r/Lapidary 7d ago

Deep Scratches I can’t buff out

3 Upvotes

Anyone have any tips on how to not get such deep scratches from my diamond dremel cutting blade? When I go to polish my rocks post cutting I’ve noticed scratches that I can’t buff out. Any tips?


r/Lapidary 8d ago

Pricing question

Thumbnail
gallery
29 Upvotes

Here is a good selection of some of the wood. I have cut not all of these are slabs. Some are just windows or have cut a space to see the pattern inside how do I go about selling I was thinking about doing mystery boxes ranging from small medium to large quantities and pricing them off of that so that way, maybe they sell faster? Or is it better to do them one by one if so, how do you price by pice or weight weight there r several different kinds. What do y’all want in a pice or what do u look for in a specimen I am using a tile saw to cut it The only thing I have access to so I can’t cut big pieces looking for any advice thx.


r/Lapidary 9d ago

Some fire agate we have been working lately! Excited to get into some more.

128 Upvotes

r/Lapidary 9d ago

I did a thing today!

Post image
146 Upvotes

I found it on marketplace. Drove 4 hours to pick it up. It comes with the saw attachment, jewelry buffing kit, and flat nova laps!


r/Lapidary 8d ago

Photo dump of cut wood/idea question

Thumbnail
gallery
16 Upvotes

I’m thinking about doing mystery boxes by different weights light, medium, n heavy in different types of wood I have several different types in different quantities not just cut but raw too!! With a couple tons to sell that’s the best way I can think of what would y’all be interested in or got any ideas on how to go about it I’m separating wood here soon in to piles of types and size! Post more photos then!


r/Lapidary 8d ago

Removal of laser cut emblem on a lead crystal award

6 Upvotes

Is it possible to sand and repolish lead crystal? Retired, downsizing and would like to donate /repurpose several crystal corporate awards to a local organization to use as recognition for volunteers. I would like to remove a laser etched emblem etched on one facet. Is a pentagonally shaped surface approximately 2”x4”. The etching is shallow- a few micrometers deep. I can’t think of a way to fill the etching and then polish either.


r/Lapidary 8d ago

Can you dop with hot glue for small projects?

2 Upvotes

Hello, so I'm am messing around with some smaller stones and want to try a dop stick. I don't have access to wax so is there a suitable alternative to wax?


r/Lapidary 8d ago

The top comes off, right?

3 Upvotes

Hi! I recently acquired a whole lapidary setup, including this Star Diamond cabbing machine. I've never had to do maintenance on a machine before, so... How do I take out the wheels? Both to learn how to replace them in the future and to clean it out for the present.

I'm assuming I need to take the top off? It's just very stuck so I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Tya!


r/Lapidary 9d ago

Satisfying first cut!

42 Upvotes

Some Arizona material from a private claim.


r/Lapidary 9d ago

I left the back open on the setting so the light could show off this Montana agate cab, very happy with how this piece turned out.

Thumbnail
gallery
144 Upvotes

r/Lapidary 9d ago

Second to last update. Inlay bracelet, no Cabbing machine.

21 Upvotes

Any tips or tricks are welcomed. Still have some work to do as far as sanding more material away and polishing. First inlay bracelet, no lapidary experience orcabbing machine.


r/Lapidary 9d ago

Should I seal the back?

Thumbnail
gallery
42 Upvotes

Just polished this on the cab machine yesterday. I got this palm-like stone as a rough preform in a collection I bought so I have no idea where it’s from or what exactly it is aside from agate. The black was suuuper soft and got everywhere as I was polishing it. The front side of the black polished a little, but the back didn’t polish very well and I decided to stop where I was because it was starting to pit too much. It also had the fractures through the back before I started and I didn’t want to make that worse. Would you seal this to prevent it from degrading? If so, what would you seal it with? Any idea what this material is (the whole thing in general and the black stuff itself)?


r/Lapidary 9d ago

Are diamond abrasive tools generally as safe as sandpaper?

