tags: #publish links: [[Gemstone Faceting]] created: 2021-12-22 Wed --- # Gemstone Faceting equipment Some of this is notes on Justin K. Prim's video: https://youtu.be/rjZLSJt2K-A Justin K. Prim's beginner faceter's shopping list: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14NvJ89tXbRh6wIkFRljjQ607qcall20W/view Jeff Graham / Gem Society guide: https://www.gemsociety.org/article/faceting-equipment-essentials/ ## Faceting machine Some recommendations: - Handpiece-style: Sri-lankan Sterling ST-08 with speed controller and cheater handpiece. Good value, but shipping and import costs may consume some of the savings. Less precision than some more expensive mast/protractor machines - http://sterlinggemland.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=12 - Mast style: - Ultra Tech - Facetron. Expensive - Protractor style: - Australian: VJ Faceting machine. Great accuracy and repeatability. Protractor design has several advantages over mast. - https://www.vjfacet.com.au/ ## Laps The abrasive cutting and polishing discs/platters which mount to the machine. ### Master lap A thick, solid disk - not for cutting, just as base layer for others i.e. topper laps. - aluminium is good - ceramic laps are poor/expensive/difficult for actual use but make a good master lap! ### Cutting laps 8-inch laps preferred over 6-inch for economic, wear, and cutting-speed reasons. From about 300 grit upwards. *Do not get less than 200 grit* - certainly not 60 grit - not even for rough shaping. It causes deep subsurface damage which will result in fractures in later stages. Even 200 grit is somewhat risky - 360 is a safer minimum. Will still need to cut away 1mm+ to get past the damage. Rough: 360 grit Cutting: 600 grit Fine cutting: 1200 grit 3 main options - different cost and lifespan: **Topper lap** - thin, cheap, used on top of a master lap - Cutting laps: typically diamond electroplated on thin steel plate. Cheap for preforming and coarse cut - Do not get 1200 or finer topper laps. Topper laps do not sit entirely flat - ok at coarser grits but not finer grits. - Polishing laps: Ultra laps are a thin mylar sheet. Cheap, only good for a few uses. **Plated/Bonded lap** - diamond layer is bonded on top of a thick steel plate, instead of using with a master lap. - 1200 for fine cut (however I have found these surprisingly coarse and tending to chip facet edges) - Avoid steel laps 3000 or finer - they don't work as well - better to use manually-charged laps e.g. BATT lap. **Sintered lap** - thick-ish, diamond all through so wearing down just reveals more cutting surface, most expensive but last longest. Cuts finer than equivalent grade plated lap. Nubond 600 is great for some materials and easy for beginners, cuts finer than its grade once worn in. Nubond 1200 is good for beginners pre-polish on quartz and beryl, but on other material can leave orange peel / not ideal especially when broken in. ### Resin-tech laps [[Resin-tech laps]] ### Polishing laps Greater than 3,000 or so. 14k is a very minimal commercial-grade polish. Quality polish is 50/60/100k usually. - Gearloose [[Batt lap]] - polish, pre-polish, even cutting - Gearloose [[Zinc Plus lap]] - nice fast pre-polish - Gearloose [[BA5T lap]] - harder, faster - Gearloose **Dominatrix** lap: dual tracks of **BATT** for pre-polish and **Diamatrix** or **Diamax** polish Others from Gearloose: - [[Darkside lap]] - flexible and easy, diamond or oxide - **Lightside** for soft delicate stones, diamond or oxide - [[Matrix lap]] - easy ceramic-like composite without the downsides of regular ceramic laps, diamond or oxide - **Diamatrix**, and its upgrade [[Diamax lap]], for diamond - **Greenway** polymer, embedded chrome oxide - beryl, tourmaline, garnet, quartz, feldspars, peridot (slow on topaz, spinel, not for sapphire) - **Creamway** composite, embedded zirconium oxide - specifically for quartz, also good for opal, peridot, beryl, softer stones. Maybe easier to use than greenway - **Skyway** ceramic/polymer composite, polishing for feldspars, peridot, beryls, quartzes, opals, garnets, tourmaline, tanzanite; or spinel, topaz, zircon with aluminium oxide **Ultralaps**: cheap, disposable, very thin. Easy for beginners, but soft so leave rounded facet edges. Good "solve-it" fallback from misc polishing problems. **Lucite/plexiglass**: with oxide? downside is heat generation. Can be useful as a master lap for ultralaps. **Tin**: use with diamond polish for hard stones. No obvious reason not to use batt laps instead of traditional tin. **Copper** also for polishing hard stones with diamond. Traditional. It seems batt laps are a better modern substitute. Copper is softer and more prone to dishing. However 3k copper may be more aggressive than 