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 Post subject: Stonetes Teslap
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:58 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:58 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Hey guys i am looking at getting the stonetes tes lap,

Just out of curiosity, How long does it take to cut for example a 1ct ruby using this,
I think it is a great tool for me to learn with. Also as an engineer I would most likely over time adapt it to be used with motorized dops.

My concern is freight cost, I live all the way at the bottom of the world in NZ and according to the website freight estimator I would be looking at 247.00USD just in shipping, Thats over half the cost of the kit, Do you think it would be worth while for me to ask the company if they would ship it without the bulky case to try bring down the shipping cost a little or is there a similar system on the market that would perhaps be worth looking at.

Any advice would be awesome i really want to get started learning this art


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 Post subject: Re: Stonetes Teslap
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:34 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:57 pm
Posts: 66
I have been researching various faceting machines lately.

The stonetes is cool. But the handpiece is similar to the raytech shaw. The raytech shaw has been around for a while, and is now being manufactured by another company. Just as is the stonetes, which was originally made by a man who has deceased.

The handpiece of either could be used to do it by hand on plates as shown in the stonetes video.

Although they are similar. I would personally prefer the raytech shaw. The raytech shaw has a instructional pdf that you can download which explains its use. It explains the process of adjusting the various cheaters/ restpoints.

It explains how to adjust the restpoints when say one side of a facet is polishing, and one is not. It has specific angle adjustments documented per part of a turn of one of the adjustment knobs.

Now, this a platform type faceting machine.

So, when you ask about speed:
Jamb peg-fastest
platform-second fastest
hybrid/mast-featuring removable dop-third fastest
mast type faceting machine-slowest

Now for precision. Fastest=least accurate, slowest=most accurate

So, these handpieces allow you to remove from the platform or surface and check the meetpoints, sscratching, depth, etc...With mast, microscopes help.

I personally will use all of these except maybe the hybrid. As I will be doing things in many ways, and will be getting into concave faceting as well. I will have budget type pieces, and high end masterpieces.

So knowing what work you will be doing, how precise you would like each piece will effect your decision. My fantasy cuts, will be of course done with mast. My basic faceting will be done with either a jamb peg, or platform mast.

So I plan to create work where accuracy of meetpoints is highly important, and work where facet edges can be rounded, only worked through 260, 400, 600 grit and flame polished which will be speed faceted.

So, anyways. The raytech handpiece does seem to be more accurate, sturdy, with greater precision allowed and you almost may as well but the platform and lap.

Its up to you, but for 800-900 USD to you for just a handpiece, when you can buy the complete setup for 1950 USD may be a better option. If you planned to go mechanized, you would have to figure out a accurate and durable platform mast and a lap. The problem with platform faceting is wear and tear on the platform and the sturdiness off it, which will determine its maximum precision. So, be gentle, and be patient from the get go, with a brand new unit, and keep your precision. With a used unit, you can kiss higher levels of precision by-by, just like a new car! I drive my car like a granny and safe at all times, but the previous owners probably abused their vehicles.

So that's my thoughts. I am a newbie and have no actual experience though. But I study how to be the most precise I can be, in each process, and type of faceting as I will be doing all of them pretty much.


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