How to cut Gemstones: 3 Getting to know the Faceting Machine

Hi, I'm Steve Moyerty and this is part three of our lessons in gem cutting. And today we're going to talk about the machine itself and what the parts are. All machines are going to vary slightly but they're all going to also do the same thing. So, I'll start with this is the mast of the machine and it's responsible for the height. That the stone is at which will help you get the angle that you want. This is the main height adjustment. And this is the finer adjustment. So, this dial here is the dial gauge. Some machines have a digital gauge. Others do not have this gauge but this is helpful in the final adjustment when you're cutting. And when it, if you're set up right, when it gets to zero that's where your facet should be in the correct position. This is the protractor. This one splits it up into every five degrees. So, if you want to cut at 43 degrees this is the main setting, this is 40. And here the fine setting, this breaks 5 degrees into 50 individual markings. So, you, to get 43 degrees you set this to 40 and set this to 3 and that will give you 43 degrees. Here's your index gear. Index gears vary, they can be 16 index, you can have 32, 64, 72, 80. This is a 96 index so it's broken up into 96 separate settings. And this allows you to find the place to put your facet. This is the release. When you use this just make sure it gets into the divot correctly, the right index, because you can see you can, it can get set in between and you have to make sure it's in the right position. This is your cheater. Right now it's cheated way left and this is the setting. So, when you start out you try and set it to the center point and this gives you some cheat when your facet's not quite in the right position. This is how you adjust the facet. Ideally you don't have to use the cheater but you'll find over time you'll use it over and over again. So, this is the quill of the machine and here's where you'll put your dop. The dop of mine are keyed, most of them are keyed some way. This one, so you slip it in and you tighten the set screw and then you tighten the nut at the end of the quill. Make sure they're good and tight and then your dop is in position and ready to cut. So, this, on the mast, this is how you move it in and out of the machine and position for position onto the cutting lap. This is how you tighten it. In all these settings, this, this piece, you want to make sure everything is tight before you start. So, one thing to be concerned about when you're setting where your mast position is, you do want to use as much of the lap as possible. But, there is a risky area and that's down here. When you're cutting, if you try and use too far in, you can end up catching the center nut, which will damage your stone when cutting. So, you're better off out a little ways. Eventually, you're going to want to use this because after you've worn out the rest of it, this is going to be a very good place to cut much sharper. But, you have to be careful at that position. So, this is the water that's going to clear the swarf off your cutting lap as you cut. It's going to build up, so you just set the water. When you're cutting on a coarse lap, you'll need more water. On a fine lap, you'll need less water. So, that's going to clean the material off your lap. It goes into the drip pan. This, this you'll generally have blocking this position. This is when you're cutting the girdle that you'll need this open. So, you close this so the water stays in. The water goes in here, goes to a drain, into a bucket beneath your desk. Here's your speed. And it also, this one has a reverse. You can run in both directions just by flipping the switch and it will run in the opposite direction. Sometimes, there's advantage running in the opposite direction. You can, it may cut better in a different direction. You can also change direction by just changing position on the lap. Cut on this side, it is actually cutting one direction. You cut this side and it cuts another direction. And that becomes a benefit, particularly in polish. When it's not polishing correctly, you sometimes want to change the direction of the polish. And you'll find that will assist you in getting a good polish. The lamp. Polishing in the lamp will become key in seeing the stone. You know, during cutting, you may have to move it just so you can get a better position on the stone, particularly when you're trying to check your polish. So, now that you're familiar with the machine, our next video will be cutting the pavilion of this citrine into a round brio. Thanks again for watching. Steve Moriarity from Moriarity's Gemma. www.gemma.com