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Hello I technically cut gems but it appears that what actually I do is continuously buy rough gems to "cut later" and then hoard them Here is something I finished recently, it's a monosital (aka glass) 
Xun fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Jul 26, 2019 |
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Jul 26, 2019 14:49
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 01:46 |
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You mean people don't normally shove a pile of loose gems into a drawer?? Although the last time I tried to get something made with one of the stones I've cut the jeweler still hasn't given it back in over 3 months. I'm starting to suspect he got greedy and tried to sell it but JOKES ON HIM ITS FACETING GLASS
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Jul 29, 2019 12:36
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Claes Oldenburger posted:You're going to need diamond coated tools afaik. Diamond saws, dremel (or handpiece) tools that are diamond coated/sintered. Yeah this. Also if you're buying whole boules watch out for what type it is. The most common type is flame fusion and those boules need to be split in half before you start working with them or whatever you're making might do it randomly instead. Idk why exactly, something about internal stress during the fusion process  ? Most of the time they're sold already split but sometimes I see whole ones floating around
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Jul 31, 2019 17:06
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tinytort posted:My birth stone is garnet, so I've got a few garnet pieces that got given to me as gifts over the years. The problem is, they've always looked pretty dark for my tastes - there's not a lot of fire or sparkle to the stones in these pieces unless I'm holding them under direct light. I think you've got a combo of poorly cut and probably just a (cheaper) dark stone. Garnets come in lots of lighter colors but of course the nicer the color the more $$$ it is. Or get that synthetic yttrium garnet, cheap and good looking! This website shows some of the possible colors of garnet: https://www.gia.edu/garnet-quality-factor Sparkliness can actually be measured by refractive index, or how much the gem bends light. The more a gem bends light the more potential sparkliness it has. Amethyst has a lower RI than garnets so you don't need to lose hope, but a well cut and non dark amethyst will beat out a poorly cut dark garnet any day. I've actually got a really nice yellow one lying around but it's a cool shape so I'm not sure if I should cut it 
Xun fucked around with this message at 10:31 on Aug 6, 2019 |
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Aug 6, 2019 10:22
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I. M. Gei posted:I enjoy gems. uhh how dark are you thinking? I've never heard of aquamarines getting really dark and I don't think they get much darker than this?  This GIA has this listed as an example of the "finest" color so I don't expect that to be cheap.
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Aug 6, 2019 21:21
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After some poking around aquamarines do come in those colors but it seems to be one of the most prized colors, it seems pretty rare since I can't find much trustworthy info on them so you're probably not going to find those "for cheap". If you're just looking for those kinds of colors and not married to the idea of an aquamarine, Id suggest looking at spinels or topazes. Sapphire might be a good bet too. If you do need it to be an aquamarine, this seems to be valuable enough that I would not trust any "deals" you can find on eBay or Etsy or whatever. Spinels and topazes are commonly mislabeled as expensive high quality aquas (especially since its easy to make synthetics of those) and I've heard of dishonest sellers using fake certifications. Your best bet is probably going to a gem show in person, I wouldn't trust a website at all if this is important enough for you. Xun fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Aug 7, 2019 |
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Aug 7, 2019 01:47
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Oooh those chromium aquas are awesome. Also when I said check out spinels and topazes I also mentally included synthetics which would be much cheaper than natural ones. Let it be known I loving love synthetic gems and think everyone should buy them 
Xun fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Aug 7, 2019 |
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Aug 7, 2019 02:28
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Does anyone here use diasticks from gearloose with a water? How much water do you use and do you keep the water dripping while you cut? I don't think I like using an oil based extender and want to try something new.
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Aug 7, 2019 22:09
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large hands posted:Thanks! Here's a couple different light sources. drat that ring is badass! How did you find the rough?
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Aug 19, 2019 19:25
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That's a biiiiig gem on that ring 
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Aug 20, 2019 00:19
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Are you looking for cabbing (stones with rounded tops and are flat) or faceting (stones that are pointy and have flat faces)? Also what kind of budget are you working with here?
