Gemstone Flat Lapping, Mechanized

About the Book

About the Author

O.B.(Bud) Marshall has been a rockhound since 1960. He has been a member of the Valley Independent Petrologists (VIP Gem & Mineral Society), Reseda, CA. where he was president in 1975. He also belonged to the Woodland Hills Rockchippers, Woodland Hills,CA. where he was bulletin editor for 3 years. He and his wife Ruby have been vendors at the Quartzsite Pow Pow in Quartzsite, AZ for 16 years. He has specialized in polished thundereggs, geodes, bookends, spheres, and slabs. Bud has always been interested in cutting and polishing gemstones since he became a rockhound, but hated the manual labor and time involved. He cast about for various ways of doing the work using semi-automatic machinery. He has, over a 20 year period, figured out, constructed, and used lapidary equipment for automating some of the processes for grinding and polishing gemstones. He has not automated any processes for grinding and finishing jewelry. He feels it could be very difficult for these processes to be automated. Bud graduated with bachelors and masters degrees from UCLA in electrical engineering. He and wife Ruby now live in Paradise, California with their dogs (and lapidary machinery). Most of the equipment described in the book was conceived, designed, built, and operated by Bud. He has obtained the basic knowledge of the processes involved from lapidary books, and lapidary magazines such as Gems And Minerals, Lapidary Journal, and Rock And Gem. His attendance and participation in rock clubs, and being a vendor in rock shows has helped immeasurably in his obtaining knowledge. The equipment described in this book can be built by most any hobbyist that has access to common power tools, and the ability to construct and put things together. No special knowledge or tools such as welders or milling machines are necessary. Only nuts and bolts are used.