Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:51 am Posts: 755 Location: South Africa
It seems you are trying to facet very poor quality ruby. Perhaps there is nothing you can do except have it glass filled or obtain better quality rough. Duncan
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
In your post you said that you were new. My recommendation would be to start on some other materials and learn the process, then try something like a ruby. There are a LOT of threads out there on what a beginner should start with....
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 9:44 pm Posts: 711 Location: Las Vegas
WHOW! facet grade ruby is super pricey rite now thats a hell of a stone to start with. Might i suggest starting with aquamarine in small sizes and garnets, mali would be cheapest.
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Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:06 pm Posts: 2267 Location: Chapel Hill, NC / Toronto, ON
G_Madison wrote:
Might i suggest starting with aquamarine in small sizes and garnets, mali would be cheapest.
Mali garnet is definitely not a cheap material unless it's tiny and included. The best starting materials, in terms of ease of cutting, applicability of training, price, and finished stone value, would be amethyst or citrine, straw-colored sunstone, rose almandine or rhodolite garnets, or irradiated golden beryl or goshenite. The ideal size for a beginner is somewhere between 7 and 12mm, to get a good balance between appearance, ease of seeing meetpoints, and ease of cutting and polishing.
I'm amazed by the response to a simple question!! Maybe the guy has a ruby mine, and has plenty to play with. So he asks a question about a problem he's having, and gets told to forget it, hide the ruby away, go out and buy a wide range of rough that may, or may not, suit him, but as he is a beginner, others believe he should cut. Sorry guys, but sometimes I think you go off like grandmothers breakfast- all over the place! Ha- now I've offended every-one, I say, send us some photos of whats happening, and get some more help to try and finish the red beauty! Barry
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:49 pm Posts: 331 Location: South Africa
No Barry you are correct. Tanzanite may or may not have already have cut a few stones in other materials, we don't know. Even if he cuts a 100 stones in cheaper materials he still has to deal with the flaking issue with his ruby. If it was not flaking it is unlikely he would have posted looking for a solution.
It could well be inferior quality rough, I have some pieces from that area that I wouldn't bother to try to facet, they look like a disaster waiting to happen. I've never used any but possibly Opticon could help if it is the material.
Tanzanite, a picture or 2 could be helpful.
Differing opinions are healthy on a forum as long as they are constructive.
Maybe the guy has a ruby mine, and has plenty to play with.
Or he may have gotten a deal on some uncooked ruby rough, like i did a while back. I bought about a pound of ruby rough that I was planning on cabbing or selling the crystals as specimens, but after searching and cleaning some of them up, found quite a bit of facet rough. Most of them are classic dogtooth shape crystals and after cleaning the host rock off, look quite nice. Mostly they are in the 2 - 5 carat range, but cutting them on the c axis usually have to cut them in 2 to 3 pieces. So the largest I have cut from this rough so far has been .75 carats. Have cabbed some nice stars from this rough too.
I enjoy cutting the heated ruby rough I have more, though, since I can cut larger ones. Easier to see the meets.
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Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 9:44 pm Posts: 711 Location: Las Vegas
Barry is rite on this point, and i should know better my self than to discourage anyone from cutting anything. Sir, you have my most humble apology. You can only be your self, and if you believe in your self then you can do anything you put your mind to.
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