Faster Faceting by Simplifying Your Lap Sequence

In this video, I talk about how to improve your gem cutting speed without reducing the quality of your cutting.
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[@DonohueLabs]

I was reading those same forums talking about having to use specific lap progressions, and it took me a long while to realize that lap sequence doesn't matter. The only thing the customer sees is the final polish. They don't care if you had a 3k, 8k, and/or 14k step. If you could go from 360 or 600 straight to polish, do it!

[@stevendente9270]

Nice to see that you are getting to where I have always said you have to go. Yes, having a "predictable path to a perfect polish" with only 3 laps has been my mantra for many decades. Of course this has to be backed up by an efficient pre-forming ability (the true "art" in gem cutting) that removes almost all of the material that is going to be removed. This means you are really only laying on the facets on the machine. This must be done by using the pattern of your index wheel to position the facets not reading numbers, and not using a diagram (the enemy of yield a devil's paper) Very fast. For maximum results you need to have a machine that consistently and accurately allows you to remove and re-insert the dops from the quill without any re-alignment. This allows you to work a lot of stones through the cutting/polishing sequence concurrently. The final skill is being able to cut any size/shape stone by eye and mixed in the sequence. In order to do this you need to not rely on the machine for meet points, nor require the stones to be centered on the dop. Once all of this becomes second nature you will find that depending on size and species you can comfortably cut between 5 and 10 stones a day. Not two. Keep up the good work! Steven Dente

[@JustinKPrim]

totally agree! thanks for the good advice!

[@MrBeagleblue]

I basically use 3 step cutting for all my stones. Preform on 250 grit, pre polish on 1200 grit and polish with 50k diamond.

[@calebgibson1999]

I have wanted to know this info since I started cutting. Thank you!!!

[@Thelotuslaughs]

This helps a lot, I have a 100, 260,1200,3000, then 50k and maybe 100k after but I always found it takes too much time

[@rhondajones1313]

Nice man That was nice and informative.

[@jimmiescott7050]

Dude...... You have helped me so much! Thanks for all your insight and hard work

[@JustinKPrim]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

[@akstarman76]

very helpful for new gems cutter like me . great work

[@yankeetimeline]

Great info. For recuts and jewelry grade this works great. Competition cutting is a different store.

[@JustinKPrim]

definitely. For competition cutters, don't follow my suggestions :)

[@MrSpaghetti13]

I would like to see you demonstrate the final lap polishing using multiple grits.

[@JustinKPrim]

check out this vid around the 9 minute mark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pny1YYWEhp6Ap6M

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Terrific vid as always. Need an explanation of how a 600 sintered cuts like a 1,200 plated.

[@JustinKPrim]

600 grit sintered leaves the facet surface satiny smooth with minimal to no pitting. It’s very very easy to go to pre-polish from there. If you cut your facets on a 600 topper lap, the surface of the facet looks a lot more coarse and has a lot more little pits in it. I find a worn 1200 topper leaves the facets a lot smoother with a lot less pitting than a 600 topper though it’s nothing close to the smooth finish of a sintered lap.

[@ayeayeruby500]

Great 👍👍👍 thanks 😊

[@Celestial_Reach]

What about contamination? Wont you end up getting the 3k from rhe outter ring? My problem might be thst im using diamond paste, but its somewhat confusing to me

[@JustinKPrim]

No everything spins out so contamination is unlikely. I haven’t had any problems in the last 4 years doing that.

[@martinkey399]

Wanna race? 😂😅 Great advice, great idea, I would love a two phase lap with a 600 lldlite resin outer and a BA5T ( or Batt) inner, meanwhile since I prefer the resin lap for pre polish ,I had John ( gearloose) cut aBA5T down to 5 inch and drop it on top of my 600 resin lap - almost the same except your do have to move up and down a little Btw sorry I missed you at Tucson and thank you for your kind thoughts on my recent ordeal

[@Algoldprospecting]

Great info. I have an unrelated question. Does star opal exist. ?The opal I just cabbed looks like it has a 4 ray star.

[@JustinKPrim]

Not sure

[@Algoldprospecting]

@@JustinKPrim seriously. Not heard of it?

[@JustinKPrim]

@@Algoldprospecting I’ve not heard of it. Lots of stones we don’t think of as star stones have very rare specimen that show stars. Martin Steinbeck has books about stars that show really rare ones, such as star tourmaline. Maybe he has rare opals in his book.

[@Algoldprospecting]

@@JustinKPrim oh wow I haven’t heard of tourmaline.I will have to check that out. I’ve always been fascinated with the star gems but cabbed this one on accident.

[@Algoldprospecting]

Great video 😊. I guess I need a 600 sintered lap. Where can I get one. I took a break from Faceting. I was getting frustrated trying to get rid of the scratches plus cabbing stones in 20 minutes sounds better than hours lol. 😆

[@JustinKPrim]

sadly, the ones that I was selling are no longer available due to the sanctions on Russia. There are a few others on the market but I haven't tried any of them.