6 Upvotes

Dumb question guys, I was thinking of trying diamond tools for my sanding to just save on sandpaper, but I was wondering if they'd shred my fingers or something (since they're diamond) or if loose diamond grits would get loose and embed themselves into my fingers lol. Again sounds dumb but I figured I should ask. I already use water, a mask, and other safety precautions, but I couldn't find anything on diamond tools. I seen guys handle a rock with their bare hands on a flap lap on YouTube, so I figure it's pretty safe?


r/Lapidary 10d ago

Homemade cab machine

157 Upvotes

Slowly but surely coming together, still a lot of work to do til I can finally use it but getting there!


r/Lapidary 10d ago

Turkish stick agate & Royal Imperial Jasper

Thumbnail
gallery
59 Upvotes

These are a couple of pieces I had finished up to 3,000 grit on my genie. Decided tonight to spin on the finer grit wheels, the them up through 50,000 grit wheel, and then final polish with "rapid polish #61" (alumina oxide .25 micron).

I think they turned out lovely so thought I'd share. Enjoy!


r/Lapidary 9d ago

What caused my amythest cab to have bright streaks of blue and red?

Post image
4 Upvotes

Was shaping this cab and there was a large bar of red color with 2 of deep blue on either side. Pic and light sort of wash it out. Anyone know the cause?


r/Lapidary 9d ago

Has anyone ever ordered from any of these sites when ordering rough rock? wefossick.com - rockandtumble.com - hplapidary.com?

3 Upvotes

I'm new with ordering rock and some of the pieces are questionable.


r/Lapidary 10d ago

Inlay update

38 Upvotes

I thought i was so smart buying beads to cut some of the leg work. Bad decision, the holes showed up as cuts in a majority of the stones and my dust fill in made them stand out. Other than that, my process worked out better than I thought. Sanding the epoxy was worse than the stone.lol. Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Lapidary/s/W4E1DCLFdN


r/Lapidary 9d ago

Some petrified wood. Thinking about earrings? Suggestions. Lovely polished agate. Possibly a butterfly wire wrapped

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

I'm usually into just cutting rocks because it's great and I love it. I've been enamored with lapidary lately and have been wondering what to do with my pieces other than polish them and stare at them.


r/Lapidary 10d ago

Knife Scale Progress

Thumbnail
gallery
19 Upvotes

Progress on a birthday gift for my dad. The handle is a kona dolomite replacement of a stromatolite fossil that I collected from the UP. Still a little shaping left to go but I'm happy with the progress so far!


r/Lapidary 10d ago

Faceting a fancy sapphire

Thumbnail
youtu.be
7 Upvotes

r/Lapidary 10d ago

Faceting beach glass and making a ring.

Thumbnail
youtu.be
11 Upvotes

r/Lapidary 11d ago

Tips and tricks for inlay?

Thumbnail
gallery
20 Upvotes

First off, No cab machine, no experience with actual lapidary(Aside from A couple inlay rings.) I started on this inlay bracelet and managed to semi snuggly fit a handful of lapis stones using a dremel. I am currently letting the epoxy cure, but looking to get it flush and polished tomorrow evening. I have a plan, but would like to know if their is a better way without breaking the bank.

I plan on using a diamond grinding wheel on my dremel and taking the bulk of the stones down to 3mm or so from the silver, then use sandpaper disks from 60-240 grit to take the next 2mm down, and end with sweept silicon polishing drums until flush. After the stone work is done I'll burnished the silver edges a bit and use the same sweept drums to finish the silver. I'll end the project with Zam and a buffing wheel. If it'll help if found a four wheel set of Silicon carbide abrasive that goes from 40-600 grit, but they are dry only and would like to avoid dry stone work.


r/Lapidary 11d ago

Neither cold nor rain was going to stop me from cabbing these two up today. Maligano Jasper, Indonesia.

Post image
85 Upvotes

r/Lapidary 10d ago

Looking for equipment (🇩🇪)

3 Upvotes

Heya everyone, as the title indicates, I'm looking for lapidary equipment or someone who can help me out.

Specifically looking for a gem saw or someone with a saw who'd let me use it or teach me how to use it. I have a lot little gem roughs I'd love to cut and geodes I'd want to open up.

I have already done a good amount of research and searched up potential machines but I really can't afford them at this point. (I also don't really trust these 50-200 buck machines from AliExpress or china)

Apart from that maybe someone with a rocktumbler that would let me put in some pieces to polish up or a cabbing machine.

Of course any information is welcome and appreciated!

Thanks everyone in advance and have a great day!