Xun fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Aug 24, 2019 |
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Aug 24, 2019 13:30
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Reminder: 360 grit cutting laps are still sharp and it got my finger with a chip of sapphire ow. In other news the sapphire is coming along well  
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Aug 25, 2019 17:53
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Prince Reggie K posted:I think the flat grinders are what I'll look into then. I'm about to join a local mineral group. But if 500 or so can get me started I might just take the plunge. That all u need looks good, any recommendations on an adjustable arm for faceting? I saw some stuff on amazon. Like the whole setup for about 700 but there were no reviews. If I could get a good arm to go with that all u need, that should let me try basically anything Woah if you want to get into faceting you're gona be looking at way higher initial investment costs since precision is key. Like Scarodactyl said you need to be able to consistently hit the same angle and height and if you cant well...its a huge pain in the rear end. What used to take me 15-20 minutes per facet when polishing on an old Vargas machine went to like, <5 on an ultratec because I don't need to sit around painstakingly adjusting the stone since it was impossible to hit the same angle twice with that handset. Definitely try things out at a club first and spend a bit more for a good used machine if you're serious. This guy is pretty knowledgeable and the article seems like a good overview of various brands and types! I'd suggest trying to find a used mast or handset type machine. https://medium.com/justin-k-prim/how-to-choose-the-best-faceting-machine-for-your-needs-c41774367c55 Also I'm not sure what you've seen but cutting isn't just the machine and mast/handset. You need to invest in a set of diamond grit cutting laps and polishing laps.
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Aug 26, 2019 19:41
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Honestly I'm not really sure. This sounds like the color was unstable due to irradiation to deepen the gems color, I can try to summon up an explanation why based on my gemology class if anyone is interested But garnets are pretty resistant to radiation and I can't think of any gems that would irradiate to red and also be unstable.
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Sep 11, 2019 16:08
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On the discs at least you might have something good there provided they've been stored properly and there's been no cross contamination. Pastes to put on them are relatively cheap but make extra sure to identify what type of discs you have before getting them, for example some are more suitable for diamond and others are for chemical polishing agents. They should have the grit written on them somewhere and if not I can post it at some old people too if you'd like. Having no water tank sounds like it could be annoying but the mechanism is pretty simple, you just need to have something that'll drip water on the cutting surface. Lots of people still use super old lapidary equipment with no problems, as long as they power on you're good to go. Honestly the biggest expense for me was getting a machine in the first place so you might have something here. I really want a trim saw but there's just no space for it at my place rip
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Sep 30, 2019 20:41
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Leperflesh posted:The tiny disks have been stored in separated little zippy bags so I'd guess they're fine. The big disks for the "all you need" have been tossed together in an open cardboard box and stored in various garages for at least a decade. The one I photographed still has its identifying sticker (from the photo I think it says 180 mesh) but the other ones are missing their stickers. I understand Hi-Tech seems to color-code the disks, but given how they were stored I'd guess there's definitely been cross-contamination. Oof, that storage doesn't sound good. I think the 180 mesh will be fine, 600 mesh is a maybe, and the 1200 and polishing ones are probably not in great shape. Yeah people use dop sticks, I think for your purposes any metal stick will do. Hell even wooden ones might work if you're cutting heat resistant stuff. Rocks can be stuck to them with a variety of adhesives, I like to use wax since its easier to remove (you'd definitely need it on a wooden dop), but lots of people use superglue and epoxy with metal ones. Sadly I have no experience with the screw press type things, whenever I needed to cut up rocks I used a saw 
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Sep 30, 2019 23:59
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Leperflesh posted:I'm struggling to figure out how that would work. You'd have like a horizontal saw blade, how would you feed stone into it? Or you mean, you can mount saw blades on your vertical setup... Here's a video of a guy using an all you need, looks like hes doing it freehand without a stick which is cool but we were told not to do that for uh....maybe safety? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isz9xR2yXo8 For the TINY TRIM, the trimmer I used had a non serrated edge and the flat side was the "sharp" side. The blade should also be pretty thin. I think we used mineral oil for ours, but I saw a guy use just water before too. These guys seem to have opinions about the specifics https://highlandpark.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/14000058367-what-kind-of-coolant-should-i-run-in-my-saw-
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Oct 1, 2019 01:33
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Leperflesh posted:So uhhh, Gemworld. These might be what you're looking for? https://ameritoolonline.com/collections/diamond-saw-blades If not a guy has put together a big list of lapidary stores you can try, I saw him ask people on facebook for additions to the list so I think a lot (if not all) of these shops are okay https://medium.com/justin-k-prim/every-lapidary-supply-shop-in-the-world-76bfaff46668
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Oct 1, 2019 23:44
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Yeah quality is a huge factor and it can be hard to tell because what is considered desirable can be different between different gems. For example, for most gems inclusions lower the price but for emerald they're super desirable.
