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

By Dick Walker. Published in FACETS, January 2005

The time-tested method of dopping with hot wax seems to have gone the way of the Dodo bird for most people. I still use hot wax on occasion when I am in a hurry or perhaps someone else is in a hurry. Now I favor the use of epoxy, the five-minute variety. I could use the longer cure variety but it takes a long time for it to become stiff enough to stop running all over the place. Now I use the quick cure epoxy but I use only the epoxy in the tubes, not the kind that comes in the double syringe form. I have found that the double syringe variety becomes a study in madness and frustration.

Why you might ask? Well most of the resins and the hardeners or catalysts are not the same viscosity.  As a result making a proper blob of each is virtually impossible, leaving you with epoxy that will not cure rock hard.

Over the years I have heard of numerous additives used to thicken the epoxy and make it less runny and yield more readily to the solvents used to dissolve it. I have heard of using com starch, corn meal, cream of wheat and cerium oxide, the cheap brown stuff that is. A bit confusing, you bet. I decided to give them all a try to see which method actually was best.

Cornstarch & Epoxy

Cornstarch seemed to be an inexpensive place to start. I prepared a blob of epoxy and proceeded to add an abundance of cornstarch to my blob until it appeared to be sufficiently thick and dopped a stone. After a sufficient wait, I proceeded to facet the pavilion of my stone. After completion of the pavilion I transferred the stone using the same doping method.

Then came the task of removing the first dop so I could cut the crown. I found that the cornstarch epoxy required quite a bit of heat to free the initial dop, enough that it made me just a bit nervous. After completion of the crown again what I felt an inordinate amount of heat was necessary to remove the dop.

Corn Meal & Epoxy

Oh well on to the next filler material. I decided to try com meal this time. I proceeded to mix the com meal with the epoxy as instructed put the stone on the epoxy dop and waited. I do not know what the problem was here but the epoxy failed to harden to my satisfaction. Perhaps some of either the resin or the catalyst was absorbed by the com meal. This was tried again with approximately the same results.

Cream of Wheat & Epoxy

On to cream  of wheat with just about the same results, I may have to juggle the resin catalyst mix a bit.

Cerium Oxide & Epoxy

So on the last suggested filler, cerium oxide. I had tried this filler in the past with satisfactory results but I decided to mix up a batch filling the resin catalyst with enough of the cerium oxide to thicken it sufficiently. This mix hardened quite rapidly with very little tendency to run. After about two hours under a light bulb it was hard enough to commence cutting. When it came time to remove the epoxy from the stone and dop the amount of heat necessary to effect separation was quite satisfactory even for the more heat sensitive stones.

As far as I am concerned the cerium oxide makes the most satisfactory filler for epoxy dopping.

A note on Dops

I have found that the cone dops make a much better base for epoxy dopping than the flat top dops because the epoxy does not work as a thin film adhesive. More mass is required to form a satisfactory bond for dopping. One of the best features of epoxy is that it is waterproof and resists shearing. I have never had a stone come off when dopped carefully with epoxy.

Watch for Humidity

One last thought, one factor that might effect your success with epoxy in general is the humidity in your shop environment. If the humidity is high, as in near a dryer vent or in an utility room, there is a pretty good chance that your efforts to dop with epoxy may result in rubbery or insufficiently rigid epoxy. Make every effort to use epoxy in a warm dry area, for best results.

Related posts:

1. Dopping Tips – Cleaning Epoxy Mess

Resources abound on the web, and forums are great for getting together while staying at home. Here are a few faceting forums I’ve found. Let us know if you know of others and we’ll add them. (Note, links open in new window)

• USFG Faceters List Very active lis. Current topics: Who do you buy rough from, Question on Polishes, etc. Great place to learn and/or contribute about faceting.
• The Lapidary List at Yahoo
• Pretty Rock has a Gemology, Faceting & Jewelry forum
• Lapidary / Gemstone Community Forum
• Aussie Lapidary Forum: Look for the “Forum” link across the top of the page
• Visit GemologyOnline.com for all sorts of forums including lapidary and faceting

Know of more? Send any more forums you know so we can post them here.

Related posts:

1. Free Gemology Course
2. How to Photograph Gemstones

With the dizzying array of equipment available, Your Gemologist has a nice write-up explaining a bit about what many of the various gemstone identification tools do and why they do it. This equipment is used by both gemologists and faceters.

What equipment do you use? Did you teach yourself?

Related posts:

1. Where to Learn Gemology

A few sources for gemology education include the International School of Gemology (more expensive) and IGS, International Gem Society (less expensive). I have not attended either so only cite what I found online but both look interesting.

Also check out Your Gemologist (warning, it has audio that plays no matter what, so turn down your speakers — I turn mine completely off). This site features tons of information on properties of individual minerals, gemstones, and much more.

I found on the late Jeff’s Graham’s site that his opinion was the money you’d spend at a course could be better spent buying equipment and teaching yourself. He may be right but you’d need to be the sort that really can self- teach so you don’t just buy equipment then put in on a shelf for when you get a round-to-it.  Read what Graham had to say on the subject and if you have an opinion, please send it in, or post a comment!

Related posts:

1. Overview Gemological Equipment
2. Free Gemology Course

Old magazines are a goldmine of information but imagine my surprise when I came across this? The Popular Mechanics Feb 1971 issue had an article entitled “Make Your Own Faceting Machine” and here it is in full. It’s not exactly the easiest looking home project, but hey, if you’ve got the time and inclination, go for it.

Have you tried building your own faceting machine? Tell us about it? Drop a line or give us a comment below. We’d love to hear your experiences.

No related posts.

If you are interested in faceting you may already have an interest in gemstones or rocks in general (most of us do). But where do you go when you’d like to get a bit more in-depth education?  One great online resource is Barbara Smigel’s free Gemology Course offered through CSN (College of Southern Nevada). The entire course content is online and available for anyone at no cost, and it is also available for credit for a fee through the college.

Smigel’s site provides answers when one might ask, “Are you Interested in Gemstones?” She answers these questions about gemstones:

• How do they form?
• Why do they shine?
• What sets value in a gem?
• How can you spot a simulant or synthetic?
• What creates a cat’s eye or star in a gem?
• How can you tell one red gemstone like ruby from another like garnet or piece of red glass?
• Which gems are best for jewelry and why?
• Where and how are gems mined?
• How are they cut and polished?
• What is the toughest gemstone (no, not diamond)?
• and What the Heck are These?

You’ll spend countless hours learning at Barbara’s site and maybe even developing a lifelong passion for gemstones! You may also run into Barbara at the Gemology Online forum. I’ve read many posts by Barbara there in the Lapidary forum.

Related posts:

1. Where to Learn Gemology
2. Faceting Forums

Refractor is a common material used to examine “inside” a stone. Here’s a great explanation in how to use refractol found at TheImage.com.

Related posts:

1. Identifying Gem Materials

Earth’s Minerals Scratch Patch

“Visualize a cozy European style boutique indoor play place with two small rooms where the floors are covered 3 inches deep with over 2 tons of tumbled gemstones. They aren’t kidding. Earth’s Minerals Scratch Patch is an indoor rock paradise for kids!

Located in Seattle, Washington, this looks like great fun for the kids, and might just spark a lifelong interest in rocks

Visit Earth’s Minerals Scratch Patch

Related posts:

1. Free Gemology Course