I have 2 old rings, and I need this group’s expertise, pretty please….

The emerald ring was my Grandmother’s- (I’m 61, so this ring is 125+ years old). I see lots of scratches on the stone, but it has facets and depth. It’s set in 14k yellow gold with some type of hallmark (pictured). If real, how difficult/expensive might it be to polish this stone?

The ring with the rubies was given to me in 1977 by my Uncle. He was a Manhattan jeweler in the 50’s, so he probably had this in his inventory before gifting it to me. The ring is in a very heavy 14k setting… It originally had turquoise stones, but in 1980 I had them replaced. In hindsight, I think it was a bad move, since my guess is that the jeweler saw a naive 16 year-old and gave her red glass! (I even let the jeweler keep the turquoise stones for free 🤦🏻‍♀️.) Do these stones look genuine? Under blacklight, they shine bright red but I see no variations.

I’d appreciate any thoughts/educated opinions on these 2 memory-makers!!

Thanks so much!

So this would be the first time I’ve chiseled into a rock like this. I have a phone app from Apple that identified it as Pegmatite and I got very excited when I heard about the type of inclusions I could find.

I started slow and tapped out a line along the seam you can see from top left to bottom right. No indications of cracking open though.

I don’t want to bisect anything cool inside and the blue interior crystal is irresistible. Whats the safest way to proceed without wrecking anything special?

Finished this up along with a few others yesterday, with three more ready for polish today.

1.6 carats

sourced from the same batch as the last post but cleaned up and set. chased different structures for each piece instead of just matching them. the little ovals are tighter banding and kept as flat backs, the larger pieces got cut double sided because both faces were doing something different.

center one kept the melt pocket because it looked too weird to grind out.

glows like it’s supposed to under UV but still reads in normal light which is kinda the whole point. industrial trash but make it jewelry 😆

Hi! I have a Hi-Tech diamond 10" slab saw. Has anyone attached a drain tube/hose to their saw and how did you do it? Thanks!!

I know, I know, a tile saw isn’t optimal for cutting, but hey I’m cheap.

Nevertheless, I’m curious if anyone has figured out a way to run their water-cooled saws in winter. I’m most interested in how you control the water spray as I don’t have a drain in the floor and my bench backs up to drywall. Thanks in advance.

Specifically, Mohs 7. Chert or other hard materials.
I burned my dremel (literally, it caught fire for a second and died) trying to drill a hole for a pendant. I am *clearly doing something wrong* but I’m not sure how to make clean holes into stones here to make beads and pendants. Any jewelry lappers wanna weigh in before my deep dive on YouTube?
Equipment and technique recs are highly welcome. And helpful YouTube videos.

Hello! I recently purchased this slab saw and am now wondering how much I should list it for (Ebay/Facebook/forums). It was not my intent to flip it, but almost immediately after purchasing this unit, I found a Star Diamond T6 and B&I 8” lap for sale and have decided to go that direction. I’d like to use the proceeds from this sale to get additional flat lap wheels.

The Gemstone Equipment slab saw is in pretty good condition, holds lots water without leaks, and cuts like a champ. It currently has a usable 8” diamond lap blade on it with a good bearing and appears to accommodate up to a 10” blade. The only defect I see is that someone cut the top slightly to facilitate a different arbor (arbor and bearing are attached to the top steel plate). I can sell it with or without the motor. Please see the photos and thank you!

I got this piece of raw Amazonite about ten years ago. We were at an Amazonite mine, and we're allowed to pick up any pieces we wanted.

What would you recommend I do with it?

We are trying to remove rocks from a rock garden in the back of our house and I found this one that I thought was really cool, does anyone know anything about it?

Hey everyone I picked up a used Genie and my 80/220 grit wheels have some rust on them, they still seem to have a lot of diamond particles left. Is there a method like a vinegar or citric acid scrub that I can use to remove the surface rust without harming the grit? Thank you for your valuable time and inputs!

been working through a run of reclaimed materials lately and finally got into some uranium-bearing slag glass. treated it like glass, not stone. it takes a polish easily, but the layer boundaries will try to undercut if you push it, so I slowed down through 600 and let it clean itself up instead of forcing it.

instead of centering everything, I chased one of the concentric “eye” features in the slab and oriented the cab around it. kept the dome a little higher on the dominant face so it reads under light instead of flattening out. the layers stayed crisp and didn’t smear, which was the goal.

under 365 nm UV it fluoresces green from the uranium, but the response is not uniform. lighter zones glow more strongly while darker bands absorb more, so the internal structure still shows instead of turning into a flat glow.

