Kingsley North Cabber 6 - KNC6 Rev 2

I've collected Petoskey Stones for years and was motivated to purchase a cabbing machine by my Grandson. He's starting a small business selling polished Petoskeys. I'm an absolute novice, having never attempted to polish a stone before in my life. After thorough research I landed on the Kingsley North Cabber 6. The space between wheels, positive reviews throughout social media, and stainless steel materials were key selling points. Supporting a small business from the UP also made this an easy decision. Shipping from the manufacturer was fast and the product was safely encased in a foam packaging material that prevented damage. Written assembly instructions were excellent and several you tube videos answered any other assembly questions. Before operation I opted to build a mobile cart for water buckets and the machine itself. I wanted to get the height correct for seated polishing. 41" worked well for my height and workshop chair. Again, prior to my first attempts I watched a you-tube video from a company called "Michigan Rocks," very helpful for polishing Petoskeys. A few lessons learned from assembly. Insure the drain hoses are firmly hose clamped. I left one side slightly loose and had a massive leak. A quick tighten solved that issue. Also insure your drain hoses run directly off the side of your work surface. The faster you can get them heading downward, the less residual water will remain in the drain pan. I also recommend placing the hose in the drain bucket so that it's not under water. I used zip ties through a hole in the top of the bucket to hold the drain hose above water level. This greatly improved the flow of water. I would also recommend a shim to get your drain pan at the correct grade to properly drain. So initially, because I was learning, I went through a bucket of water on two three inch stones. I was able to improve to 4 stones from one bucket on my last batch. My first attempts were almost 50 minutes per stone hitting all six wheels. After about ten stones I realized that more time doesn't equal a better product. The key is to avoid scratches by early proper rounding and constant movement of the stone when on the wheel. I'm closer to twenty minutes per rock at this point. There is quite a learning curve with Petoskey Stones. Initially, I underestimated how soft these stones are. On the 80 grit wheel you can quickly crumble some stones. I know this first hand. Key learning is that in some cases the 80 grit wheel might not be necessary. Just shape the stone on the 80 grit - that's it. Try to get it rounded without ridges or flat surfaces. Folks say to never move to the next wheel with scratches from the previous. That doesn't apply to going from 80 - 220 in my opinion. The 220 grit wheel will also quickly shape the stone and the rule is to always keep the stone moving. If you create ridges or flat spots you will never get all the scratches off. Again, I messed this up on several stones and it's difficult to fix. And by the way, after the 220 wheel, you need to completely dry the rock before going to the next wheel. A dry stone reveals scratches and you will be able to identify the scratch size and associate it with the wheel that made it. The provided light is a great asset in the hunt for scratches.

I'm pleased with the Kingsley North Cabber. I've spent 25 hours on the machine so far without incident. It's also easy to disassemble for cleaning and maintenance. The ability to obtain parts quickly is a plus. Strong buy recommendation.

Great machine and abilities! Unfortunately, it does leak a ton of water out the sides and when you try to tighten the sides, it is extremely hard. (The anti leak strips they use do not line up) *It doesn’t seem like it lines up well. Everything else seems great and my kids have been loving to use it! Will have to spend some time to fix it and update later as well.

Researched this purchase for a few months as I had no experience with any cabbing machine prior. Liked the offset motor and the solid metal housing. The spacing between wheels compared to other 6in machines was greater as well. I have now used this for a few weeks and I could not be happier with this product. I had already required product support in the past and knew that was great, which is unique in the lapidary space. Great product, great company, I am now a customer for life.

Once I noticed that my You-Tube rocker faves, Timberway Designs and Michigan Rocks were both using Kingsley North cabbing machines, a couple videos later Michigan Rocks reviewed the KNC6 Nova and a trip to Kingsley North the manufacturer, they moved me to scratch my itch and I couldn’t be more pleased with my purchase of a Kingsley North KNC6 Rev2. This machine is high quality with many operator comforts in mind. All stainless design, easy setup, love the lamp hookup, and the water system in, on and out is so sweet, this pump is near silent. The included booklets are informative and well written. Five Stars!

I've had a CabKing for 9 years. Not too many issues until the last year. The motor started to come loose. The bolts were pulling through the base plate. Then I noticed the motor was a little tilted. The motor mount was starting to break and water was getting inside. I tried to work on it but everything was rusted together and really wasn't designed to be repairable. So I gave up and bought the Kingsley KNC6 None of these problems will happen with the Kingsley. Being all stainless steel is a huge advantage. The motor doesn't get wet and is set behind the machine. It's much quieter than the CabKing. The CabKing instructions are sparse and have no assembly diagrams. Kingsley's manual has full subassembly drawings with exploded views and associated parts list. Designed really well for service. The wheel spacing is much wider with the Kingsley. Sometimes I do heart shaped cabs. I had to remove wheels, add spacers etc. with the CabKing. I don't need to make any changes with the KNC6. The only thing I like better with the CabKing was the light. I wear magnifiers, and the Kingsley light is much larger and collides with my magnifier. Also, the CabKing light gets real hot which I used to dry the cabs quickly to look for scratches. It's hard to believe that the two systems are the same price. The Kingsley KNC6^ is by far more superior!

I’ve used several different cabbing machines in the past, but this KN6 V2 is by far my favorite. No cheap plastic trays or hoods, all stainless steel. The water delivery system works great and doesn’t constantly gum up like those spitters on some machines. I’d recommend the DP Nova wheels, but they were out of stock and I didn’t want to wait any longer. As the included wheels wear out, I’ll replace them one at a time. The included wheels work well, they just don’t last as long from what I’ve heard. I did replace my 80 grit steel with a 100 grit Galaxy wheel, as 80 is too course for opals and turquoise IMHO. Love the easy access to the end wheels and easily replaceable felt. Take care to level it properly or you will have a wet mess on your bench. My floor/bench isn’t level and I had to add some shims to stop the flood.

Had mine now for a week or so and made a few cabs already. Easy to set up, feels and looks like it will last a long time. Happy cabber!!!

I researched all makes and models before locking into the KNC6 cabber. Stainless steel, wheels are spread perfectly, superb customer service, just everything about the unit is excellent. I was looking at a DP unit, after calling their customer service to see if they had some touch up paint for a Wizard trim saw I have, they were pretty rude so that ended that choice.
When the wheels wear out, will go to the Nova wheels (no other choice), heard a lot of great things about them.

It took a while to save up for it but I am very pleased with my purchase of the Kingsley North Cabber 6. I give all the credit to Rob Abrams from "Michigan Rocks" on YouTube and his great video of your machine. This is so much fun I might never come out of my little workshop in the basement. Kingsley North has consistently given great customer service. Thanks again

I did quite a bit of research before I decided to go with the Kingsley North Cabber 6. I chose it over others on the market because of its all stainless steel construction, large spacing between the wheels and the belt drive motor (because if it ever failed it would be cheaper to replace than a direct drive). After using it for a few months I absolutely couldn't be happier. It's amazing! Great quality, solid construction and fast shipping!