6 inch BATT Polishing Lap from Gearloose [Size: 6 Inch]
The BATT™ is the standard for tin alloy laps. With more than 8,000 sold, it has established itself in Commerce and Competition time and again. Select from 6 inch or 8 inch from the options above.
A BATT™ lap charged with 3,000 diamond (Or 8,000) provides a perfect pre-polish after cutting with 600, with a surface good enough to allow subsequent polishing in record time, on stones from Fluorite to Sapphire.
A BATT™ lap charged with 50K or finer, or an oxide/ Darkside for the quartzes, promptly finishes the stone.
A great, solid, cast tin alloy lap designed for prepolishing and polishing. This hard tin alloy allows the casting to be rigid enough to serve as a solid lap, without bonding to a baseplate or being excessively heavy. It provides sharper meets and higher speeds than are possible with laminated laps, and does so without the use of toxic metals such as lead and cadmium. The new BATT ™ alloy is now used by everyone from beginners to award-winning gemcutters. Its casting and machining properties are superior to 95/5 solder and other tin alloys, and more importantly, performs better with oxide polishes. Being solid castings, finished on both sides, BATT™ laps are more versatile than the one-sided laminated laps.
Some handy hints:
- How to charge your new BATT LAP (with video clip)
- Users tips and owners instructions
(600)
Information below is sourced from the manufacturer:
BATT™ Alloy was developed for the purpose of casting hard, dimensionally stable, nontoxic polishing laps for gem faceting applications.
Tin and its alloys such as solders and type metal have made excellent faceting laps because of their ability to become "charged" with diamond and other polishes. Tin's low coefficient of friction or lubricity minimizes grabbing or dragging of the lap surface against the stone. But lead in these alloys adds no real benefits, and, with the use of acidic coolants such as vinegar, can produces toxic mists.
Pure tin's biggest problem, and one which is also present in many of its alloys is that it creeps in use, so is not dimensionally stable. It never work-hardens. This is beneficial when people are drawing or spinning deep shapes in pewter. Often with pure tin, the meets of the facets are not as hard as we would like them. So commercial laminated tin laps work well, at first, but become "bumpy" or "Orange peeled", and thinner at the edges. Hence, the effective height of the lap changes across its diameter.
The new "BATT ™" alloy is now used by hundreds of experienced and beginning gemcutters. Its casting and machining properties are superior to 95/5 solder and other tin alloys, and more importantly, performs better with oxide polishes. A harder alloy, it provides sharper meets and is more durable.
Being solid castings, finished on both sides, BATT ™ laps are more versatile than the one-sided laminated laps. As solid castings, they may be resurfaced many times, to provide years of use!
Comparative Hardnesses of some lap alloys:
| ALLOY | Hardness (Brinell) |
| Pure Tin | 5.3 |
| 63:37 Tin/Lead solder | 14 |
| 95/5 | 14 |
| Britannia Pewter | 22.5 |
| Sn die cast YC135A | 29 |
| BATT™ | 32.5 |
| Commercial Rolled Zinc | 43 |
Metallurgy: The grain structure of the BATT™ alloy becomes highly ordered as various alloying components sequentially crystallise during cooling. The alloy traps abrasive or polish grains in this structured surface. This is why most people do not need to score these laps - the soft domains slowly erode, continuously creating a microscopically etched surface.
In any case, these JUST WORK!! Give them a try.
| SKU | 600 |
| Brand | Gearloose |
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