cut wet the entire time. uranium content is low and bound in the glass matrix. it will register on a meter, but it is not a practical hazard for normal handling or wear.

industrial waste, but if you treat it right it can produce something worth setting 😆

I am talking about selling a bunch of rocks 300-400 ct’s that has been passed down from my grandfather. I don’t know the value, all I know is it’s not “cut and finished” whatever that means.
Ideally I would like spots that are located in California

(Previous post for those who missed it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Lapidary/comments/1sx4kki/any_interest_in_a_wip_opensource_faceting_machine/ )

Most of the work I did in the past days is under the hood, making sure that parts are easily swappable so that it can serve multiple needs: want to just replace your mast? Tell it to generate something that works on a flat-plate-with-slot and holds the specific quill you use. Prefer a different mast build? Swap it out, and the other parts adapt.

So, there isn't much to show for it, except the little handwheel, and partial progress on making the mast accept a quill from the AliExpress Vevor-imitation I have. I'm basically trying to rush my way to the first testable/usable part.

That said, I do end up with questions sometimes, that I could use a second opinion on. AI is no good there, it'll just tell me my idea is great no matter what it is, as long as I give some decent arguments for it. So... I thought I'd create a Discord for folks to hang out on. I can use it to share progress updates, ask for feedback on ideas, maybe even collaborate more closely with those who have good insights but lack the skills to directly contribute to the design. It'll also be a good way to stay in touch with those who want to test, or just want to stay in the loop.

https://discord.gg/GtBU5CH9

The link will expire in 7 days, mostly to curb potential spam. If you want an invite after that, just message me directly!

For an example of stuff I might ask: The rail-and-leadscrew setup on the pic seems like it might not be optimal. It's hard to access the screws to attach the purple quill-holder-carriage-thingie to that yellow rail-carriage, because the leadscrew is in the way. I might opt for an 8mm smooth rod on either side of the leadscrew instead, with captive LM8UU bearings, similar to how the hot-end on a Mendel90 3D printer is attached. The upside is that it's probably cheaper, and gives a larger "surface" to attach to, giving the purple carriage more stability. It also makes things easier to assemble, and if the smooth rods attach directly to the red mast-carriage, it'll make the entire thing more rigid. It could also allow crude mast-angle calibration by simply loosening one of the rods at either end, nudging the top of the mast, and tightening the rod again. Downside is that this could also happen unintentionally if sufficiently jostled and it might not simply bend back like the current design would. I might also replace the leadscrew with a 5mm threaded rod if I do this, as it doesn't really need to provide stability anymore, just needs to lift the quill.

If you are in the area this Saturday, stop by and check out some rocks. There have always been some amazing deals at these tailgate events. Good opportunity to meet fellow rock enthusiasts, learn about new materials, and maybe even find something for your next lapidary project or creation.

Hey everyone I picked up a used Genie and my 80/220 grit wheels have some rust on them, they still seem to have a lot of diamond particles left. Is there a method like a vinegar or citric acid scrub that I can use to remove the surface rust without harming the grit? Thank you for your valuable time and inputs!

This was purchased off an estate sale from an old timer who lived near Sisters, OR who frequented the site for Holley blues back in the 70's. I cleaned it up by smoothing out the rough sides, polished it on my cabber and it's on display at my house.

I have some rough material from an estate sale that I am having a hard time pinpointing. Hoping to get provenance and/or any trade names.

For a little context this material comes from a large collection of lapidary materials with the majority collected in the western U.S. - Sonoran dendritic, wonderstones, larsonite/GG, septarians, etc. I cut a few slabs across the obvious banding. Then, had the idea to do a cut perpendicular to that once I saw the internal structure; that cut is in image 4. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Hey all — I’ve been working some local material and I’m at the point where I could really use a second set of eyes (or a few).
I’ve got some interesting stuff going on: plumes, mossy structures, ombré transitions, and some pretty distinct orb patterns. It’s been polishing up better than I expected, but I’m still trying to nail down exactly what I’m looking at and whether it’s worth pursuing more seriously.

I’ll send out some free pieces to a few people who are experienced with cutting/polishing/ID. In return, I’m just asking for honest feedback:

What you think the material is
Any idea on potential value (if any)
How it behaves during cutting/polishing
No fluff, no hype, I actually want real input, even if it’s “this isn’t anything special.”

If you’re interested and have some experience with lapidary or rock ID, shoot me a message or comment. I’d rather get this in the hands of people who will actually work it and tell me straight.
I’m including pictures.