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Oct 18, 2019 16:01
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Scarodactyl posted:Inclusions aren't desirable in emerald (aside from trapiches but that's a different can of worms). They are considered particularly acceptable in emerald because clean stones are very rare (apparently chromium tends to mess with their crystal growth), but stones that are properly clean sell for far, far more. Oh really! That's interesting, we definitely covered that specifically in class but it's not like I can afford real emeralds lololol
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Oct 18, 2019 21:53
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Thanks to advice from Claes I hopefully have achieved the shiniest non-quartz gem I've ever cut! I still need to flip it and cut the crown but I'm excited   It's got a bit of dust on it because I ran out of the good wipes/lovely toiletpaper rip
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Nov 12, 2019 17:22
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Scarodactyl posted:Beautiful work! Ruby or spinel? It's a synthetic sapphire, I love the color! Sadly I screwed up the orientation during dopping so it needed to be cut way down  Claes Oldenburger posted:Looks great! Can't wait to see it finished Thanks! I can't wait either lol
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Nov 12, 2019 19:44
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 Well thats one way to convince my wife to go to Tucson with me.... Xun fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jul 1, 2020 |
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Jul 1, 2020 23:06
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Hah! Cut anything fun lately? Sadly nope the Sapphire is still waiting for me to cut the table and then polish the crown. Stupid masters thesis getting in my way
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Jul 6, 2020 20:12
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IT IS DONE 
Xun fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Aug 5, 2020 |
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Aug 5, 2020 07:27
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woah those are really awesome photos! My hands shake so much its a struggle to even get one nice photo Usually right before I take photos I drop the gem into acetone for awhile, then I only move them around with a gem grabby thing or tweezers afterwards. It usually doesn't need wiping but sometimes I transfer them to a glasses cleaning cloth or just a napkin if I'm lazy and wipe them off on there making sure I don't touch the gem with my fingers at all.
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Aug 9, 2020 02:40
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You can also try looking up facetors on uh...instagram? Etsy? To see if any cool people are selling.
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Sep 10, 2020 20:21
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If I recall right labradorite wants cerium oxide on leather to polish, we used a big spinny wheel though
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Sep 10, 2020 21:22
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I've been struggling with this stupid quartz for ages. Spent 30 minutes trying to polish one facet only for it to scratch at the very end. gently caress this I'm buying a new 1200 lap for quartzes
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Mar 10, 2021 19:15
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It's a random piece of synthetic "sky blue" quartz I got that actually looks just white in person. My 1200 lap scratches the poo poo out of it and tbh its pretty scratchy on harder stones too. Sometimes the facets barely look better than my 600 lap, I thought it just wasn't broken in but I've used it on multiple stones at this point and it still sucks
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Mar 10, 2021 20:07
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Scarodactyl posted:Ever hear of 'shitrine'? It's a particular batch if synthetic citrine that went around the market for a bit which was famous for being almost impossible to polish. You could identify it because heating it turned it blue (due to cobalt doping for...some reason?) Yeah, but this particular 1200 does that on like CZ and corundums too I'd actually love to get my hands on some rose de France amethyst or a pretty rose quartz, but since I've moved to europe I haven't really looked at what online rough vendors are around. Was hoping to hit up a gemshow or two at least but yay covid
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Mar 11, 2021 00:31
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 Got a new 1200 lap and I'm about to start polishing attempt #3 on this lovely loving quartz. I don't think I could give it a better starting point so if this doesn't work I'm gona give up lol
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Apr 19, 2021 20:36
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Quartz can die in a fire! What kind of lap? I got a 1200 lightning lap topper, it's definitely leaving a much smoother finish than my metal 1200 so fingers crossed lol
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Apr 19, 2021 21:36
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Remember that lovely quartz? I finally loving finished it!!    I think my 1200 topper was going, replaced it and all those scratches went away
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Jun 20, 2021 18:10
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I asked around and it sounds like you could try talking to this guy? https://www.instagram.com/p/CPGvvRjhfMS/?utm_medium=copy_link
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Jan 22, 2022 02:18
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Would a 12mm gem look bad on a pendant? This topaz I'm cutting for my gf is looking like it's going to be around that size and I'm conflicted between cutting it down or just going BEEG
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Mar 11, 2022 19:38
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Are you the guy selling it in that Facebook group? Cause I'm gona try to buy some!!!
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Mar 18, 2022 03:25
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Rip Djeva. I still have a big box of rough from there waiting for me back in the US. Some people have been collecting FF sapphire and it's really sad seeing the cool colors that are no longer being produced
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Jun 9, 2022 08:03
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Scarodactyl posted:Iron and titanium team up with intervalence charge transfer to get the blue. Cobalt is iirc used as a dopant in some rare flame fusion sapphire to give a more paraiaba-esque blue color but I don't think that's ever found in nature. It might be like emerald green nickel-doped sapphire where it requires very specific conditions to get the right oxidation state/lattice position and just isn't possible naturally. is that the secret to the amazing paraiba sapphires arya has  quote "NOT FOR loving SALE" lol Xun fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Jul 9, 2022 |
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Jul 9, 2022 00:28
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 01:46 |
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Argh loving redditors Some dumbfuck handed over someone else's design to a cuttinghouse in china and it's got all the big facetors scrambling to think of a way to lock down their previously freely available designs
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Jul 21, 2022 22:04
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