WarmGlass.com

hi guys hope you are all well..after my diamond laser 5000 blew up YET ANOTHER motor i'm thinking it's time to look at something else to work thick glass (12 to 15 mm ) so am looking at a tile saw and came across INLAND LAPIDARY SwapTop All-In-Wonder 8" TRIM SAW, FLAT LAP, CABBING MACHINE so the question is has any one used one, or know if they are any good . i realize it's not a very heavy duty machine ,but have been using Inland grinders for many years with out a problem,,,your thoughts on them ,please ,and thanks

my sweet husband thought he was doing me a favor when my 20+ year old grinder failed and bought this for me with all the attachments. It is a fine grinder.....as a small lap or saw it is terrible.

Paul Schulz wrote:hi guys hope you are all well..after my diamond laser 5000 blew up YET ANOTHER motor i'm thinking it's time to look at something else to work thick glass (12 to 15 mm ) so am looking at a tile saw and came across INLAND LAPIDARY SwapTop All-In-Wonder 8" TRIM SAW, FLAT LAP, CABBING MACHINE so the question is has any one used one, or know if they are any good . i realize it's not a very heavy duty machine ,but have been using Inland grinders for many years with out a problem,,,your thoughts on them ,please ,and thanks

Just in case you come across it, also be cautious of the Gemini Apollo ring saw with various Cartridges - promises a lot and delivers a little. The grinder/polishing cartridge ruins belts and the suggested 'fix' is to use a belt exclusively for this cartridge; it requires that you disassemble the machine each time this cartridge is used. The design of the cartridge is really a joke - actually uses a too-small, IV-like drip to supply water to the cheap sanding disks - actually laughed when it was assembled and cried when I thought how much it cost. They are actually marketing an apparatus to get parallel cuts - seems like you should be able to get parallel cuts with the basic saw and blade cartridge but not so.

i guess it was too good to be true,,,,would of been nice as i don't has a lot of room in the studio and having all 3 in one would of been nice...oh well back to looking,,and thanks guys

I bought a Swap Top a couple of years ago. It is junk for cutting, even with a nice blade. I found the blade would start "wobbling" when you cut, the water delivery system is basically a little plastic box where the water is gravity fed, and there's not much of a catch-basin for the water. For now, I am keeping it around in case my grinder ever gives up the ghost, but I've had it for years and it's still turning .

Invest in a regular tile saw and a good diamond blade. I recently purchased an MK-370 EXP and love it, though you don't have to spend that much to get something that would do a better job than the Swap Top.

Dana W.

I ordered the flat lap and base unit. does the lap wheel get the job done for polishing purposes. I bought it mainly as a way to grind and polish pyramid paperweights for the purpose of hobby work, not really mass production. it should be shipping out tommarow, hopefully, as it was on backorder.

my hope is that it will help me polish, and hopefully sell some peices so that I can fund my glass work, and eventually buy good items.

I have used lapidary wheels before, so I know it is better to take it slow, and not be forceful anyways, but I am hoping that it will work well, even if I have to be more patient. I remeber polishing a pyramid at a patty grey workshop, and it took over an hour, moving from one machine to another (since she had multiple ones with various grits, and one just for polishing), and it was basically moving the peice lightly over the wheels until smooth, and I found the whole thing rather relaxing.

if this particular machine takes longer, I wont mind; i found it to be very zen, anyways.

CMWarren wrote:I ordered the flat lap and base unit. does the lap wheel get the job done for polishing purposes.

I haven't used the lap wheel (I have a Glastar B8). With the arbor in the middle, you've got very little room for working. You might be able to polish the pyramids, but not anything much larger.

The quality of the polish will depend upon the pads.

2 cents,
Dana W.

just waiting for inland to get production going again. apperently early this year, they hit a snag, and they claimed they would be rolling them out again in april, but still, it seems the supplier I ordered mine from hasn't gotten any. trying to decide if I want to spend the extra 150 to buy the same machine from someone who doesnt buy in bulk, and has some waiting.

CMWarren wrote:just waiting for inland to get production going again. apperently early this year, they hit a snag, and they claimed they would be rolling them out again in april, but still, it seems the supplier I ordered mine from hasn't gotten any. trying to decide if I want to spend the extra 150 to buy the same machine from someone who doesnt buy in bulk, and has some waiting.

I paid $100 (US) for my SwapTop brand new (it was a "storage shed" sale -- guy buys the contents of a storage shed and sells it on classifieds). That was with the grinder, lap & saw tops, and the pads & blade. IMO, that was *almost* too much. Personally, I would not spend any more than I had to, even if I had to wait.

2 cents,

Dana W.

my experience is that multi purpose machines always leave a lot to be expected and quality of all the functions is compromised, be it glass, wood, metal or anything. I love my 1940's Somaca 24" laps and my MK 10" diamond saw. Lots of the really old stuff is so much better than any of the new. It takes a while to find it though.

my swaptop lapidary got cancelled, so I am taking it as a sign from the universe to wait till I can afford a nicer one. I would love a magnetic 12 inch lap, but those are expensive. I used a 24 inch one, and it was great.