GET READY TO POLISH

Visit our Gallery of polishing done with the Ultimate Grinder

Operation

DO NOT try to sand down poorly cut stones. This will cause excessive wear on you and your sanding belts and lead to frustration and heat damage to your stone. Poorly cut stones should be re-cut with a sharp and true saw or ground flat with an aggressive diamond grinding wheel. The best method to prepare rocks for sanding is to use a flat lap to remove saw marks.

DO NOT DESPAIR: One of the great things about the ultimate is that it will sand down all but the most poorly cut stones. Some patience and operator finesse is required but this is where the ultimate shines.

DO NOT try to sand oil contaminated specimens. All oil contamination of the cut rocks should be thoroughly removed by an environmentally friendly method before sanding. We find that a gentle baking at 250 degrees F for several days removes  most oils. Some petrified wood that is very porous may take significantly longer. Other methods for drying oil out of a rock include boiling in water or leaving exposed to sunlight for an extended period of time.

NOT ALL ROCKS WILL SAND THE SAME.  Be Aware of the type of mineral(s) that you are sanding.  Softer minerals will not polish as easily as harder.  Some harder minerals such as tourmaline will not sand well with silicon carbide abrasive.

YOU WON'T BE LEFT ALONE:  We provide full operating instructions and assistance to our customers until they are producing satisfactory results with their Ultimate Grinder.  The owners manual is continually being updated with new information which is e-mailed to our clients.  We invite all customers to stop by our shop for hands on training.

Read all safety notes before operating the high speed sander.