I'm not sure that we do newjez. The industrial protection that existed in the past in the name of the national interest is largely gone.
I was looking at buying a cabochoning machine the other day, which is a piece of equipment for forming gemstones that are cut to a rounded shape rather than faceted ie opals etc - it's basically almost identical to a standard bench grinder from Bunnings except that is designed to be able to handle a bit of water. It was literally 5 times the price of a piece of equipment from a hardware store - and it was only a basic model. Unfortunately, a Black and Decker (or whatever) bench grinder is not suitable because it needs to be able to handle a flow of water - as lubricant and to prevent dust - over the wheels. But apart from that, they are two identical pieces of machinery.
When I queried the supplier as to how the lapidary version could cost so much more than something exactly the same that came with a 3 year trade warranty, she told me that they are typically made in western countries - including Australia - in small factories and that they once looked at buying standard bench grinders and fitting them out to be safely able to be used for lapidary work. But the agent told them that a minimum order was 10 000 units - it simply wasn't practical to buy them. But it demonstrates the huge economies of scale of the Asian factories. That's the sort of thing we would be trying to compete against.
Have you looked overseas? Sounds similar to a wet stone cutter. These are used heaps to cut paving slabs. Pity you can't adapt one.
Lef-tee
20 Jun 2014, 11:43 AM
How soon is the question though newjez - soon enough to prevent serious consequences? The attitude demonstrated below is what I'm talking about....
Our policy makers are members of a social elite who are largely immune to the effects of their own bad decisions. The ideological drive for budget surpluses is so strong in places like Europe that they have shown they are prepared to destroy the jobs and lives of millions and crush economic growth in pursuit of budget surpluses, ironically pushing themselves further away from that goal as they try harder to achieve it via a scorched earth policy.
There will be some pain with or without the govt helping. I don't understand this fixation of a surplus. Yes, that's how we run our household budget, but I'm not a country.
Have you looked overseas? Sounds similar to a wet stone cutter. These are used heaps to cut paving slabs. Pity you can't adapt one.
Not yet. A lot of them are actually made in the US. I can use the ones at the club of course - going in there tonight - but I need one at home. To become really proficient at something requires daily practice. The cheapest option is to buy the "expanding drum" type. Instead of needing half a dozen expensive silicon carbide/diamond wheels you can get relatively inexpensive belts that slip on and off, the centrifugal force causes the wheel to expand and lock the belt on tightly. Loosens off when it's not moving.
Here's one here - it's essentially just a bench grinder with a shroud sitting in a tray. Couple of tiny taps are over the wheel for controlled water flow.
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