Equipment

Faceting Machines

There are a wide variety of faceting machines. From basic to high end complex machines there is something for everyone and finding the right one for you is part of the adventure.

Pictured here is a Facetron machine made by Jarvi Tool. There are many machines to choose from and your choice will largely be driven by the features you want and how much you are prepared to pay.

Some features to look for:

- What Index Gears are you supplied with?

- What degree of control do you have over the angle selection? Some machines provide digital readouts and control down to the 1/10th or even 1/100th of a degree.

- What size lap does it support - 6" or 8"?

- What laps are you provided with in your purchase?

Cutting and Polishing Laps

Laps are the abrading disks that are used in shaping your cut stone. The range in abrasiveness from very coarse to ultra fine. The lower the number the coarser the disk. The larger the number the finer the disk. You can also choose between pre-charged laps and laps that must be recharged periodically. Common lap grits are:

- 100

- 200

- 325

- 600

- 1200

- 3000

Above 3000 you are usually in to using diamond powder to charge your base lap. Remember that you never mix grits on a lap. Once you use a lap with one grit you can never go with a finer grit on that lap. Laps are dedicated to 1 grit from their lifespan.

Dops

Dops are the pieces of equipment that hold your stone securely and fit in to the faceting machines quill. Each machine has its own particular set of dops with a wide variety of heads. Some dops are made with a pin on the side that fits in to the faceting machine quill to lock it in to a specific repeatable position to reduce the chance of misalignment when you redop your stone and reposition the new dop in the quill.

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