All-U-Need (rock/mineral model)

I have been using my rock club's HiTech 8" flat lap and enjoyed it so much that I decided to get one of my own. The " All-U-Need" message may be a bit deceptive. The equipment is much more usefull if you add a couple more grinding wheels and a couple more smoothing wheels due to the variety of rocks I polish. The equipment was easy to set up and get started with polishing rocks in about 5 minutes. The wheels are easy to change during the polishing process and I love the variable speed motor. Other comments about the water cooling system are spot on. The white cups that came with the unit I got did not fit into the black holders and do not allow for extended use time due to their size. A full fill cup causes the splash gaurd to tip backwords (a bit of tape can prevent that). Thus I ordered the suggested submersable pump system that just arrived today. Again, it was easy to assemble and use. Overall I would give my flatlap a 5 for the short time I have had it. BTW: all my orders have been processed quickly....great company to work with.

What can I say after 45 years. It was at one time a grinding station for my Carbon-Graphite MTB Suspension Forks grinding both carbon fiber tubes & nylon filled graphite bushings. Both required thousandth of an inch precision. Or preforming cross sectional material analysis under microscopes. These machines rock. Originally I purchased this machine for cutting the highest grade of Mintabie opal purchased from Tibor Shelley himself with the 2 armed guards present. I will always be convinced that when you buy the best material, the job of cutting the gems will always swing in the balance of 2 things. 1) the cutter's hand which is only as good as (2) the cutter's wheel. Tibor sold me a kingstone that day. After it was cut, the gem at 37 ct. made it's way to the Imperial Museum of Mining & Geology in Beijing. I wish I had an 8" machine, but my 6" is small enough to sit on top of my coffee table, where I can watch TV & perform incredible work with plenty of rotary power. I have employed a couple of mods which from the earliest machine produced back in 1983, since then the "All You Need" has only evolved over the years still a solid contender. Watching TV, don't forget. I use an old milk jug to keep my cutting water away on the floor by my feet & a mini desk lamp. Contamination is hard to effect & kept under control mainly because the wheels are never in use at the same time at the same place as with a normal shaft mounted affair. I can also rest my hand on the cover while shaping the cab. It's certainly is a different way to cut any size gemstone, however the benefits outweigh the norms. I've been cutting since I was 12y/o, considered a professional opal cutter these days & I can't say enough good things about my 6" All You Need. Hope you have the same results. I'm very glad to see the company is still doing business under the same exact name & still made as always in the good 'ole USA.

I will split this review into two parts, the first one concentrating on the machine itself, the second one being on the topic of what's included in the kit.

The all you need flat lap (talking just about the machine itself!) is a great product but has one big flaw. It is light, small and easy to use. For people that only have a limited space available this is a good option. The one thing that I don't like is the 1/4 hp motor. This motor is not really built for heavy use. It has 6 different speeds, but the lowest 2 are basically not usable because the motor is not strong enough to keep your disc moving on a stable speed while applying pressure with a workpiece. Fortunately you will not need those 2 settings very often(only when polishing with cerium oxide) At higher speeds you can still slow down the motor significantly when you're applying a bit more pressure on the lap. So overall the motor just doesn't feel very strong and sturdy.
Also those two small cups that are used as water reservoir and water catcher are very outdated. There should be a water pump included at this price point.

Part two: this product is not really usable out of the box. It includes a 180 grid diamond disc, a 325 grid polishing pad and more polishing pads + backing plates up to the 1200 grid pad. For most slightly harder materials like jasper and agate you will have to buy the dark blue 220 (or 260? I'm not sure right now) grid polishing pad+ the backing plate for it. Without this additional pad you can't get all the scratches out that the 180 grid disc leaves behind.
I also recommend buying cerium oxide powder (available on this website as well) and using that instead of the diamond paste that is also included in this set, it gives a much nicer final polish! Some people buy an additional 80 grid metal disc as well because it grinds much faster than the 180 grid disc. I would recommend that as well but it is not as important as the other extra pad.
Overall, this kit is decent but there are a few things missing.
Also please note my review on the polishing pads on this website as well, I think it contains some useful information :) thanks for reading!

We purchased this polisher at the same time we purchased the 10" slab saw, and are extremely impressed with their superb performance, design, and build quality! Hi-Tech product is absolutely first rate!

There’s really only one grinding wheel in this set and that’s 180 grit. The other wheels are smoothing wheels and they have no teeth at all they are totally worthless. There’s no difference between them.. i’m disappointed. I have to get separate additional grinding wheels to make any progress toward polishing. i’m back to using my Glastar