Jon
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 43
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Post by Jon on Jan 12, 2005 17:41:28 GMT -5
Banjo - the faceting head you are using with your flat lap - what make, or homemade?
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Exotica
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 39
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Post by Exotica on Jan 12, 2005 17:57:01 GMT -5
Yes, my studio is in a constant state of flux. I am hoping to finally have it all situated by March. Right now I don't even have a proper work bench and am using a secretary desk my father made me. However, it makes me paranoid I am going to damage it. Once I get the workbench situated I will be able to set up a soldering station, drill press, and start moving towards my faceting machine. Unfortunately it in the darkest room in the house, so I have lots of lights set up everywhere.
Once I get a TV in there, I don't think I will come out for months at a time! ;D
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 43
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Post by Jon on Jan 12, 2005 18:08:33 GMT -5
and Banjo - maybe you can figure how to make a rubber lipped bowl to catch the water spinoff, similar to the Ultra Tec machine which has a rubber lipped water bowl, and a way to temporarily hold the rubber lip out of the way for cutting girdles at 90 degrees.
Or like on a Graves machine, cut a notch in the lip you have now big enough to let the head spindle and dop clear the lip, and when not cutting girdles, a small plastic piece fits into this notch to prevent water spraying.
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jan 12, 2005 18:11:07 GMT -5
None the less my daughter loves it I love both of them. They are beautiful! Exotica, what's your website addy? Also, the ebay addy of the guy who sells the tutorials? I need all the help I can get. I would love to learn how to facet, but I need to learn how to bevel a stone on my grinder first! I am one of those that is LESS equal! BTW, welcome to the forum! You too Jon. llana
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 43
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Post by Jon on Jan 12, 2005 18:16:45 GMT -5
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 43
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Post by Jon on Jan 12, 2005 18:22:33 GMT -5
And this book by Jeff Graham is the absolute best introduction to faceting IMHO: www.faceters.com/books/learn_to_facet.shtmlAvoid the old books by Soukoup, Vargas, Long and Steele, etc. - unless you want to learn to facet the old fashioned way (which some folks may prefer of course).
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Exotica
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 39
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Post by Exotica on Jan 12, 2005 18:24:25 GMT -5
llana, Thanks for the welcome. My website is www.ExoticGlimmerings.com. My website is way out of date, though, and I am in the process of redoing it right now. The revised and updated version will hopefully publish this weekend. I'll let you know. Right now it only has my beaded jewelry on it. I also have an eBay store, which is currently on hiatus while I deal with some family members' health issues. That should be back up and running with lots of items in about a month. I think in only have two or three items on auction right now. When I restock the store, I am going to add rocks and crystals that are too large to be used in jewelry. Here is the eBay store for the jeweler with the tutorials: stores.ebay.com/GemLore-Productions_W0QQsspagenameZl2QQtZkm. I purchased his Complete Wire Wrap Tutorial, which constits of two CDROMs with a bonus third on a new ribbon wrapping system he is coming out with soon. I also got the gemology course. I think they are great for people who already have some jewelry knowledge (not a lot) and can study on their own. I think you could do it with no jewlery designing knowledge, but it does help. All I have right now is his course and one other wire wrap book, and I have already made some really nice pieces. Of course, they are just in brass practice wire at this point. I would also recommend getting some Tool Majic (I can send you a link for that, too) for your pliers. It is really easy to nick the wire, even with smooth plier, and this stuff is $5 a jar and coats the pliers with a rubber-like coating so this won't happen. I hope to keep playing with it more intensely next week, once the website is updated and have some pieces to take with me to my next event. It is a lot of fun, and it isn't that hard at all. It is one of those arts in which the techniques are simple but you can continuously refine and improve as you learn. Let me know what you think, of his courses and my site. I have been having a ball! I have to get offline now for a little while - we have a very intense thunderstorm brewing.
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Exotica
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 39
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Post by Exotica on Jan 12, 2005 18:36:35 GMT -5
Oh, Gerald also sells the parts, plans, and instructions to jampegging in his store for about $120. If I remember right you just need a powerbase for it, but it has been a month since I read the listing, so don't hold me to that!
He also has the a similar set of plans and instructions for building your own cabbing grinder.
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Banjocreek
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2003
Posts: 1,115
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Post by Banjocreek on Jan 12, 2005 19:07:44 GMT -5
Jon I am trying to figure out exactly where that head needs to go in relation to the lap surface. I got the head off e-bay for $85.00, and it is an ALLEN. I'll have to build a shelf to lower it, but I'm still working on which side to put it on and if possible mount it so it can slide in and out (toward and away from the lap) and still be very stable. Thanks-
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Post by docone31 on Jan 12, 2005 19:36:18 GMT -5
Mike. If you could figuire out how to make a key hole slot so your mast can go back and forth, you will have the versatility you are looking for. There will be times you will use the back side of the lap. Most times, you will be faceting from the center hole to you. Also, when you are faceting, the lap should rotate against the broadest part of the facet. Never cut towards the sharp part of the facet. It produces chipping. Two schools of faceting. Preforming, meet point. Meet point looks better but it loses more carat weight during faceting. Preforming loses less overall carat weight. I mostly meet point facet. I use a 260 lap or roughing in, and a 1200 lap for faceting, prepolishing. I polish using a mylar Cerium Oxide lap over the 1200 lap, I recharge with Cerium Oxide powder. I also prefer island laps over flat laps. The polish lap is put over one of my old flat laps.
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 43
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Post by Jon on Jan 12, 2005 21:15:32 GMT -5
Yep banjo, you need a slot so that the base of the mast of the faceting head can move relative to the spinning lap - see the pics from the links for the various faceting machines that I posted above - they all have slots to move the mast/head.
And remember, very important, the mast must be EXACTLY perpendicular to the lap surface for all the protractor angles to match, and to do this you may need to have a way to adjust the base of the mast (leveling screws, etc.).
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Post by docone31 on Jan 12, 2005 22:55:44 GMT -5
Jon is correct. Even if you have to lengthen your dops, you MUST be able to true to 0. An ability to move the mast makes all the difference. On my facetron, which is not the facetron made today, I have a flat table that I can move my handpiece forwards and backwards. All my height adjustments are made with an Acme threaded rod within the table.
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jan 13, 2005 9:08:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the links,Exotica. Gonna have to get me one of those CD's on wirewrapping - not having much luck on my own! You have some neat stuff on your website. llana
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