Wire Wrapping course in Gresham, Oregon, July & August 2011

Wil Peterson is teaching two intensive wire wrapping courses in Gresham, Oregon. Workshops are designed to accelerate the time it takes for “anyone” from beginning level to intermediate level to master the art of wire jewelry.

Eight Projects Will be Covered

You will accelerate your skills by applying the basics to intermediate designs while accenting the jewelry with both intermediate & advanced embellishments. See the eight beginning projects at WireJewelryWorkshop.com

EVERYTHING needed is supplied including materials & gemstones for each project. You will also receive handouts for each project that will cover the step-by-step instructions for that design.

After every project is completed we will go over the design variations to expand your knowledge of the choices you have in creating one-of-a-kind art jewelry pieces from that template design.

I’ve taught over 20,000 students and have been creating wire jewelry for over 20 years now. I’ve won many awards and built up a reputation for exact skills and unique designs over the years.

This WILL be a very limited engagement with only 3-5 students per workshop and (2) workshops in total. Sign-up is on a first-come basis!

Beginning Level – July 16th & 17th, 2011
Intermediate/Advanced – Aug. 13th & 14th, 2011
Time: 10am – 5pm (with a 1 hour lunch break)
Location: 1615 NW 1st Street Gresham, OR 97030 (This is my parents house)

Beginning Level: $350.00 per person (8 Projects w/ 3-4 design variations)
Intermediate/Advanced Level: $395.00 per person (6 Projects w/ 3-4 design variations)

Call, email or visit WireJewelryWorkshop.com for more info… Wil Peterson (760) 294-8164 / wilp2001@yahoo.com

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1. Faceting Gemstones for Fun and Profit
2. Faceting Design Contest

It’s Been Too Long and I Forgot How to Facet

Many people learn faceting then get busy and don’t practice for a long time, and when they decide to get back into it, suddenly they think, “Hey, how did I used to do that?” Well, fear not. There are so many awesome videos, on YouTube for instance such as this one by John Bailey at GemstoneArtist:

Do a search on YouTube for faceting and you’ll find many videos.

Don’t Forget the Library

There are also plenty of great books that will help refresh your mind. Our club, Columbia Willamette Faceters’ Guild has an extensive library (if you are a member), and you can often find a few at the library. You may also just want to invest in a book or two. Some ideas to get you started (you may remember you already have these on your shelf at home?):

• Learn to Facet the Right Way, by Jeff Graham. Can be purchased at Faceters.com in the book section.
• Faceting for Amateurs, by Glen and Martha Vargus is also considered a good starter book

You can often find these books used at far lower prices than you may see posted on Amazon so don’t let those crazy prices scare you away from a book.  Here is a link to a search on Amazon for the single word “faceting.” Hopefully that’ll help get you started.

And lastly (for now) here is a “How to Get Started in Gemstone Faceting” tutorial that may help from GemCutter.com. If anyone has other ideas or suggestions please post in the comments.

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1. Faceting Gemstones for Fun and Profit

Rudy Tschernich, Curator of the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals has generously offered his book, Zeolites of the World for free at the Mineral Database web site called Mindat.org. Here is a direct link but if it is broken, look for it in the December 2008 issue.

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Columbia Willamette Faceters Guild sponsors the Al Gerding Memorial Faceting Trophy

The Portland Regional Gem & Mineral Show is September 17 – 19, 2010. Exhibitors need to register their intent to exhibit by filling out the “Exhibit Application” for as many categories as they wish then sending it to Lamar Tilgner (address below). Accolades and the awe of your peers are to be had!

Win Faceting Trophy

Consider faceting a stone for competition. It’s fun and educational to have your gemstone looked at with that competitive eye. Every year the Columbia Willamette Faceter’s Guild sponsors the Al Gerding Memorial Faceting Trophy. To enter, complete and send in the application below.

• Al Gerding Memorial Faceting Trophy application, awarded for the best single natural or synthetic faceted stone by an adult Novice (to qualify as “novice” you must not have won this award in the past or a novice rosette for faceting in any other show).
• Portland Regional Gem & Mineral show Application for Exhibitors: Download this Application to Exhibit (Competitive and/or Non-Competitive) if you would like to have a display case in the  show. Please send this in no later than August 15, 2011 to ensure acceptance.

Applications should be sent to : Lamar Tilgner, 200 SE Olvera Ave, Gresham, OR 97080

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Gemology Project Faceting Design Contest

First prize, for contributor of most useful Design Collection

Receive an “All You Need Kit” containing:

• 1 BATTWING Lap
• One 3,000 Diastik
• One 60K Diatsik
• Three BATTSTIKS, 1 each CeO, AlOx, and Chromium Oxide

(Retail value: $258.00)

Second prize, for most popular Individual Design

You’ll receive a Professional Polishing Kit, containing:

• One BA5T lap
• Your choice of a 60K OR 100K Diastik

(Retail value: $205.00)

Check out the Gemology Project’s Faceting Design pages to see stones cut from the various designs

The Gemology Project is “a non-profit gemstone and gem science wiki-style database” about gemstones and gemology (gemmology). Every month a gemstone and a piece of gemstone identification equipment is featured.

Don’t need the prize? Donate it to your local faceting club!

