precious and such)
Where does one get the necessary equipment to cut, shape and polish stones
and rocks?
If this all works out, I'll send a few pictures of the stuff I've completed.
--
Edmond "The Lurch" Kida
Idiot's Lunchbox Productions
Many people make their own equipment, and there is a lot of used
equipment around now. Companies like Lortone, Graves, Gryphon, Diamond
Pacific, Raytech make equipment. 1 or 2 of those may have been bought
out or eliminated some product lines. There are newer companies making
limited product lines. (Lot-O-Tumbler for instance).
Check Ebay, Craigslist and your local Gem&Mineral Club for used
equipment. check http://www.amfed.org/ for clubs and shows near you.
(if you are in the US)
There may be DIY instructions for equipment at ehow or
instructables.com .There are probably some interesting Youtube videos
for you as well.
good luck
http://schmidling.com/gems.htm
To get an idea of what can be done along your lines of interest.
As a point of interest, there is a quantum leap between polishing rocks,
and cutting gems along with a large jump between making cabochons and
faceting stones.
The former requires only a rotating lap while the latter requires a
highly specialized machine. I did not wish to spend thousands of
dollars on such a machine so I built my own and had a great deal of fun
using it as can be seen from the page.
The machine worked so well that I gave it a name and came up with ways
to sell it for $500. It was a dismal flop and I sold only one and
withdrew it from the market but you can get an idea of what is involved
from the photos. http://schmidling.com/eg.htm
Good luck,
Jack
--
Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Fiber, Gems,
Nature, Radio, Sheep, Sausage, Silver
>
>
>I'd like to get into crafting and shaping stones (not diamonds, but semi
>
>precious and such)
>
>
>
>Where does one get the necessary equipment to cut, shape and polish stones
>
>and rocks?
Check out Diamond Pacific, http://www.diamondpacific.com/