Let’s post links and descriptions of our favorite resources and vendors.
Rough and Synthetics
- Joe Henley Rough - Natural and Synthetics (US)
- Turtle’s Hoard - Synthetics (US)
- Tom’s Box of Rocks - Synthetics (US)
- Western Gem - Natural (US)
- Gems of East Africa - Natural (EU)
Lapidary Supplies
- Lightning Laps - Laps, Polishes and Tools
Designs
Ultratec
- Adjust swing alignment on platen - Does your stone cut deeper on the outside vs inside of the lap? This will help fix that.
For synthetics I have two go-to vendors.
https://store.turtleshoard.com Turtle’s Hoard stocks a lot of weird, interesting, science-y facet worthy materials. The Christmas Garnet is worth a gander, I’ve got a piece of that I’m holding on to for a rainy day.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TomsBoxofRocks Tom sells more “traditional” synthetic material, like corundum, CZ, and nanosital. He has a lot and you can find some cool color change and bicolor versions. I find his corundum is competitively priced with Joe Henley so check them both when you’re shopping.
I had this vendor recommended to me by my mentor, and recently bought from him: https://www.westerngem.com His website doesn’t display well on mobile, the pictures rearrange in strange ways, it’s better with a desktop browser. He sent me a complimentary citrine when I placed my last (rather large) order. Everything was exactly as described and the topaz was even more blue than the picture suggested!
Thanks! I updated the thread post with your links.
In the UK, we’ve got https://www.gemsofeastafrica.com/ who provide trustworthy rough without having to pay huge amounts of intercontinental postage
The vendor I mostly use is Joe Henley Rough.
I met Joe at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show a few years ago, and found him both personable and honest. I have never had an issue with any purchase from him. He sells both natural and some synthetics.
Joe Henley is an amazing resource! Everything I’ve gotten from him has always been on point. I just wish his shop didn’t auto-sort with most expensive first because it is such a tease 😭
Thanks for the references. I browsed lightning laps. My first impression is you likely have an interesting perspective on trustworthy adhesives. Can you tell me about what you really trust for holding a stone?
(I am not a complete amateur when it comes to cleaning and prep. I spent nearly a decade repairing and painting cars.)
I’ve used dental wax for years to hold the stones to the dop and it does a good job as long as you don’t use too much force when cutting. The key to using the wax is to make sure you heat both the stone and dop enough for the wax to adhere. You can tell that has done so when the wax edge no longer seems to curl under and instead seems to have a clean line with the surface.
I’ve used super glue as well depending on the situation… but the cure time and difficulty in getting it off the dop and cleaning the stone of the residue makes it not worth it in my opinion.
