used the felt pad.

Hello Jason, I got the rocks today... you are such a generous man thank you!

OUTSTANDING! Tanks Fer Sharin Mate!

Very sorry for your loss.......

I am so sorry for the loss of your dad, hugs to you and your family.

Amazing colors. That would look really good with my bedroom decor , lol. No, really it would. Sharing this with us people know that feeling.

Jason I’m so sorry about your dad, one thing is for sure that with you he did a great job just like you are with your boys. Blessings🤎🙏✝️

Very good my friend

Sorry to hear about the loss of your Dad ,The lap is a great addition to the shop.The piece turned out great

So sorry on the loss of your Dad. That polished beautiful.

Condolences about your Dad. Nice project to throw yourself into. Beauty end piece.

I know it’s been a few months since you posted this video. I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. Thank you for sharing your experience with this new tool. I am brand new to this and I’ve ordered my first tumbler and I’m anxiously awaiting its arrival. I’m loving learning all about rocks and tumbling and polishing. Really enjoy your videos!

Let’s celebrate! I’m subscriber 4.53. This tasty vid came up when I searched for a vibrating flat lab. Looks to me like you’ve done a lot of the homework for me. Thank you very much two times.

I spotted a dog and a dove in that.❤ Stage 2 looked like a tree of life.❤ So beautiful.

Hi amazing I love the rocks

Wow the polished finished product looks great so mirror shine. See u nxt

It was great I did enjoy

Next time, try sealing the stone with thin epoxy in the vugs, or with a spray over the surface to "fix" any dirt or grit from stage to stage.

My condolences to you and your family. It's amazing to me how strong you are to continue your video after your lose. Your cycad turned out absolutely beautiful. Thank you for making all one video.

Belated condolences on losing your Father. That turned out really amazing! never watched one of those gizmos at work, looks like they work well. Thank you for showing us.

Turned out very nice! Thanks for showing us how a vibrating flat lap works.

It is very nice....30 years ago,we made our own...we had it running for days before a satisfactory finish on rocks

enjoyed going through this process with you. Really impressed by your level of patience too. So sorry for your loss.

I'm sorry about your father. I lost my mother in September and nothing has been OK since. When I saw this pop up, I got so happy, because this is my dream polisher but then I saw the price and...well...it's just gonna be awhile before I can indulge. Keep up the good work, and I'll be praying for your family.

Hey Jason, really sorry about your Dad. It was really hard on me when I lost my Dad in 2011 abruptly due to brain cancer. My thoughts and prayers.... On another note, I've never seen this type of polisher before, vibrations. So cool, and it worked out great. Thanks for sharing your process and learning.

I too have learned that sloppy cuts means extra work. Very cool way to polish. Now to make some sweet bookends!

Wow that is incredible. Sorry for your loss. Thanks for your shares and bring us along on the Experiences. Best Channel ever

Hey Jason sorry about your Dad many condolences. You guys have seemed to have done a magnificent job.

Hello Jason. I'm so sorry for the loss of your dad, my thoughts are with you. I lost both of my parents several months ago; it is a journey. Be kind to yourself, hug those boyz and, yes I loved the video! Be well❤🇺🇸

Great Job!! Good!)

So sorry for your loss💔😪

I'm so sorry for loss

Oh jeez, I'm behind on your videos and only just saw this one. I'm sorry sorry for the loss of your dad. My belated condolences to you and your family.

Nicely finished project. Fantastic petrified wood.

Gorgeous job!

Another thought to dip rocks with voids in wax before lap then when polishing compleat boil to remove wax from voids

im sorry about your loss

Prayers for your family. Condolences.

Good times right there!

hey got to get a flap lap, cool vid

Love this!

Very helpful! Excellent instruction.

Condolences for your Dad, so sorry to hear that.

So beautiful! It kind of looks like a dissected brain!

Nice work.. I'm getting my Covington 16 in machine in the mail in a few days... I'm excited... I have been stocking up on Arizona wood ... Beautiful stuff!!!!

Fantastic video!! I love the piece you chose, go big!!!! It turned out gorgeous and I love the small caves; they just add to the beauty. What a great new toy/tool lol. And I am truly sorry for your family’s loss. 💜

Rob at Michigan Rocks uses a Sewing Needle to dig the grit out of the deep pockets so they wont scratch the surface while on the next stage.. So Sorry about your Father. This must get your mind off the pain. Luck. [i think the rock face is Brain shaped & the color design emphasizes that. LOL.]

Deepest Sympathy to You and Your Father !! This was very informative ! It really turned out beautiful. Thanks much for sharing :)

Sorry about your father, hope he had a good life. Peace brother The grey is the pan, aluminum is softer than the rock. I've worked a lot with aluminum and that is the color of worked aluminum.

Great video, Jason! I'm sorry to hear that your father passed.

This is outstanding information. I have wondered about these vibrator stands. I have been playing with rocks since the 50's and have just heard about these. It seems like it takes to long to do them in 4 hours I could have had that big rock done and polished and setting on display... I use the 4" and 6" flexible diamond grinder wheels from 50 - 3000 grit on my drill press and can do about 10 - 15 rocks from cut to polish in about 6 hours. But I am 70 now so it might be done faster for younger folk.. WELL DONE!

awesome video :)

Thank you so much for the video!!! Super helpful!!

Very nice job Jason!👍

That looks beautiful! Great job!

My condolences to you and your family.

Beautiful job!

Very cool equipment!!! Thank you for shearing...

