New to Lapidary? Here's a Guide to Help You Start.

You may be sitting on your favorite chair and thinking of a new hobby, or maybe you thought of making a jewelry business. Guess what? In lapidary, you can do both!

Lapidary is a lifelong skill that will undoubtedly bring profit to you if you know how to utilize and make it a livelihood--not to mention the satisfaction you'll get while making gorgeous cabochons, specimens, faceted materials, and so much more!

Of course, it's not all about cutting rocks, but also customizing their shapes and polishing them. The main point is, lapidary will not be possible without the essential tools and equipment. So to start your journey as a lapidarist, we list all the important equipment you need to have.

1. Trim Saw and Slab Saws

Obviously, you can't cut rock, glass, or wood without a saw. This is a significant starting point in lapidary.

The two saws differ in the size of their blade. Trim saws use a smaller blade, specifically 6" to 12" in width and a thickness of .004" to .012". They are made to cut smaller rocks; they are also used to trim the shape out of slabs where you stenciled a preform onto. Slab saws, in contrast, cut larger rocks of all shapes and sizes, and therefore, uses blades up to 48" wide and .025" to .2" thick.

Highland Park manufactures high-quality different models of both trim saws and slab saws that are fair and cost-effective, and perfect for beginners, as well as seasoned cutters.

2. Saw blades

There are three main types of saw blades: segmented, notched, and sintered rims. These blades have diamonds embedded and distributed evenly in the metal bond of the rim, for sharp cutting.

Segmented rim blades have segments with gullets in between them and a round hole at the bottom. The gullets, or the slots, help in removing dust from cutting, and in cooling the blade because they provide spacing for the coolant to reach the rim. Here is our version of the segmented blade: Highland Park Segmented Diamond blades. This type of blade is used for wet cutting and offers the smoothest cut. Ideally, a segmented blade is used to cut high-end semi-precious gemstones, like agates and jasper.
Notched rim blades have small notches, where segments are inserted and pressed to complete the rim. This blade is great because it can perform well in industrial lapidary. Our favorite blade, the Greenline Agate Eater, is also a notched blade. However, this is not a precision blade, so if you're looking to cut sugilite, charoite, or other expensive gems, this isn't something you should use.
Sintered rim blades are created by embedding diamond grits into a metal alloy, bonding it together by heat and pressure around the outer part of the blade. Sintered blades are mainly used for wet cutting to cool out the blade, and to wash out any debris from cutting. Highland Park's ThinLine Agate Slicer is our version of this blade. It does a great job in cutting quartz, topaz, glass, and fine agates.

3. Cabbing Machine

A cabbing machine handles the polishing of stones and turns them into cabochons (cabs for short), to be used in jewelry and other crafts. This machine has multiple wheels, where each wheel has a distinct grit level, from the coarsest to the finest grit.

Rough grind, with the coarsest grit, shapes and removes any deformity from trimming the material, so it can be polished. Fine grind is the polishing phase, where high-level grits finish, and give gloss to the formed material. Every beginner or experienced lapidarist needs a cabbing machine in their workplace.

4. Cabbing Tools and Templates

Cabbing templates are like stencils, made to trace the shape onto the rock. These come in different variations with unique shapes. You can draw on the shape freehand, but you can also use a template and stencil it with the use of a permanent marker to achieve uniform looks for your cabochons. Our templates are produced as translucent and stainless steel.
Dop Pro is used to hold the cabochon while undergoing the cabbing process. It is a flat head screw and uses super glue to stick the cabochon. When cabbing is done, the super glue will then be removed with the use of acetone.
Polishing powder gives your cabochon that extra shine. Some examples of polishing powders are cerium oxide and tin oxide. They are usually mixed with water to form a paste, and then rubbed onto a buffing pad, such as canvas or leather.

5. Flat Lap Machine

Similar to a cabbing machine, a flat lap machine is also used for polishing and grinding. However, a flat lap machine uses flat discs, instead of wheels. This machine focuses on finishing preforms of slabs that essentially require surface flatness or parallel form.

Its machining process uses loose abrasive, meaning it grinds with a mixture of water or oil and coarse particles. The loose abrasive process is effective in amending odd-surfaced rocks easily.

6. Flat Laps

Flat laps go with the previous machine. They are one of the main tools used when starting the polishing process of geodes, crystals, and other gemstones. Depending on the type of machine, these laps can either be rotary or reciprocating.

For reciprocating laps, add the mixture of grit and a bit of water on the lap and put the material, flat side facing down, and let the vibrating lap do its work. It's also advisable to hold down the slabs with weights, like iron, to keep in contact with the abrasive mixture on the lap. This also speeds up the grinding process.
Rotary laps, on the other hand, are spinning abrasive discs, where crystal, gemstones, and other materials are polished by hand to create a flat surface.

7. Rotary Tool

A staple machine, a rotary tool is a handheld machine with a motor-powered head used for sanding, polishing, and grinding kinds of materials. This tool has a broad selection of attachable tips which can be used in a variety of lapidary projects. It is convenient to use given its versatility and ideal size.

8. Rotary Tumblers

This tool is perfect for beginners because of its uncomplicated operation. The rotary tumbler has a barrel, where you deposit small chunks of rocks, along with grit and some water. The rocks inside the barrel are tumbled and as it continues the process, the once rough rocks will be polished and smooth.

9. Coolant

Coolant is crucial when running a machine, and cutting a rock. It's fine to use water as a coolant on our trim saw. But if you're thinking you can use water as well on your slab saw, you're gravely mistaken.

Well, under rare circumstances you can, particularly when you need to cut a rock that is susceptible to discoloration--which is not always the case.

Using water will cause oxidation and will get your machine rusted. Quit considering the use of diesel, kerosene, and other fuel oils as well, if you don't want to burn up your place.

With that being said, we always recommend using high-grade mineral oil as this passes the standard in terms of physical attributes (low viscosity, odorless, and free from fire). We encourage you to know what coolant should run on your machine.

The lapidary industry still has a lot of mechanical equipment. Nevertheless, the basic and staple tools are right here, served on a silver platter to get you on the right path. It should provide you with a strong foundation.

All of these tools and equipment are available on our website store. With a promising quality and reasonable price, they will surely satisfy your lapidary hobby.