Hi! Looking for an inexpensive faceting machine. Preferably an
American Facetor or a Facetron with working parts and extras.
Anne
Ann, be careful what you wish for,…you just might get it. I would
not recommend an American faceter. Our club has one and I have
faceted on it and I know a number of other people have found them
but…they are quite old (from the early 70’s) and cannot be
supported. They are also not the easiest machine to work with. A
Facetron is a good machine but a good one is not going to be
inexpensive. I also have an old MDR from the 60’s that was
overhauled a couple of years ago and is in first class condition but,
it too is not an easy machine to work on compared with today’s
machines of excellent quality/capability. I also have an old Raytec
Shaw that I love but it is also out of production and hard to
support. If you are looking for a less expensive machine but one that
is well built and still relatively modern, I might suggest looking at
a Graves Mk IV. I have one that is about 25 years old and it is in
perfect condition…works very well. There is also the new Graves Mk
V which is excellent and digital but now you are talking a bit more
$. Be careful, people are going to try to talk you into all sorts of
bells and whistles, each will describe this machine and that. I have
cut on just about all of them and for what you are looking for, I
would still check out the Graves closely. (Used to work for Graves
but now only a happy customer/former employee).
Cheers from Don in SOFL.
Buying a used faceting machine is truly a gamble. There is no way to
know whether the machine is properly aligned - could it have been
dropped or bumped? Even in shipping it can be kncked out lf
alignment.
The critical bearings that determine the accuracy of the cuts may be
worn and you can’t see that from the outside.
I also had Graves Mark IV and eventually realized that the bearings
were shot and had to be replaced. It wasn’t a bad machine. However,
when I replaced it with a new Ultra Tec I realized how crude it
really was.
Someone just starting out in gem faceting has a lot to learn and
usually does not yet have the ability to realize that some of what
is happening might be a problem with the machine. Just as in golf or
any other area that is equipment-dependent, a beginner is the person
who does NOT need to be hampered by defective tools.
Can you facet with a used machine? Sure! But if you can get a
machine that is factory-fresh, you can at least be reasonably sure
that any mistakes are not due to a faulty machine.
John
Indiana
John Moe
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Pentaluna
I didn’t see the original message but I have a facetron for sale
including full set of dops and flat laps. I can provide pictures.
It’s in great shape but needs a new splash bowls. I’m asking $1800
for the whole setup.
James