Lapidary is the art of stone cutting and polishing. Lately it has made something of a comeback, as people start to make their own jewelry. Traditionally, flint and obsidian were considered lapidary stones - stones that were fashioned into cutting implements and weapons back in ancient times. In more modern times stones are used more for decorative purposes than for practical ones.
Whereas back in ancient times they cut the stone on rock, these days artists use machines to do their cutting and polishing. The machines are fairly small electronic devices that operate using a pulley system. The purpose of them is to operate a small plastic drum in which the stone is placed. The process is called tumbling and it polishes the rocks and grinds them.
If some rocks are too big to put into the drums they are broken up with a hammer. This can cause problems with splinters flying off and is rather dangerous. If you wrap the stone in cloth you'll get around this problem. The difficulty with this is the lack of control the artist has over the final shape of the rock. The material can also crack and splinter, which spoils the finished look.
Before it is polished and tumbled, the rock needs to be cut. Different artists use different methods. Depending on what material you're cutting, it may be a good idea to use a circular saw, one that is diamond-tipped. These usually have a small reservoir filled with water, which the blade passes through as it spins. The water acts as a lubricant and a coolant for the blade and is a very powerful tool for grinding and for cutting.
The grinding process involves shaping stone. By using a cutter you can shave weeks off the time it normally takes. For instance, it can take around 10 weeks if you do not using a cutting tool, but with a cutting tool it can take around three. This is a task that does take a lot of precision, which is why it takes such a long time to accomplish the task.
Each part of the procedure is important. The grinding and tumbling procedure, if done correctly, will provide you with smooth stones that are rounded at the edges. You start by put the rocks inside a rubber drum and adding an abrasive called silicon carbide grit. Then you add water and turn on the machine and let it spin round. Be careful not to put too few rocks in the drum, they'll clash against each other and will not grind properly. Too many and they will not grind at all because they are too tightly packed.
Once the tumbling stage is done the rocks can be put into the polishing drum. The polishing stage requires the rocks to be washed and dried beforehand. The better artists will have separate drums for polishing and tumbling, so as to reduce cross-contamination with the grit. The actual polish is named cerium oxide, a fine pink powder. It's quite pricey but it can be used more than once.
Lapidary stones used to be shaped into weapons back in ancient times. These days they are shaped and cut by artists for cosmetic purposes. The machinery has changed and so has the process by which the stones are polished and cut, but the quality is as good as ever.
Whereas back in ancient times they cut the stone on rock, these days artists use machines to do their cutting and polishing. The machines are fairly small electronic devices that operate using a pulley system. The purpose of them is to operate a small plastic drum in which the stone is placed. The process is called tumbling and it polishes the rocks and grinds them.
If some rocks are too big to put into the drums they are broken up with a hammer. This can cause problems with splinters flying off and is rather dangerous. If you wrap the stone in cloth you'll get around this problem. The difficulty with this is the lack of control the artist has over the final shape of the rock. The material can also crack and splinter, which spoils the finished look.
Before it is polished and tumbled, the rock needs to be cut. Different artists use different methods. Depending on what material you're cutting, it may be a good idea to use a circular saw, one that is diamond-tipped. These usually have a small reservoir filled with water, which the blade passes through as it spins. The water acts as a lubricant and a coolant for the blade and is a very powerful tool for grinding and for cutting.
The grinding process involves shaping stone. By using a cutter you can shave weeks off the time it normally takes. For instance, it can take around 10 weeks if you do not using a cutting tool, but with a cutting tool it can take around three. This is a task that does take a lot of precision, which is why it takes such a long time to accomplish the task.
Each part of the procedure is important. The grinding and tumbling procedure, if done correctly, will provide you with smooth stones that are rounded at the edges. You start by put the rocks inside a rubber drum and adding an abrasive called silicon carbide grit. Then you add water and turn on the machine and let it spin round. Be careful not to put too few rocks in the drum, they'll clash against each other and will not grind properly. Too many and they will not grind at all because they are too tightly packed.
Once the tumbling stage is done the rocks can be put into the polishing drum. The polishing stage requires the rocks to be washed and dried beforehand. The better artists will have separate drums for polishing and tumbling, so as to reduce cross-contamination with the grit. The actual polish is named cerium oxide, a fine pink powder. It's quite pricey but it can be used more than once.
Lapidary stones used to be shaped into weapons back in ancient times. These days they are shaped and cut by artists for cosmetic purposes. The machinery has changed and so has the process by which the stones are polished and cut, but the quality is as good as ever.
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