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1. Learn Wire Wrapping – 2-Day Intensive Gresham, Oregon
2. Software for Faceters
3. Puzzle, Faceting Laps

Every month in Facets we publish one or more gemstone designs. The April 2010 issue includes SpinWheel 3 by Jerry Bartlemay, March 2010, inspired by Wind Wheel by Charles Covill and Checkboard Oval OMNI Version by John Bailey, 2008.

We’d love to hear your experience cutting one or both of these designs. Post them here, or send comments via the Contact Us link at any time.

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2. Faceting Gemstones for Fun and Profit
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Yes, it is possible to make a living from your gemstone faceting and no one has done this faster than John Bailey of GemstoneArtist.com. This year, 2010, Bailey will hold ONE boot-camp-style Faceting class.

July 8 – 13, with over 60 hours of classroom instruction in a close, friendly environment. This course is perfect for the beginner and experienced faceters alike.

This course is so much more than just “how to facet.” John includes vital information on how to value rough, saving you time, money and frustration when you buy rough that you’ll never sell because you overpaid. You’ll also learn basic Gemcad (and if you know Gemcad John is more than happy to teach more advanced concepts). This course is highly recommended by Kathryn Martyn, our club’s secretary and webmaster who attended the boot camp in 2009 and plans to attend this year as well.

The course includes all of the following

• Faceting Machine Orientation
• Rough evaluation
• Rough Evaluation Lab
• Gemstone orientation
• Cold Dopping Methods & Tools
• Hot Dopping Methods & Tools
• Orientation & Cold Dopping Lab
• Hot Dopping Methods & Tools Lab
• Beginning Cutting & Polishing Sequencing
• Advanced Polishing & Repair Cutting
• Beginning Cutting & Polishing Lab
• Intermediate Cutting & Polishing Lab
• Training the Eye to See (Quality Control)
• Beginning Design & Geometry Planning
• Advanced Geometry & Design
• Beginning Design & Geometry Planning Lab
• Basic Gem Photography
• The Well Fed Artist (Getting Paid)

Complete details are found at GemStoneArtist.com

John has several videos posted on YouTube as well, including the cutting sequence when he faceted Oregon’s largest flawless red sunstone

Related posts:

1. Faceting Design Contest
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Seattle Fac-Ette for Sale

The Columbia Willamette Faceters’ Guild has a Seattle Fac-Ette for sale (SOLD). This machine is in excellent condition, having been recently refurbished by Bob Grove.

This package deal includes three used laps (180, 600 and 1200 grit) and an acrylic master lap. Also included are a transfer jig, target dop, 45 degree table dop and about a dozen Fac-Ette dops in a wooden dop block.

The price is $1,200. If interested contact Haden Olson, our property manager at 503 631 3132. Haden can bring the machine to a meeting or arrange for you to take a look.

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1. How to Build Faceting Machine

Clean-up of Messy Epoxy Tubes and Mixing Surfaces

by Glenn Ruminson (FACETS Mar 2005)

I got tired of getting my fingers gummed up from leaking epoxy and hardener tubes. I avoid the mess by slipping a 2″ by 3″ polyethylene bag over the bottom end of the tube — all the mess stays inside the bag.

This is probably not new to a lot of you, but I also discovered that ethyl alcohol (sold as denatured alcohol or shellac thinner–editor) will dissolve epoxy, hardener, and mixed but still soft epoxy-hardener. A squart of alcohol plus scrubbing with a paper towel makes quick and easy cleaning of sticky fingers, or your mixing surface, as long as you do this before the epoxy hardens.

Cut a paper towel into 2″ by 2″ sections for ease of use in cleaning up epoxy messes. I also find these sections useful in blotting water and debris off stones before checking my cutting progress.

Related posts:

1. Dopping with Epoxy

GemCad Software

There are a few software programs of use to faceters. The first that comes to mind is GemCad, developed by Robert Strickland. According to GemCad.com, “Gemcad is a computer-aided design (CAD) program for faceted gemstones. It runs under Windows 95 or later on PC compatibles with screen resolution of at least 800 x 600.” Note, it will also run on a Mac using Parallels or other software enabling you to run Windows software.

Strickland goes on to say, “GemCad simulates a faceting machine and shows you accurate 3-D views of the stone. GemCad understands symmetry, so you typically have to ‘cut’ only a fraction of the facets to get the full design. GemCad can follow paths of light rays through the stone to allow you to optimize a design to minimize light loss. The end product is an accurate faceting diagram that shows several views of the stone with accurate angles, indexes and dimensions. At Gemcad.com you’ll also find links to the Datavue 2 database of faceting designs.

The DOS versions of GemCad and GemRay software and documentation are now free. So if you’ve got an older Windows machine, grab a copy and get designing!

Gemology Tools is a complete gemology software reference. They say, “If you do jewelry appraisals, work with gemstones in any fashion or just love gems then Gemology Tools Professional is a must have. Time is money and Gemology Tools Professional saves you time. Visit Gemology Tools for more info.

DiamCalc is another program that displays a simulation of a cut stone. It is used by diamond cutters and sellers because no photograph can show the beauty of a diamond. They also have the free GemAdviser 2.0, a read-only software allowing you to view 3D models of diamonds and gems in the *.GEM format created in DiamCalc and Helium Polish. (Does anyone know whether it would also be able to read files in the .gem format created in GemCad? If anyone knows the answer, please let us know so we can correct or append this post). The GemAdviser allows one to evaluate diamond (and other gem material’s) light return and leakage.

DiamCalc Software

Related posts:

1. Identifying Gem Materials
2. Faceting Design Contest