Jade-Carving Machinery

Hi Team,

looking for specific brand and supplier suggestions for machine for
doing initial roughing-out for relatively detailed jewellery-scale
jade-carving, probably flexi-shaft. Ideally should have high
[20,000+ rpm], relatively high torque [1/4 horse], have collets
[rather than chuck] able to take 1/4" and 2.35mm tools, be extremely
accurate and durable [prolonged max-speed operation with fair amount
of grinding action in all directions]. Foredom has discontinued the
old “H” model, which could have been ideal… Can you still get them
somewhere in the states? Would have teamed with a 44HT handpiece.
Are the “H” handpieces and motors that much more durable than the
standard models anyway? New 1/3 HP motors seem nice and grunty, but
15,000 rpm too slow. Speed increasing handpiece looks promising, but
a bit bulky for fine work. Can anyone suggest any other brand
options/relate personal experiences? I’ll eventually be looking at
getting high-speed micro-motor or pneumatic for fine detail, but
looking for single machine to do the lot for the time being. Most
folks in NZ use the Heavy-Duty Dremel for this, but personally I
find them a bit dodgey [especially the hand-pieces], not to mention
expensive, especially with parts.

Any advice gratefully recieved…
Jamie Fergus

Jamie,

The person that you should talk to is

Deborah Wilson
250-542-0630
evergreenjade@shaw.ca

She is absolutely the number one person in North America on jade
carving and I am sure she would be of great assistance Charles

charles m. ellias gg isa capp
north american lapidary laboratory
po box 932
birmingham, mi 48012
(248) 953-5366
http://www.gemartlab.com
http://www.charlesmichaeldesigns.com
cmeggisa@aol.com

   She is absolutely the number one person in North America on
jade carving  and I am sure she would be of great assistance

Yes definitely

Deborah Wilson is one of othe artists we carry at the Fugitive
Gallery. She gives workshops We will be posting her new work soon and
you can view her bio at www.fugitivegallery.com She was just featured
in the summer issue of Canadian Geographic article on jade and was
also mentioned in the (I believe) 1989 National Geographic article on
jade. She is leaving for a sculpture symposium in Vietnam in a few
days

Susan Brandoli
Fugitive Gallery
Vernon BC Canada