For your drip system, use an add-a-tee(3/8 female×3/8 male×1/4 male; the most common tee used) to nearby water stop for your sink. Then run some 1/4 tubing where ever you would like. There are push fitting available to run individual stops to each of your stations. Just an idea.

Ugh! Dad is a hard loss. Sorry man. I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your videos! I'm also a rock hound a few hours north in Sydney. I'm waiting for a slab saw and a trim saw to land from Covington-Eng, and I'm going to start exploring the highlands for interesting material to make cabochons. We also have lots of pet wood, but nothing as intact as your getting in the Valley. Keep up the good work.

Wow, very nice work ❤️

Sorry for your loss. Losing your father is hard. On a more positive note, love the video, and hope all goes well !

I’m so sorry for your family’s loss.

I watch this video, and I think the change in color of your grit was from the red rock dust that was coming off the rock itself.

That's a cool rig... I just have the car polisher set up and a tumbler I just added... it's a progression hobby 😅... I plan on getting neck deep 😁

The reason your slurry is turning gray is because your aluminum pan is getting worked down. Not. The hidden grit in the voids of your stone

Hi I watched your Vid this morning and was impressed with it, " but I noticed you where worried about the AO turning Grey, It is possible it was only the Aluminum base that was causing that, as Aluminum has a silver streak and I use an ally rod as a marking pen for doing Cabs and if your interested do a test with just a rock that has been cut and NO grit just water and a drop or two of soap and see what color sludge you get" as this coloring may just be the Aluminum, I have a steel plate Vib lap and it is harder than Aluminum ""Alumininum is 2.5-3 and steel is 4-4,5 and we try to polish stuff at around 7 on the Mohs scale so which will wear away faster. Am sure you will know.

My condolence to you all. I'm sorry to hear that..........

Interesting video. I do not own a vibrating lap like this. Not sure if you have a wet angle grinder for polishing bigger rocks like found at Kingsley North. 2 of my buddies have them and you need no grit at all, super fast way to get mirror finish, you just hook up hose to water source and attach various rubber sanding discs from 60 grit to 15,000. One of my buddies can do 10-15 huge rocks on his outdoor bench in about 30 minutes. He does all rocks on 60 grit, then goes up the grit on all the next rocks and so on. It is super fast, but you need to start with pretty flat rocks cut on a saw. Will save you so much time. About $350 just for the grinder at Kingsley North SKU 3-0439 . You would need to buy all the grit attachment heads as well.

For smaller rocks I hear to use non drying putty or 2-sided tape to add weight to make them spin.

Waterpic will clean grit out well fwiw.

Oh my Gosh I’m so sorry about your father

I'm sorry for your loss. This video was really helpful. The machine seems way more hands on then I thought they would be and use more grit than I expected. Is the wear on the pan just superficial? Like is it just polishing the casting finish off the aluminium or can you feel that it has worn down?

Hey Jason when I really need to find something really entertaining as far as the lapidary craft I come back to the video. This is my definite video of yours. Do you ever plan to work with a piece this big again. I hope so.Great Video Brother.

As stated the grey is possibly the Aluminum wearing off the tray

One caveat to everyone ..... Resist the temptation to totally enclose the unit while it is running. The motor would likely get too hot and wear out prematurely. Leave the top of the box open. I've met quite a few rockhounds who have enclosed their laps, either to dampen the sound or contain splashes, and then wonder why their motor keeps getting hot.

Maybe run it on the vibro with only water and dawn in between each stage, to shake the previous grit out of the holes? Then re-wash and charge.

Oh yes we made A drip system .

My first thought on the grey slurry was the same a Michigan Rocks in that it is the top of the pan wearing down and turning the slurry grey. I also wonder if you would have put a felt pad in with dawn soap in the lap and let the rock vibrate for an hour or so it would get all the grit to come out faster.

So when you started up the big ass slab in the lap and it was turning I thought "now we're talkin'"

A water-pic, like for your teeth, would work on vugs to get grit out. Only worth it if you have a lot of such rocks. That rock is cool and reminds me of a brain cross-section😀

#jayDreamerZ. I leave this as a bread crumb to Y°ü. Yes you. The one reading this This is your chance to prepare. #ChironLast. And #PrimerFields. #DavidLapoint ---- Love the rocks and jewels and most of all the heart. The family.

You could try out a styrofoam cooler around the outside to limit the amount of noise, I built a box around my tumbler with one and I can have it running in my house and hear nothing! Just a thought!

Put a plastic bucket that fits the circumference of the lap on it upside down then the water doesn’t evaporate

I have worked with aluminum a lot. It turned gray because it also grinds away the aluminum witch looks gray. Dan R

🤝👍👍👍 Where can I buy such a vibrating machine? I have never seen such a format before.

How does this vibrating lap compare to a regular lap? Is the vibrating lap good for all sizes of rocks or just large rocks?

I think your dark color was just from the water and rock grinding on aluminum

Maby clean the voids in rock out with water pic

SO SORRY ABOUT THE PASSING OF YOUR FATHER, what brand is your tumbler great video

Try borax and water in the pan in between each stage for an hour or so. Idk if it will help or not, just a suggestion.

How do you polish a 70 lb trunk of petrified wood?

Do you have any issues with your pan wearing down in the center? After one summer of running a decent amount of 2-5 lb pieces, starting out on 60 grit, I’ve pretty much completely worn down the center of the dish to where there are no grooves left.

What kind of Lapidary machine do You have, thanks