meta99
Senior Member
Posts: 43
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Post by meta99 on Oct 22, 2011 17:51:26 GMT -5
I got inspired to start faceting at the MAGMA roundup. First stone is a clear quartz, second is a pale amethyst. Sue   Attachments:
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Post by rockshine on Oct 23, 2011 7:51:47 GMT -5
Good start Sue. Wishing you all the patience in the world and a steady hand. (Guess you know that the time spent sitting at the lap is less time hunting stones in the mud). And, belatedly happy birthday. For years I have railed against the custom of celebrations of personal accomplishement of attaining "age", but am beginning to realize it is the celebration of the person, not the years.
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Post by CrossfireBusiness on Oct 25, 2011 22:20:28 GMT -5
u go girl ! cant wait for u to give me tips when i need them and decide to start as well ..
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meta99
Senior Member
Posts: 43
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Post by meta99 on Oct 26, 2011 21:13:58 GMT -5
Still learning how to shoot pictures....but here are the next two...Two smokies...   Sue |
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Post by Craig on Oct 27, 2011 12:18:59 GMT -5
Sue, you did a Great job, Congratulations.
Keep up the great work.
Craig
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Post by Dicky the Rockhunter on Oct 27, 2011 14:11:37 GMT -5
really nice. where did they come from?
Dicky
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meta99
Senior Member
Posts: 43
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Post by meta99 on Oct 27, 2011 17:13:17 GMT -5
really nice. where did they come from? I'd love to say "self-collected" but not yet. We bought out the estate of an elderly man we met last year. He originally sold us my cabbing machine but after he passed on, his relatives asked us if we wanted to buy the rest. It included a monumental amount of rough (cabbing and faceting) as well as his old faceter and some 'doorknobs' he faceted. So the smoky and amethyst were from his rough (Brazilian ammys). But I have three more on dops to finish in the next week, including a clear quartz collected by a friend of Adrian's in NC near Spruce Pine. William gave me a modified brilliant design for that one. The biggest problem I'm having right now is getting a good photo of them. I found a great tutorial from Ron Gibbs of the Charlotte Gem and Mineral Club. So I have the light set up, now to tweak the fine points.... Thanks for looking. Sue |
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Post by andyeatsrocks on Oct 27, 2011 19:55:21 GMT -5
Great job, what lap/grit did you polish your quartz with? Nice start!!!
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meta99
Senior Member
Posts: 43
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Post by meta99 on Oct 27, 2011 20:03:47 GMT -5
I thought I could rough them in with a 100 grit topper, but caused so much subsurface damage that I ended up recutting all 6 stones two or three times! Eventually I learned how to rough with a 320, cut with a 600 and prepolish with 8000 diastik on zinc and polish with cerium on a Darkside lap. I got great assistance from Gearloose, the inventor of the Darkside. Nice when the "old guys" with all the experience help newbies...Rock people are good people! (well, most are)
Sue
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Post by gsellis on Oct 28, 2011 7:07:39 GMT -5
Hey Doc, next year, check out the William Holland School for Lapidary Arts. Ron actually teaches gem photography there about twice a year. $310 dual occupancy room and board for a week. The amount is correct (those of us who do technical courses... that is about a 2 hr or half day class fee). Each class may have a lab and materials fee.
I want to take it, but I want to do opal there first.
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