A machine to facet gemstones
The machine works by sweeping a gemstone at precise angles across a daimond grit ‘lap.’
A rough piece of quartz is glued to the metal ‘dop’ and locked into the mast. The gear has 96 teeth, allowing faces every 3.75° axially, and an angle stop on the side, allowing faces 0°-90° laterally. The adjustable waterspout traps dust and allow smooth cutting.
Project item list:
Wood from treadmill
Old food processor
Drip irrigation hose
Rubber padding
Toothpick
2 gallon bucket
Rough gemstones
Rubber band
Superglue + Baking soda
Plastic cups
Router speed controller
12x 3d printed parts
2x Bronze bushings
6x Ball bearings
2x Motor arbor shafts
1x 6” Aluminum master lap
1x 220 grit topper lap
1x 600 grit topper lap
1x 1/4” Aluminum rod
1x 3/8” Steel rod
Screws
Small Spring
Inside the box, the lap’s metal shaft connects to a food processor
The food processor’s universal AC motor runs at 3600 rpm, but is geared down to 600 and lowered even further with a router speed controller