Ultrasonic cleaners

Right you are, Steve...

David Barnett

>Steve, I had to go back and make sure I wasn't ambiguous about suggesting high power and high cavitation dental ultrasonic cleaners for optical glass and gems, and with genuine relief, see that I did not. You're correct that using most dental units for optical glass and many gems would be unwise without especial knowledge. In fact, some gems should never be ultrasonically cleaned at all. A prime example is natural emerald, which is often filled with oil of cedar or Opticon resin to mask flaws (strategically called 'le jardin' by the industry). This can be catastrophic, so I'd advise any woodworkers to avoid buzzing their Colombian emeralds, and in fact, would further advise not wearing them while woodworking. I know I don't. Kidding, of course, as this is getting uncomfortably far afield of hand tool woodworking, but warnings are probably a good thing when the context arises.

Ultrasonic transducers and cleaning systems are designed for specific purposes and materials and should only be used appropriately. I mean, you can cut effortlessly through 2" steel plate with an ultrasonic water drill. Bill Tindall will likely want something in between a jewelry buzzer and a steel slicing beast, I'd think.

But not to worry, folks, the little 35-watt unit from Harbor Freight is okay for most gems (check for a list of do's and don'ts online), and for the aforementioned purposes listed in my reply to Kurt Loup. And my eyesight's gradual deterioration is more likely from diabetes or flogging the bishop than from ultrasonically cleaning my reading spectacles.

Thanks Dave

Steve Kubien

>I hadn't followed that thread really closely. I sorta skimmed through a lot of what was there and just thought I would throw a little caution out there about multi-tasking an ultrasonic bath/cleaner. I guess I just wanted people to think about what they are doing before they do it.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Steve Kubien

Ajax, Ontarioremove the _9 to email

Dumb question *LINK*

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>This is a dumb question - one of my minor specialties, of course - but the subject of ultrasonic cleaners originally came up in relation to diamond dust caught in scratches in the tools (Bill Tindall's post triggering David Barnett's suggestion below, but I'm about to quote it). Bill Tindall said, "[The diamond grit fragments] were easily dislodged with a probe and most were dislodged by washing/brushing."

For this kind of easy cleaning, would one of those Sonicare toothbrushes be enough?

Extra bonus question: How do you hook up a great wheel to an ultrasonic cleaner?


Bill's post

Re: Dumb question

Bob Hackett

>If you`ll look in the archives you`ll find that the use of other than human apprentices was authorized at the last board meeting.

That would explain subsequent posts by Ernie wanting info on canine treadmill plans/parts.I,on the other hand,took the more traditional approach and simply modified my greatwheel to accomodate the use of squirrels,an easily renewable resource.

Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mainely,Bob-BTW-all my squirrels are of the LA variety.I find it cuts both drag and wind resistance,giving me much smoother operation and more thorough cleaning in less total time.A side by side comparison using hamsters is in the works(my thoughts are that the hamsters will excell for detail work).

Okay, Bob... 'Neanderthal' ultrasonics... *LINK*

David Barnett

>...if one must. But would you really rather have grandad in the bathtub breaking wind through an Acme dog whistle?


Acme Silent Dog Whistle

More details please Bob

Dave Anderson Chester, NH

>You left out any mention on whether you were using red or gray squirrels. That could make a serious differnce in the squirrel power rating. Is it a 2 or a 4 squirrel power motor? I'm assuming even numbers so that the rotary treadmill stays balanced.

Re: Okay, Bob... 'Neanderthal' ultrasonics...

Bob Hackett

>Actually,the neighbor tried that approach once.All my squirrels ran off and he developed serious sinus problems before he could tune it properly.

MB

Re: More details please Bob

Bob Hackett

>I tried the red squirrels,They kept meeting in secret and got in an arms race with the hamsters.Had too hide all the edged tools as the revolution loomed.

The good news was that thru negotiations I got the neighbor to abandon the whistle experiments, in return I took down the Lenin pictures.

The grey squirrels are sort of wishy-washy about most things and I find myself longing for the good old days when things were either black or white.

If I had the cash I`d go for those new squirrels,the bronze colored ones.I guy could go broke filling a box with those though.

I`ve found that since I switched to the LA squirrels I don`t have to worry about numbers so much.They seem to work well under all conditions on multiple tasks.If things are really gnarly,afew swipes to establish a microbevel or backbevel as need be and I`m back to work in a jiffy and everything`s smooth again.

Who needs high angle frogs when you`ve got LA squirrels!

Mainely,Bob

The silver lining is...

Bob Hackett

>I invested heavily in bean futures and made a small fortune before he called it off.

The black cloud is I lost it all being duped by hammer counterfitters on E-bay.The heck of it is,not only are the darn things worthless,they`re useless too.:^(

MB

Re: More details please Bob

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Why am I starting to think about the old joke about the city boy who keeps buying baby chicks from his local feed store?

Re: Dumb question

Ernie Miller Topeka

>The use of nonhuman apprentices was authorized long befor the last Board meeting. I was just looking fro info on down sizing a tool used for seperating cream to powering a jig saw. I never even talked about wearing my glasses under watter in the tub whyl passing wind through a dog whistle. Beside I don't think Affy would come any where near me if I were doing that.