Lapidary Thread

[#1]

Lapidary Thread

[Former_Member]

Anja,
fp won't let me view.

Do you have a flickr? Pics are free there.
Mickey

[Former_Member]

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151401637338350.504034.353510278349&type=1&l=dd31b5c0f2
try that one. I don't have flicker :(

[Former_Member]

Heres an example though: https://www.etsy.com/listing/123075580/large-apophyllite-stilbite-zeolite-no-77
I listed twenty of the zeolites today.

[Former_Member]

very pretty Anja, gotta love mineral specimens

[Former_Member]

Anja.....................so, darn tasty. I favored.
Do you have small pieces? That maybe were knocked off the larger ones?

[AnjasArts]

Not that I've seen. I can check with my mom though. She buys them at Quartzite for me and then I pay her for them. The smallest size I have currently I think is around 2 inches

[Former_Member]

I'd like to see a pic of a small one. 2 inches is good.

[Former_Member]

http://www.jtv.com/library/gemstone-enhancement-detection-gia-3,default,pg.html

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http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/dyeing

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http://www.bwsmigel.info/lesson8/de.gem.enhancement.html

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http://academic.emporia.edu/abersusa/go340/treat.htm




Some links on the internet talking about Gem Dying and how to detect

[Former_Member]

Great sources.

You should post upstairs so newbie's will know how to label their rocks.

Are you still able to post?

Please send me a link if you do post. Maybe in "Ideas"....yeah, that would work.

[Former_Member]

sorry, i'm a perma mute bad boy.. i cant post up there anymore :-)

[AnjasArts]

http://www.etsy.com/listing/123074474
http://www.etsy.com/listing/123074005
These are the smaller ones :)

[Former_Member]

Those are very nice, but still too big.
I'm afraid those may fracture when I run them on the saw. The cave wall that they attach themselves to often cracks.

They are so pretty, thank you for sharing.

[Lovethebugs]

Hello friends,
I am just getting immersed in the overwhelming art of jewelry making and lapidary and it way too much fun! I am constantly humbled by the sheer scope of what I need to learn and also how honorable these trades are.

I work at our family fishing tackle business in Orange, Ca and I have only been silversmithing for a little over a year now. I love it, love it too much maybe. I think I need to do a better job with balancing it. I work all day then come home and sit at the bench for 3 hours.

Last month a fisherman friend came in and knows that I am into jewelry making and wanting to learn about lapidary and he said he has this green lapidary machine and that he would trade it to me for a $40.00 fishing reel. I said heck yes and I uploaded some photos of it to photo bucket. I dont know anything about this machine, do you think it is a good one? Thank you, Tommy - here is the link
http://s1302.beta.photobucket.com/user/Lovethebugs/library/

there are 3 images of it, let me know if the link doesnt work and thank you!

[Untwistedsister]

I don't know anything about that machine. I use a Diamond Pacific Genie lapidary machine for shaping my cabs. It's a great field and so much to learn and so many directions you can take. If you have a local gem and mineral club maybe someone locally can help you get it set up and get you started.

[ajjewelrydesigns]

Geez - I wish someone would offer me a deal like that! My husband and I have been looking for some used lapidary equipment, and it is hard to come by. I can't get the pictures to stay up on my screen for but a few seconds, but it looks like what we use in class. I would jump on it, but only because my husband is very handy and would be able to fix anything that was wrong with it (provided it was completely shot). You might need to buy new grinding wheels or something, though.

[ArtandArtisan]

Shannon, it is hard to tell much from the pics. A lot of the machines in the 40's & 50's were hand built by the cutter and are pretty tough. The main thing is to be sure you can get replacement wheels. You would also need to buy a water sprayer if the machine doesn't have one--water runs over the cutting wheels to keep down stone dust.

[Lovethebugs]

He said he recently used it, and to buy a fountain pump at home depot. It has two drippers with valves and hoses that connect to a main hose that I need to put in a 5 gallon bucket of water and it drips on the wheels. Its mounted on some ply wood and he said the thing will "walk" like crazy when I use it and to mount it to something sturdy.

There actually is a local mineral club, we go there at least once a month. I will bring it in and show him, thats a good idea, thank you for that!

I guess the question is, once I get it going how many stones will I destroy trying to learn how to use it :)

[Untwistedsister]

The first stone I did was a very hard agate. I was afraid to cut it too close with the trim saw so I had ALOT to grind off. I think it took me about 5 hrs to finish that stone. LOL.

[Former_Member]

My favorite part is cutting the stone.....love when the heat and the force come together and the stone glows.

The water drip is to add in the polishing too. You can make your drip with fish tank tubing and a gallon jugs turned up side down and mounted next to the Genie.

I throw my slabs into a box of kitty litter to clean off the excess oil from the cutting process.

[Former_Member]

i like expandable drums - you can buy the belts at http://www.kingsleynorth.com/

I actually added one to my genie and contrary to their warnings... it has worked great for 7 years..lol. it makes the genie the perfect jewelers tool as you can use the drums to do shanks of rings. i dont think rio grande carries the belts

i think they want you to buy thier products so tell you not to add the drums.

[Former_Member]

From a pinterest link............

http://pinterest.com/pin/505810601869068849/

OH, jeez, this is beautiful.

[GenesisGems]

Shannon and Tommy Ward,

That looks like an 8" covington grinder.
If it is you can buy the belts at Kingsley.

You may be able to mount diamond wheels on that arbor, but they are expensive.
A nice machine to start out with, especially for that price!

It only takes a minute to change belts, and they can actually be better for cutting brittle material like charoite and larimar.

Belts we use are the following grits 100, 220,320,400,600,1200,3000

Be sure to mark the belts with the grit on the inside with a permanent marker, because it is sometimes hard to read after the belt has been used for awhile.

I use a genie for most of my stones which has 6" wheels, but I have used the belts often of late.
One word of caution, this can be a VERY aggressive machine because the wheels turn faster on the outside edge than a 6" wheel; and it will make a stone disappear quickly if you are not careful.

First rule of lapidary: Cut a little, look alot!

[Untwistedsister]

Does anyone else get a thrill when you are trimming a slab and it's sparking? Or by some of the organic smells of some stones? or am I just a little weird??

[Former_Member]

Hi Terri,
i think the thrill is different for some and yet the same. i hunt druzy and the best drusy is when you pop open a fresh cavity. the fact that you are the absolute 1st to ever view it is kind of exciting for me, similar to cutting and trimming as you really are the first to ever see what is trimmed out and cut. certainly a thrill that never goes away in some respects, sometimes you are greatly surprised as you grind down on say a nice agate or a seam opal... :-) in a nice way.

[GenesisGems]

Terri,

OK!, I'm not crazy!

I had some gem silica and chrysocolla in matrix that used to smell like grapes!