3k BATT and more prone to orange peel? **Typemetal** used to be popular as a hard polishing lap, but is usually a lead-containing alloy - there are safer, less toxic, better alternatives. For really really sharp competition-level facets need hard laps like **ceramic**, but traditionally ceramic is difficult and very sensitive to exact mix / thickness of loose abrasive and water. Gearloose matrix and diamax above may be more forgiving. [[Gemstone Polishing]] #### Polishing grits to use with the polishing lap Which ones? Depends on the lap, and the stone. See [[Gemstone Polishing]] - Diamond powder, plus oil to mix with - e.g. Singer sewing machine oil, even olive oil. See [[Zinc Plus lap#How to use]] for a guide to using diamond and oil on metal laps for pre-polish. - Gearloose diamond **Diastiks** - just wipe onto the lap, avoid having to mix stuff - Gearloose diamond **Battstiks** - same thing but for oxides - Aluminium oxide ("Linde") - basically sapphire powder - comes in A and B grades, you want the finer one - Cerium oxide - get the fine, white, "optical grade" - Other oxides e.g. tin, zirconium, chrome, ... ### Beginner setup From combo of Justin K. Prim's and [Michael Sacko's laps video](https://youtu.be/myLYsptREs8) and Jeff Graham above: - Justin: - 360, 600, 1200 grit - dual-track batt lap with 8k and 60k diamond powder sticks - Michael: - 240 grit: optional, a little risky of fractures - 360: topper - 600: Crystalite solid, or a topper - 1200: Crystalite, not topper - or 1500 sintered lap (expensive) - 3k diamond on batt lap - pre-polish. - Reversible so could use 8k diamond on the back - 8k optional for new cutters - 14k diamond on BATT lap - pre-polish, needed if you will cut harder stones like corundum, otherwise may skip - 60k diamond - for corundum etc - Tin lap (Crystallite) - for use with cerium oxide - Ultra laps: - cerium oxide - get the finer one - tin oxide - Jeff: - Cutting: 300, 600 (maybe Nubond), 1200 - Ultralap "spectra" variety (only), multiple, plus charges: - Aluminium oxide - Cerium oxide - Or lucite - Maybe tin laps + diamond 8k, 50k - Tom Herbst: - Starter set: - 260 bonded steel - preform - 1200 bonded steel - fine cut - 1200 NuBond - pre-polish - Ultralap spectra cerium oxide - Expanded: add these: - 600 bonded steel - preform, rough cut - BATT lap and 50k diamond - Lucite and cerium oxide and aluminium oxide - Fancy: - Sintered steel instead of bonded - Add 8k BATT or BA5T for corundum pre-polish, maybe 50k 100k too - Darkside with cerium oxide for quartz - Darkside for 50k diamond - Ceramic 50k and 100k or 200k ## Dopping Dop holder - may come with the machine Wax - get the higher melting point variety Burner to melt wax (e.g. alcohol burner + meths or similar) Tweezers A variety of dop sticks - some may come with the machine Transfer block - **Polymetric** makes a good one ## Other kit Loupe - 10x magnification - Belomo triplet - \#5 Optivisor, good with a mast machine Loupe with a gauge - optional Isopropyl alcohol spray, to clean lap Acetone to dissolve epoxy resin and get stone off the dop or alcohol, to dissolve wax Adjustable light Paper towels - polishing step gets messy Electric torch to illuminate rough Permanent marker White paper or pad to spread out stones to examine Eye rinse solution, in case something gets in your eye [[Immersion fluids and refractive idexes]] ## Rough to start with See [[Gemstone Rough#Which rough to start with]] ## Books *Tom Herbst - Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1* Most recommended all-in-one for beginners *Justin K Prim - The Secret Teachings of Gemcutting* Lots of cutting diagrams of different cuts, guide to picking/handling rough ## Suppliers in Australia Gemcuts https://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/faceting/ - laps, polishes, Gearloose AJS https://www.jewellerssupplies.com.au/category/781-faceting-machines-accessories https://www.gemworld.com.au/ https://www.gemworld.com.au/products/show/348/polishing-laps https://www.gemworld.com.au/products/show/360/lapidary-machines https://cutandslice.com.au/ https://landfdiamond.com.au/ https://lapidaryslabsupplies.com.au/ Hyper-Edge Laps Anthony Fitzgerald - Fitzys Laps - sintered diamond and stainless steel laps https://bad2mad.com/collections/fitzys-lap-systems This may be the same stuff giving some history and detail: https://gemcutters.blogspot.com/?m=1 Gem Hunters Haven, Glen Innes https://www.flatlap.com.au/home.php Glenn Huntley - Quality Gem Rough Supplies https://burfitt.com.au/ - misc tools ### Overseas https://arrowheadlapidarysupply.com/supplies/laps/c33/ has sintered diamond cutting laps but don't appear to ship internationally https://store.abrasive-tech.com/ Manufacturer of Crystalite products