The Sunshine people are jerks, so a guy in a trailer far away tells his little girl assistant, "no we are not going to play today", after many hours of travel for us."But we will sell you a bag of junk with one marginal stone for $100. Do not do business with those jerks.

Your videos are helpful thank you John! I cut so seldom these days, working full time, I sometimes forget things! Appreciate you! I refer people to your academy!

Can this dial indicator be fitted on a Seatle Face-ette?

just about to try faceting my first topaz, very helpful video

Very helpful. I like the highlighting. Would recommend a nicer microphone for a more professional sound.

Do this work with Styrene acrylonitrile resin (SAN) plastic instead of glass? Found a perfect piece but don't want to put it to the lap if it will contaminate it.

General question. I've had some issues with a facetron that when having the head low for cutting the girdle, the sleeve doesn't slide back and forth very easily. It's almost as if I have to force it, making cutting the girdle a pain. When having the head higher up, there are no issues. What could be the problem with that?

I am new here ! I am just starting with faceting stones. I had a Heart discease and I am recovering at this moment.Thats the reason why I started with gemstone cutting.SSo I don t know anything of this art . I am a complete novice at this material stronecutting but I realy want to lrarn it !!! I hope to learn how to cut gemstones !!!

I really needed this video! Using Voodoo vanilla on Creamway - polishing a synthetic emerald, RI 1.5 - probably coloured glass. Not nice material to cut so thank you!!! Doing it for a vendor at our Gem and Mineral show 😊🤗Appreciate you John!

Whats a number to call this company, looked on Faceton site and there is no number, would love to ask jeff some questions

John, I'm starting your "Joe's Jackpot" and can't find the Pavilion Break Facet angle (P3). I've watched your video on the UltraTec website and it is missing. What angle did you use? Thanks. Looking forward to this cut,

Holy crap. I can't believe I've been using my Facetron for 9 years and only learned about the hard stop controls today from watching this. I didn't even know they were there. In my defense, my machine is at a height where I stand up while using it, and from that angle, the controls are not visible. Thanks for the video, it was quite informative.

Is there anything preventing the cheater from turning? I have old facetron, sat in garage in tub for 20+ years. The pin that you depress to spin quill is not centered but on one side, should it be centered?

Dang, that is simple. Thank you for posting this.

Can you start from the girdle? Thanks , looks like a great design !

Great video and good explanation . Thank you.

GRACIAS...

where to buy this faction machine new

Great video, always wondered if the hundredths on most diagrams (and some machines) were there for true accuracy or simply the illusion of it. Keep up the good work!

HI John I am very new to this gem business. I would be pleased If you can help me identify the stone I have. I don't have your email How can I send you the videos and photos of the stone. Thank you so much !

Is any particular diagram for the sunstone or you just change the angles using software ?

A very interesting presentation with many points we as jewelers or faceters need to keep in mind

Wow that’s an amazing effect! Did you choose the orientation of your rough with those lines in mind or did you orient the rough to fit the design best?

Hi,very good

Nice work John. We see this often on the clear stuff from NSW, Australia. I usually avoid stones like this as the "blinds" can sometimes make the finished gem look hazy and lacking contrast. Is this something you've observed as well with the Oregon material? Your results close-up are certainly pretty...

what a detailed explanation on rough stones just wow ! And I have two questions 1) when using white paper test for color examination let say if we expect the stone to be a nice royal blue sapphire will all part of the stone in front of us have that kind of blue with even distribution? 2) when looking for cracks how do we identify the cracks that are deep and go from one part of the stone to the other or opposite side ?

Nice Video !!! Please do more stone evaluations, it is so important to take the time to map out your cut with expensive rough.

Thank u for video.. Do u place the best color to the bottom of the pavilion? Or closer to the crown ? It is clear for me that inclusions are not good for culet, bcs of multiply the effect... How about the color?

Thank you very much for your articles and videos on rough evaluation. One thing I didn't understand on this video is the cracks that have been spotted, weren't they that much of a problem?

I appreciate you sharing your gem studies, thank you! I think it was more obvious in this one, but it would be helpful if you pointed out which face you wound up using for the table, so we can play along and try to guess during the analysis.

Thank u for sharing John, what kind of immersion liquid do u use? Just water? Or something particular for special RI? Thank u

Wow! This is stunning!

Hi,thanks

Very useful information for new faceters as myself.

When I first started faceting using a Graves Mk 1 machine, I saw designs with those 100ths which I called "Goofy Angles". Those designs were very intimidating to me UNTIL I got Gem Cut Studio which helped me better understand the significance (or insignificance) of those 100ths of a degree. I learned to set my Vernier as close to a repeatable position as possible and then closed in the Meet Points by raising or lowering the mast via Fine Height Adjustment Only to cut more or less on the Heel or Toe of a Facet. It took a while but I soon overcame my fear of "Goofy Angles" ! 😁

That's exactly why I went for the analog dial instead of digital reader and saved myself hundreds of dollars.

I agree. Is one reason I try to round off in my designs.

The argument over 100th being used, is all about the lap tolerances and pressure, I use a weight for constant pressure and I don't press down on the stone on the lap; then the tolerance of the lap matters. I use ceramic laps for the cutting, of course I am cutting a circular shape, so the min amount of normal force is pressed back to the quill. I can facet to the 100th under this condition, but I admit I am to making flat facets. The argument of you cannot facet to 100th of a degree, depends on the amount of time your willing to cut the stone. In a commercial environment and using and pressing different pressures, you cannot, the only case, is the case that I use to cut circular objects and apply a constant force on the quill by using a weight that Ultratech provided. I use the DAD V5 UltraTech machine, the same as the given example with a uneven lap, I am only cutting the stone using a portion of the lap to maintain the 100th tolerances. For commercial uses and procedures, yes the different pressure will drop tolerances, as your lap is not that flat. However I have a AlO2 Lap that is flat, but I don't have a way to actually measure across the lap, yet.

Hi,very thanks

nice video！

Very good info. New subscriber, thanks

This was a really great series on topaz cleavage plane ID! Thank you. You had mentioned in the first video the question "so what?" You talked about cutting at 10 degrees off the cleavage plane and mentioned a video detailing with if this was the correct angle all the time and how to ensure that you measure it correctly. I've not been able to find that video. Has it been published yet? If so, can you please provide the location?? Thanks again! This is terrific!!

What an astonishing finished stone!

Wild!

Thank you for this demonstration.

Hi very good

I faceted my first stone around December 15, 2019 with a Graves Mk 1. I entered the 2020 Novice competition (USFG Single Stone Comp) and scored pretty well although it was wee bit shy of receiving the Novice class certificate. I have since cut many more stones and now have a new UT - VL Classic (digital) and have already cut my Novice class stone but haven't submitted it yet in case I find the time to cut a new one that might be even better. Otherwise, I'm satisfied with my current stone and I'm not aware of anything that might cut points. I entered in the first place to learn what it is that I do NOT know. To receive a critique from which I can learn new things to look for or to apply my attention to when cutting accurately (as I always try to do). Regardless of this years competition, I trust I will learn some new things that will be valuable for me to learn at this stage of my faceting. I'm looking forward to it.