[Jewelry making - Article 00092] - [Orchid] Primitive Faceting/Lapidary Techniques/Tools?

[Asa Jamason]

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    Hello all!  I am new to this list and this is my first
    post/question. 

    Here is my situation: I've recently been taking faceting classes at
    a nearby gem/minerals club and I like it, a lot.  The club itself is
    excellent... modern equipment, clean, and nice people.  However, I
    can only go to the club meeting/workshop once a week or less because
    of my location, schedule, etc.  And once a week is not enough to
    satisfy my thirst for faceting! 

    Anyways, my question is this: aren't there less expensive alternative
    to faceting at home other than modern faceting machines? They easily
    cost $1000!  I asked around for cheaper alternatives at the club and
    they all just recommended facetrons/ultratecs/etc... Don't many
    people use primitive methods of faceting, like the device seen on
    http://www.rockhounds.com/rockgem/articles/laplap.html ? Its
    basically a simple device thats held by hand over a lap, used much
    like sharpening gravers.  What did people use like 100 years ago?
    500 years ago?!  What do those in the third world use?  Are there any
    good books covering primitive faceting/lapidary?  I simply refuse to
    believe that the only way for me to start faceting at home is to
    shell out a painful some of money. 

    I understand that 'manual' faceting would be a lot less efficient
    and I'm fine with that... 

Thanks for reading my post!
Asa Jamason

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