Mary:
Regarding instruction in faceting for your fourteen year old,
there isn’t anything specifically for that age that I am aware of,
but all of the texts are very readable. I would go down to the
local library and see if they have Vargas’ Faceting for Amateurs or
Wykoff’s Master Techniques of Faceting. There are also some other
starter texts that should be adequate, but I’m not personally
familiar with them. My UltraTec (a faceting machine) came with
enough instructions in the manual to get started. If there is a
local gem and mineral society, things being as they are, it will be
filled with kindly old geezers who have brats for grandsons and/or
are lonesome and will really appreciate your 14 year old if he gets
along with older folks well. That would really be the best way to
learn, with a mentor. This could also save you the expense of a
machine until you are sure Matt really likes it. However, many
people have taught themselves from a book — it depends on your
personality and mechanical ability.
The other suggestion would be to get on the Facetor’s Digest
newsgroup, absolutely the best place to get ongoing instruction
from some very knowledgeable facetors. You can also get hints on
buying new/used equipment there. E-mail Jerry Dewbre, the
listmaster, at faceters@ix.netcom.com and ask to be placed on the
list. Jerry likes to have you provide a brief introduction and if
you do, you can ask any questions that you have to start. It is a
great group!
While it does sometimes seem that us old geezers predominate in
faceting, some of the Faceter’s Digest listmembers have teen agers
who facet, and one mentioned his son, about the age of yours, who
turns out competition quality cutting. I know of at least one
article in the old Lapidary Journal on a new gem cut design by a
thirteen year old. Obviously faceting is a patience, and to some
degree, a mechanical thing. If Matt has these qualities he may be
a natural. If he got good at it, it could beat a paper route or
being a bag boy as a source of pocket money. Hope this Helps
Roy (Jess)