Hobbies And Interests
Cutting a Rough Stone
If you want to get a completely finished gemstone, it takes many steps. These steps are marking, cleaving, sawing, girdling, faceting and brillianteering. If you choose to do just the faceting itself, that is a process to itself. Faceting is accomplished with the stone being attached to an instrument called a dop stick and pushing the stone against the revolving lap. In order to accomplish symmetry and brilliance. you must cut each individual facet.
Machinery for Faceting
Faceting machines all have different designs, but similar parts. All of them have a lap that revolves with some sort of abrasive or grit, and a device that moves the stone on the lap. Many laps need the use of some sort of coolant as in water that helps to lengthen the lap's life, while protecting the stone. On each machine there is also a device that allows you to have the angle you need for each level of facets both vertical and horizontal. A gear index helps to set each facet.
Steps to Faceting a Gemstone
After you have picked out the gemstone you want to facet and then picked your faceting design, you need to do what is called preforming. That means that you get rid of all the parts of the stone you won't be needing by using a trim saw.
Dopping is what comes next. This step is where you need patience as you affix the stone to the dop stick. First the smaller facets are cut. Now you can pre-polish the stone. The pavilion is given a rough lap, then smaller facets can be cut and prepolished. Now you can polish both the pavilion facets and the girdle.
For the last steps, your stone is transferred. This process includes epoxy and a dop. Go ahead and do this process on the rest of the stone. When you have completed all these steps, the part of the gem that is called the table is cut using the dop.
When you feel the stone is completed to your satisfaction, soak it in a solution of methylene choloride. This process removes the dop. Every time you cut a stone be prepared, you will learn something quite new. Be prepared that sometimes it might not be exactly what you wanted.