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Why copper or zinc laps.
I am new at faceting but like to use deductive logic to understand how things work. I am dealing with ‘why,’ copper, zinc, or aluminum for certain laps. The only thing I can figure is the size of the atoms, even when as smooth as possible for a lap, it would look like a sawblade on a hand saw when magnified a lot. The size of the ‘v’ would be different for every material. The size of the abrasive fits in the ‘v’ and grinds as wanted. If the wrong size abrasive is used on the lap, the abrasive does not get into the ‘v,’ so just sliding. Not grinding.
Any comments or thoughts?
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2 Replies
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Copper and zinc laps are chosen for their optimal hardness and malleability, allowing effective abrasive embedding and consistent polishing results across gem surfaces.
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neither are really of needed use in modern faceting. and aluminum master lap is all you need on the faceter. then use the diamond plated topper plate disc’s. get the coarse needed for your basic cutting then a good 1200 grit to recut to final and then a good tin lap (hopefully better than 95% tin) to polish with using 50,000 grit diamond powder and just enough water to keep it a muddy slur and run at very slow speed. spray-on and compound and waxy forms of polishing aids—oil and grease do not compress so you not getting the cutting action needed. gemmakermz@gmail.com i’ve been at it for 60 yrs and after trying everything i’ve found this the best way to go and i teach faceting and faceting teachers.
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