Post subject: Is there any use for faceting machines?
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:10 pm
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:42 pm Posts: 7
I'm learning to how to cut gem and was going to post this under Colored Stones section as I would like to learn faceting sapphires and diamonds. Would appreciate some guidance on the subject of cutting/grinding/polishing tools which would work for both.
Does a machine like Poly Metric Scintillator 88" have any use in cutting/polishing diamonds? Seems like most of what I have seen are hand held devices and constant checking during all phases of diamond production.
Post subject: Re: Is there any use for faceting machines?
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 6:32 pm
Moderator: Lapidary Diamonds
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm Posts: 1747 Location: Florida, United States
snowcarver75 wrote:
I'm learning to how to cut gem and was going to post this under Colored Stones section as I would like to learn faceting sapphires and diamonds. Would appreciate some guidance on the subject of cutting/grinding/polishing tools which would work for both. Does a machine like Poly Metric Scintillator 88" have any use in cutting/polishing diamonds? Seems like most of what I have seen are hand held devices and constant checking during all phases of diamond production. Thanks
In theory, you could use a colored stone faceting machine to cut a diamond, but it would be very slow, as it would be on any faceting machine. You need special spindles and tooling like dops and tangs for diamond cutting. http://adamasfacet.com/spindles.html
Post subject: Re: Is there any use for faceting machines?
Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 3:56 pm
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:20 pm Posts: 2659
Nick Michalides sells a faceting machine called the Diamante which he designed in conjunction with Lazare Kaplan. It sells for about $5,000. It is a heavy modification of his well known Alpha Taurus faceting machine. It would probably be best for minor recuts and repolishes. It has more horsepower than a regular colored stone faceting machine but not nearly as much as a "real" diamond cutting setup.
He is in his nineties and still cranking stuff out. Great guy. A websearch indicates it is not available but I think if you wave the purchase price at him he will build you one.
Post subject: Re: Is there any use for faceting machines?
Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:43 pm
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Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:00 pm Posts: 391 Location: Dolan Springs, Arizona
In the late 1970s or early 1980s, during the heyday of faceting and gem cutting clubs on the West coast, there was a guy, whose name escapes me now, who taught diamond cutting in Hayward, CA. He and his students, used to demonstrate diamond cutting at the annual Faceters Fair in San Jose. He demonstrated on an old Sapphire Machine that he had modified for diamond cutting. The old Sapphire machines were very large and build like tanks, although very simple in design. It was his opinion that these were the only faceting machines capable of being modified for diamond cutting.
Post subject: Re: Is there any use for faceting machines?
Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 2:49 pm
Moderator: Lapidary Diamonds
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm Posts: 1747 Location: Florida, United States
TOM KIDWELL wrote:
In the late 1970s or early 1980s, during the heyday of faceting and gem cutting clubs on the West coast, there was a guy, whose name escapes me now, who taught diamond cutting in Hayward, CA. He and his students, used to demonstrate diamond cutting at the annual Faceters Fair in San Jose. He demonstrated on an old Sapphire Machine that he had modified for diamond cutting. The old Sapphire machines were very large and build like tanks, although very simple in design. It was his opinion that these were the only faceting machines capable of being modified for diamond cutting.
I believe that Michalides no longer makes the Diamante and even when he did, very few sold. That might have been Lenny Ludel, but I don't recall his ever using a Sapphire faceting machine for demos. I know of only one faceting machine currently sold that could be modified to cut a small diamond. I find building a dual use machine to be an interesting challenge.
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