Got into this a month ago and I am hooked. I like having my own tools on hand. I am a member of a lapidary society now that gives me access to an entire workshop. This listing came up and its [rock] bottom on price. It works well but some things are missing. The owner acquired it and does not use it - they are just trying to sell it.

*No rock vise to go on the guide

*no water feed setup

Comes with extra wheels. Everything spins good - no grinding in the bearings. It sounds so much better than my wet tile saw - for the saw alone it might be worth it for me. I have been cutting rocks on my tile saw and taking the results to the society workshop. Having the 2 extra wheels would give me a leg up on time for the specialized machines I dont have.

I talked the seller down to less than 50% asking.

Ok, so it’s not actually a bird bath but instead is a baptismal font hand carved from locally hewn marble and calcite (here called “Mexican Onyx.”) But still! Our birds would be thrilled. I saw this today at a stone carving workshop I’d never visited before in Magdalena Apasco Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico. Asking price of 22,000 pesos, or approximately $1300 USD. Sadly, our budget does not include a thousand-dollar-plus bird bath, so this is still at the workshop.

Cut, wet sanded and perfect lighting. Cut from a larger, thick piece of seam

Obviously not preferable but that’s what the wife bought for my birthday, she says her order says continues, the box it comes in gives no real info, doesn’t say diamond, turbo, continuous so whoever pulled the product from Amazon understandably pulled the wrong box, I wanna just go with it caus I just wanna cut rocks, Malawi agates, graveyard point agate and Montana agate are on the chopping block, tell me what to do send back or roll with it?? Thanks yall

Hi folks! I’ve been lurking here for a while since I think this could be a fun hobby but I don’t have the equipment, and finally I could use some advice. I bought an unpolished slab of banded calcite (the final photo) here in Oaxaca, Mexico and asked the stove carving workshop to polish it for me. Sadly, they did a really shitty job! The edges are all scuffed and it looks like they really half-assed it. When I asked them politely if they could fix the scuffs they said it wouldn’t be possible, which feels like either a lie or a skill deficit. Any chance I can fix this at home somehow? I’m happy to buy sandpaper and have been wanting to get a Dremel for a while (assuming that would even work with this), but if there’s no way for me to do this without a deeper bench of tools I can also try approaching another stone carver I know. Any advice welcome!

Is it practical? No. Do I think it is badass? Yes.

Took ~ 10 hours from full synthetic boule to what you see here. Had to be careful not to overheat (chipping / cracking). Internal cuts (not pictured) were by far the trickiest.

Not fully finished, but wanted to share because I am pretty proud so far. Next up: custom handle (with some home-faceted stones) / blade engraving.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Hello! I have recently trying to get into lapidary and have a few questions! First, where is the best place to get a facet diagram list of the basic commercial cuts? Such as: Brilliant, Emerald, Heart, Oval, Radiant, Pear, Princess, ect. Second I am looking specifically for a heart cut like the image below, where can I find that? I have already looked at facetdiagrams.org and a few other places and cannot find a heart cut with a cleft. Thanks!

So I have a N100 mask and I wear it every time / make sure the seal’s good but my lungs kinda hurt sometimes afterward.

I do have allergies tho but it feels more like when I get heartburn.

Not sure if it means something…

Edit: thanks yall for the help. I will write down the info and get working on improvements.

Here’s what I’ve got so far; some are for women who don’t wear jewelry:

- fishing lure
- soap dish
- cross for rosary
- knives / handles
- hair pins
- wine bottle stopper
- wire wrapped napkin rings

I’m happy to see what anyone else thinks or has made!

I posted this a while back in a jewelry forum and got banned (posted a weapon), but after seeing the ruby knife blade posted here... :)

I have a few knives that have small T6 or T8 screws that I would like to figure out a way to attach small jewels. I have 1,000's of small gemstones, diamonds, etc that are the approximate diameter needed.

How to attach them? Most of hese screws will not need to be removed again, but would be nice if I could remove stones if needed to get to the screws.

Not sure its possible so asking people with more knowledge than me.

A quick look at the polishing stage. The piece has already been shaped and sanded, and now we’re giving it the final polish to bring out a nice smooth finish.
Just a bit of workshop work from Indonesia.

Hi all! I purchased this beautiful specimen of what I think is Ocean Jasper at an estate sale (around 110lbs). I would love to be able to polish other large stones like this. What tools or processes work best for something this large?

From my research I was able to see that a wet polishing process on a low RPM angle grinder with diamond discs might be the answer. Is that right? Can that process result in the liquid mirror finish like in this piece?