August 2015 Program Information
August 2015 Program
We were greatly impressed with the presentation about how to facet gemstones, given by long time club member Kelly Lane.Kelly got hooked on this process many years ago, and is quite an expert. He made the process look easy with his step-by-step instructions.
He referenced the book Facet Cutters Handbook (Edward J. Soukup, 1986), but told us not to follow everything exactly as printed. (It’s an old book, but still may be available with some searching.) For example, he told us that he has ruined many stones by cutting the crown first - he has learned to do the pavilion first.
Here’s a drawing to help illustrate the different components of a faceted stone:
The work is time consuming and tedious, but with practice, some beautiful faceted stones can be made. By working a few hours a day over several days, and having patience, some really beautiful stones can be completed.
He also explained how to set the stone, and showed us some of his equipment. Kelly displayed several brilliant pieces of jewelry that he has made for his wife.
Kelly said he would like to teach anyone who would like to learn – just ask him.
For further investigation, take a look at this sub-forum of the Lapidary / Gemstone Community Forum:
Fascinating Facets - http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/board,50.0.html
This particular post has some very good pictures of a stone being faceted from rough to finish:
http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/topic,10546.msg112746.html#msg112746
And this one lists several web sites as sources for free facet designs:
http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/topic,12082.0.html
(NOTE - links not tested in depth, originally posted in 2013 but most seem to be functional )