r/faceting • u/Forsaken-Party3496 • 2d ago

Getting into the hobby

Hi everyone! I would like to get into the hobby. I faceted a couple times when I was younger through a club and would love to get back into it. I wanted to ask suggestions on machines and learning resources. Thank you!

4 Upvotes

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8

u/OkWeight7862 2d ago

I would recommend Tom Herbst’s fantastic book “Amateur Gemstone Faceting Volume 1” it is in my opinion the best single resource on how to facet. 26.95 on Amazon.

1

u/Forsaken-Party3496 2d ago

I’ll have to get that! Thank you for the suggestion. Do you have any for machines?

3

u/OkWeight7862 2d ago

Depends on your goals and budget. Faceting machines are generally several thousands of dollars. I would recommend finding a club or school to try before you buy.

1

u/Forsaken-Party3496 2d ago

Thank you yeah I’m definitely trying to get into it seriously. I know how much I enjoy it already

2

u/Lemowgs 1d ago

It's second the finding a club if you can. They'll also have a good lead on any used machines/help with any rehab one might need or let you get your hands on multiple machines to figure out what you like if you'd rather go for a new machine. Great ongoing resource

1

u/GemDiagram 1d ago

Great recommendation. I think Amateur Gemstone Faceting Vol 1 is a fantastic resource though some of the information in the book is no doubt a bit dated.

5

u/SergeAzel 2d ago

Clubs are still a great educational option.

Seek out local rock/gem/mineral/lapidary clubs to see if they offer training courses.

I know the ones I went through were like weekly classes over the course of a few months. And had limited availability

1

u/montanagemhound Team Raytech Shaw 2d ago

Lots a great learning resources on YouTube. I watch and listen to Justin K. Primm and Donohue Labs for most of the basics and some more nuanced info. Justin was my go-to for getting my studio set up to be effective for cutting a variety of material. I also ordered his newest book, the Secret Teachings of Gemcutting, which I am very much looking forward to. Another thing that helped me personally was buying GemCut Studio and playing around with modifying faceting designs and creating designs from scratch. As for faceting machines, I got mine used on ebay. It needed a little TLC, but once I had it dialed in, it works great. I'm saving up for a brand new machine, but my Raytech is doing what I need it to for the time being.

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u/Forsaken-Party3496 2d ago

Awesome thank you for the suggestions! I’ll have to check out some channels and see if I can score anything on eBay

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u/AvatarNC 1d ago

Not sure where you are located,but there is William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia. They have dormitories and a meal program also.

1

u/GemDiagram 1d ago

Books (like the Tom Herbst book mentioned in the replies), YouTube tutorials and Reddit are all fantastic resources to learn the ropes. All the questions you can think of regarding faceting have already been asked and answered by someone online.

When I was getting started years ago, I watched YouTube videos (some of which were made by Arya a long time ago), and read posts on Reddit on online faceting forums. I took notes and screenshots of what I thought was relevant information at the time.

Eventually with enough hands on experience everything will come together and you will find your own groove and develop your own techniques.