[@Algoldprospecting]

@@JustinKPrim oh man I hope you got extras for your own use. 😂

[@jimmiescott7050]

I am also looking for a 6-inch 600 sintered lap. Justin what are the few others that are on market that you haven't tried? If you have a recommendation I'll give it a try

[@JustinKPrim]

@@jimmiescott7050 there’s a guy called Boris on Facebook who sells them. Check his out.facebook.com/boris.kolodny.31

[@JustinKPrim]

@@Algoldprospecting i’ve got two sets. One for America, one for Europe.

[@user-zv4qj6hn9e]

Great vid! When you say it takes you 2-3 seconds to prepolish a facet on most stones I was just wondering if that also applies to sapphire or do those take a bit longer? If so, how long on average would you say to prepolish or polish a main facet on say a 1ct srb sapphire? I've been using zinc laps for them because I figure they are the fastest, is that what you use? You also mention that your 600 sintered leaves a nicer finish than a 600 plated and I'm wondering if you find it cuts slower than an equivalent grit plated or not. Thanks Justin!

[@JustinKPrim]

On a bigger sapphire, yes a little longer but a 1ct should still be just a few seconds. I don’t think the 600 sintered is slower as long as you’re preforming on a rough grit first. Cutting in the mains from rough on a 600 sintered is painfully slow.

[@user-zv4qj6hn9e]

Ok thank you! Would you say zinc is the fastest polish/prepolish lap material for sapphire because of its hardness or is there something even faster?@@JustinKPrim

[@JustinKPrim]

@@user-zv4qj6hn9e the traditional material for polishing sapphire is copper. Zinc is possible too but copper is harder.

[@user-zv4qj6hn9e]

Thank you!@@JustinKPrim

[@danielyork3406]

Interesting thoughts. At the moment I have a 1200 sintered, would you recommend still doing a 100grit sintered followed by 1200 sintered? Also, do you ever use cerium/alumina oxide? Or always diamond?

[@JustinKPrim]

The 100 grit sintered is great for taking off large chunks of Rough quickly. If you’re preforming or Cutting in your first set of mains, this will go a lot quicker. From there you can jump to the 1200 grit sintered. If you try to cut Rough on 1200 sintered, it takes forever. No I never use any oxides. I was never properly trained on how to use them and honestly I haven’t found a use case for them because diamond powder on a tin-lead lap can polish absolutely everything really well and fairly quickly.

[@danielyork3406]

@@JustinKPrim thanks! I’ll have to put the 100grit sintered on my shopping list!

[@lauriev]

Would your 600 lap be better described as a resin-lap, rather than a sintered lap as it looks like the bonding medium is resin rather than bronze or copper?

[@JustinKPrim]

No. It’s sintered bronze.

[@alekstopol]

I believe I have a good set for starting, 360 toper lat, 600 and 1200 syntered , 14500 diamond charged cooper lap, and brand new tin lap. I am planning to charge tin 50000k. Tried cut my first stone citrine, I like it, already love it, but scratches... Is an over cutting can cause self contamination? And my polish, self scratches too.

[@JustinKPrim]

For your first few stones try something that’s not Quartz. Quartz is hard to polish and 50k on tin probably won’t work. Try garnet or aqua or sunstone when you’re just learning. Save the quartz for later. You need different laps and /or difference abrasives such as cerium oxide.

[@alekstopol]

Yes, I just have to admit that quartz is not going well. I will try garnet.

[@johnjewell219]

Hi Justin. Love your show,can you tell me if the handpiece cutting machine is available in Australia?and what sort of price point.I believe they are made in Shrilanka Thanks John 😎🐈‍⬛🇦🇺

[@bainyshmall]

I got one from Sterling Gems and it cost $2400USD including shipping to australia

[@JustinKPrim]

@@bainyshmall perfect response. Thanks.

[@jeffegg2]

Not seeing how you prevent cross contamination on two grits one lap....

[@JustinKPrim]

2 fingers for separate applications of slurry. 2 papers towels for two grits of wiping. I’ve been using this system for almost 5 years with no problems.

[@NathanAlexander-py7eh]

So by dividing the prepolish/ polish lap you dont finish polish the girdles, right? Must only be a prepolish.

[@JustinKPrim]

Yes exactly. The girdle stays at 8k but you don’t see much of a difference. The girdle is small and once set, no one can see the polish.

[@NathanAlexander-zs3ok]

Brilliant@@JustinKPrim! Thank you for making this video. I was wondering how people can cut so quickly. Currently I am lucky to finish a stone in a day. Granted they aren't SRBs or RBs, but still. I Usually cut 380> 600> Red 600 Lightning Lap> Batt w/3k diamond> 60k diamond. Your videos make a difference. Thank you for being so candid with techniques. Alot of people aren't as open to reveal their secrets. It was great meeting you at the Tuscon USFG. I enjoyed our chat greatly and am really loving your book. Thanks for signing it! Cheers!

[@user-br5np9gu7j]

CAN I VISIT YOUR OFFICE IN BANGKOK

[@JustinKPrim]

Sorry, we moved out of Bangkok last year. We’re in Lyon France now. If you want to come visit, send me an email. Justin k prim at gmail

[@user-br5np9gu7j]

I am a gemstone collector, I collected many kinds of stones and I am now learning how to cutting and faceting it. It is very hard to do but I will continue to do it

[@JustinKPrim]

@@user-br5np9gu7j good luck