Ralph has been faceting for some time now, mainly 12-hour days in front of the Facetron, and has faceted most of the recognized gemstones, including a few that aren't. Most of the stones listed on the Designer Gems
History
One of the things I was "forced" to do, was to learn about Kunzite. Susan wanted a Cushion-Cut Kunzite for her own and we bought a great piece of Pakistan rough (326 carats). I looked at this crystal for over 6 months before I felt confident enough to cut it, and even then I felt it was a crap shoot! The one thing I was warned about, over and over again, was to go SLOW !! With the many cleavage planes in Kunzite, they were SO right!
Well, after doing an Emerald cut with one piece of the rough, I decided there needed to be some changes made. The first thing I learned was that you cut Kunzite "into" the lap, never "away". Kunzite also responds best in a Cushion type cut. I also discovered by accident that if you use hot water for your drip, it stops the cleavage planes from breaking away so easily. I was having nothing but problems with the heat changes on the stone. I used dish washing soap, vinegar and hot water for the drip for both cutting and polishing. I found that using olive oil, and using 1200 diamond only for both preform and cutting (yes, I know, I know, slow, slow, slow), there was also less cleavage problems when cutting. For polishing, I used 100,000 diamond and olive oil on a phenolic backing plate. By using the hot water, polishing the Kunzite became a breeze !!
I also wanted to pass along some information about the Tangerine Garnets we have on the Miscellaneous Facet Rough page. These Garnets seem to be harder than average and the way I cut and polish them is the same way I cut and polish Sapphires. 600, 1200, 100,000 diamond on a ceramic lap. They polish beautifully this way and will produce a great looking stone.
Equipment
We also own a Prototype Fac-ette. There are no serial numbers and the blueprints came with it that were used to build it.
It has a washing machine motor sitting on the top and was built with a Mack Truck frame rail and weighs about 75 pounds. When we got this machine, it would not go any lower than 750 rpm and wound out to about 3500 rpm. Since we have acquired this machine, I have rebuilt the machine, including milling a new shaft and redesigning the lap system, and changed the pulley system to slow it down to about 120 rpm on the low side. We take this one when we're demonstrating faceting at shows, just to show the changes that have come about in the 35+ years since this unit was built. It has been affectionately named "Dino the Dinosaur" and still cuts a heck of a stone ! Note washing machine motor sitting on top.
Bottom view of "Dino". Note the pulley system.
Attachment for Cabbing ? We got it with the machine. Anyone know how to use it ????? |
The Gem and Lapidary Newsletter so she hasn't had a lot of time to work on it. We seriously looked at buying a new Fac-ette, but the price was a bit hefty for us right then, so we bought the Facetron and are extremely happy with it. Every machine has it's own idiosyncrasies, but this Facetron certainly has less than the old Fac-ette.
We also have had a chance to see The Diamante Faceting Maching and for the money, WOW! There isn't a better machine produced for both diamonds and colored stones.
Technique
My specialty is cutting Sapphires and am busy cutting away on some beautiful Australian top color blues and blue/greens right now. I also have lots of cutting ahead of me, as I have Montana sapphires on the dop, just waiting for me..... Too many stones, too little time!
When we got our Tunduru/Songea Sapphires, I went through them all, checking out the quality, what silk was in them, what percentage couldn't be used and weight. What I discovered was that we got lots of color change stones. My method when cutting these Sapphires is to roll the stone on a flat surface and whatever side comes to rest down, becomes the table of the stone. I cut crown first, which is unusual in this time of "meetpoint" faceting, but if it was good enough for the Diamond Cutters, it's good enough for me. By cutting crown first, I have been able to up my recovery to 15 to 20% more than with the meetpoint method cutting Pavilion first. Many people disagree, but it works for me !!! The Tunduru/Songea Sapphires we got go from a dark purple under Halogen to a Kashmir blue under Fluorescent to a beautiful blue/green in daylight. Sapphires are what I enjoy cutting best, Beryl next and Kunzite least !!!
I also use a piece of clear optical quartz when perfecting a new design. Some people feel that using Citrine, Smoky Quartz or Amethyst is justifiable for this, but I took some advice from some Great People (Bob Johnson, Bob Wilson and Bill LaCombe) when I was just getting started, and that was to buy the best quality rough I could afford. As a result, we don't use Citrine, Smoky or Amethyst, as the rough we have is too fine quality to practice on. We have also used clear marbles, which are great to practice on, glass, and some Russian Purple Fluorite, because it's soft and easy to see where you're off on your cuts. However, it's really messy and you get purple all over everything. I don't use that much anymore. I usually give that to my beginner students to get them started !! This way they don't have to press as hard and can see their meets very clearly.
I can't stress enough for faceters to learn to cut both ways, crown first, pavilion first as it makes you more confident and more proficient at your cutting.
You also might be able to catch me on "The Zone", Combat Flight Simulator , usually in the The Big Furball, flying my Hawker Hurricane. Look for AR_Peregrine, AR_Falcon, AR_Merlin, AR_CrazyAmi and more. Come and join the fun!
I belong to the "Archangels" squad and we're always looking for fresh prey!
See you there!
A good starting point for those of you who enjoy the Combat aspect of the Flight Simulators, browse these sites for what you might need.
NOTE: ALL of these sites are graphics heavy! They can load very slowly at times.
More Links!
Tex's Swap Shop You'll find AIRCRAFT, SCENERY, and TEXTURE (paints for planes), for
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator©. (Stock Planes ONLY).
Alaska By Don Sceneries from Alaska.
Mauro Giacomazzi - Talented Combat FS Developer Freeware site for Combat Flight Simulator©'s Friends.
And for those of you who like to fly Mods in MOD GAMES ONLY! (Some of these sites have music too.)
Crow Horse's Mod Shop One of the best Mod sites on the web!
KMH Squad - Bandit's Hangar Super Mods, Stocks, Jets, Carrier Planes.
KMH_AD_Wicked's Hangar WWII Planes, Stunt Planes, Stock Planes, Super Stock Planes. (Music)
Raven's Kill Zone Stock and Super Mod Planes (Music)
KMA_CuTTeR's Mod Shop Super Mod Planes (Music)
Mercenary Air Does your squad have the flu, dysentery, or air-sickness? Are your bomber pilots grounded with hangovers? Has your squad been decimated by enemy attacks? Are your black market connections not quite up to snuff? Can't find any volunteers for those covert operations? We Can Help!
For Email questions, or just to talk, Email me at: AR_Peregrine@gemstoneworld.com