Hi Susan,
The fact that you have access to the equipment is at least half
the battle! First ground rule: run with plenty of water. First,
grind that corner down on one of the coarser wheels (I believe
hematite is relatively soft… be careful not to grind too much).
Grind a little and check your work often. Your objective at
this point is only to give the stone a pleasing new silhouette,
as viewed from the top. I’d probably do a kind of “sweeping”
pass on the wheel with the edge of the stone.
Once you’re pleased with the new outline, probably move to the
next finer wheel. Considering mounting the stone on a dop stick
if it’s small… or you value your finger nails. The objective
at this stage is to grind/blend the curvature of the stone to the
new corner and the existing curvature of the stone. Keep the
stone moving, and work it side-to-side for a few strokes, then
top to bottom for a bit. Be careful not to “flatten” out the
curve from the top to the side too much. Use the other corners
as a sample of what the curve should look like.
Once you’ve got the new shape roughed out, you move through the
successive wheels, sanding out the scratches and refining the
shape. Be sure to examine the stone carefully before moving to
the next wheel. You want to make sure you have removed all the
scratches left from previous wheels. I probably would not sand
the whole stone all-over, unless you found the need to recut the
whole thing. Rather, I’d try to blend the sanding into the
finished area.
Once you’ve gotten through the last wheel, you should be in a
highly pre-polished state, ready to polish. Cerium oxide or tin
oxide on leather or felt should do the trick… but you might
want to check a reference at that point to see what’s
recommended.
Good luck and have fun,
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC
Dietz; GARY HOWELL; Wendy Newman; Dave Sebaste; John Baldaia; Thomas
Williams Subject: Recutting
Well, in the normal matter of life, I’ve managed to bugger up a
piece of rainbow hematite; fortunately, it is a freeform piece, so
I may be able to recover some use from it. The problem is that a
corner of the piece has broken and the material is layered, like
shale. Ok, brain trust, does anyone know how I go about reshaping
this drated piece? What do I use as far as grit and all that good
stuff? I do have access to a good 6-belt lapidary grinder but I
am woefully ignorant of this stuff.
Many thanks for any and all help.
Susan
C Gems
Susan
C Gems
Original Designs and Period Jewelry
cgems@pipeline.com
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