Best Lapidary Tools and Equipment Guide for Beginners 2022

Why not try lapidary accessories if you think of starting a new activity and have a taste to collect pretty stones? The art of cutting, shaping, and producing gems from semi-precious or precious gemstones is Lapidary.

Lapidary Equipment for Beginners (The Essentials)

Like every other hobby, having a dedicated spot for the tools and equipment will help you organize yourself and enjoy your time. Most of the machinery is noisy, so make sure you choose a location where your neighbors don't have noise.

Organization

Setting up a workbench (orapair) should be your first move. It doesn't have to be a luxurious workbench; you need a stable table, ideally with drawers to hold your small tools and wide surface. As your precious set of rocks increases, you may want to invest in separated containers to hold matching rocks together and away from rough stones and gems.

Trim Saw or Slab Saws

All stones and crystals are not equally sized, so when cutting your stone collection, you'll need two types of saws; a cutting and a slab saw. A trim saw has a small, thin blade to cut small stones into smaller pieces or create a smooth edge for a necklace pendant. Hi-Trim Tech's Saw is a decent starting choice. A slab saw has a wider and thicker blade, making it ideal for trimming rough slabs or broad stones that would not fit into a trim saw. This slab saw a choice target to cut the rock safely.

Rock Tumblers

One of the essential lapidary accessories in your workshop is a tumbler. Two types of tumblers exist: rotated and vibrational, but both serve the same function of polishing and rough stones. Rotary tumblers are barrel-shaped and slowly rotate, using other rocks and abrasives to polish the interior stones. We recommend that you use a single barrel of starting tumbler like Lortone 3A Single Barrel Tumbler. Vibrating tumblers take much less time to polish stones and preserve the shape of rocks. Vibes involve a jar that quickly shakes rocks, which in turn polishes the rocks, causes friction. If you want to check out the atmosphere, Alex machine Vibratory Tumbler is a good start.

Tumbling Filler

You've needed to use filler when dealing with a limited number of stones that don't fill your tumbler's barrel. You may use ceramic or plastic fillers, all of which provide cushioning and additional polish without damaging your stones.

Lapidary Accessories

A workshop doesn't complete without having the lapidary accessories to help you make the most of your gemstones. There a few adding to make your lapidary experiences a bit easier:

• A colander to wash your stones before use.
• A magnifying glass or loupe is your best friend when checking your collected specimen for damage or patterns. 
• Cabochon models are plastic or metal stencils of various shapes and sizes to direct and help you build standardized shapes.

Cabbing or Cabochon Cutters

You also may still have a single grinder wheel and a belt for any spin. Mostly grinding belts and a polishing belt are required. Machines with multiple rollers can be a little expensive for beginners, so we suggest a simple sloping cabbing device.

Faceting Machines

These devices have a mechanical arm, lap, and cooling water system. The robotic arm is where you attach your stone and change its angle to which cuts you like. The lap is a disc that can settle and keep cool with a water pump. However, it does not come with a drip system, but you can work around it comfortably with a wet sponge in the lap disc before facing it. It is a choice for beginners.  If you need to reduce the cost of machinery, you can create cabochons with a faceting tool. However, you can't make facets using a cabbing machine.

Flat Laps

These are budget-friendly alternatives to faceting devices, and some even do flat laps at home. A flat lap is a spindle grinding disc, generally with a water drip device. Laps may be ergonomic for easier or horizontal grinding. Grinding discs have different abrasive levels for each faceting process. For initial shaping, a coarse disc is used, which is later substituted for finer-grit polishing. Some discs are available in magnetic for easy swapping. However, we don't suggest using high-speed magnetic discs as they might fly off. A good choice for a flat lap is Hi-All Tech's U Need Machine, which comes with several options to check out.

Rotary Tools and Dremels

Carving diverse shapes and details into stones requires a rotary tool or a Dremel. Most models come with different attachments to touch your parts for grafting, grinding, and polishing.Rotating tools can be the most versatile of all devices since bits and burrs can be quickly exchanged. You can choose a different collection, such as the Dremel Rotary Tool Kit, with all the lapidary accessories you might need along with a handy LED light.

Dop Sticks and Wax

These are must be used for cabbing or faceting your stones. Dop sticks are wooden wax globs on one end. When heated, the wax becomes malleable enough to bind your stone's foundation, and once you've finished shaping your stone, you can heat it again to release the stone. You may also use a wooden dowel, wax, or 5-minute epoxy to patch the stone. They ensure safety and grip your stone for fast shaping.

Polishing Tools

Tumblers also use burnishing powder or polishing powder to add extra shine to stones that may be coated with fog or water residue. The amount of burnishing powder depends on how many rocks you have per piece. Some stone styles only need some buffing with a polishing cloth or even a denim piece. Also available as accessories for grinders and rotary tools are buffing and polishing belts, wheels, and bits, and burrs, so make sure to take care of them and make those rocks sparkle.

Safety First

Dealing with saws, grinders, and stones requires the right gear to keep you safe and sound. There is a list of the essentials you need:

This list is just for guidance, but you should follow maximum safety rules when working with power tools.

  

Lapidary Books to Get You Started

If you're looking for good books to polish yourlapidary skills, we've covered you with our list of beginner-friendly books.

Stones and minerals Classification and use

Wondering about what stones are there? This illustrated guide would help you recognize the various stones you find and what sort of technique suits them. If you're looking for a handbook on rocks and minerals, the Smithsonian Handbook: Rocks & Minerals is also great reading. This book covers all the various lapidary techniques, including specific instructions for each method. It's not only ideal for beginners, but it's nice to keep around for any required memory jogging. The Art of Gem Cutting is a valuable addition when you start reading. Guide you through the whole process, from buying stones to finishing polish.