GENERAL INFORMATION. Please return this booklet to the sign-in table.

Transcription

1 GENERAL INFORMATION Please return this booklet to the sign-in table.

2 Welcome to The Villages Gem & Mineral Society (TVGMS). The following information is presented to provide basic information about the Society. We meet every Thursday, with the first Thursday of the month our General Meeting and the rest of the Thursdays being workshops. At the workshop you can use the Society s equipment to make cabochons, facet gems, and/or make jewelry projects. After you are trained we also have Sunday morning workshops. The Society s membership fees are $15.00 per year for one member of a household and an additional $5.00 for a second member of a household. There is also a $1.00 workshop attendance fee for every workshop, even if you do not work on any project. The only other fee is the special Faceting Training $5.00 workshop fee. The Society has gone on field trips in the past to places like Rucks Pit, Graves Mountain, and Peace River. Additional trips will be available when there is sufficient member interest to make a field trip. WEBSITE All the articles in this booklet and all other information, such as safety procedures and equipment operating instructions and manuals, are available on the Society s website. The Villages Gem & Mineral Society is When you open the website the main page is shown as Figure 1 on the next page. Click on the Members Tab to go to the location for member s information (Figure 2). At this time you can click on any of the listed topics to go to the specific information you are interested in reading. Page 1 of 5

3 TVGMS Hard at Work At Seabreeze Rec Center New Members Must Read This. Sea Breeze Regional Recreation Center Craft Room Business Meeting 1st 6:30 pm Workshops all remaining 6:00 9:00 pm Mission: To teach new members the lapidary arts, improve on our own skills and to have a good time. Only residents of The Villages are welcome to become members of the Society. Member s expertise include: Geologist, Gemologist, Stone Cutters, Jewelry Makers, Silversmith, Fossil Collectors, Rock Hounding, Gem Faceters, Wire Wrappers, Beaders, Metal Formers. and Field Trips For further information please stop by any of our workshops or meetings days or contact one of the following VGM Society officers. Bill Collins, President Brian Dickson, Vice President Rhonda West, Secretary Bob Delvaux, Treasurer FIGURE 1 TVGMS Hard at Work At Seabreeze Rec Center General Information Equipment Manuals Standard Operating Procedures Places to See A MUST READ: THE VILLAGES GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY SAFETY RULES FIGURE 2 Page 2 of 5

4 CABOCHONS When we make a cabochon we are doing what nature takes millions of years to do with loose sediment and water -- wear down a rock to a smaller stone and polish it. We can do it faster with the equipment, but it will not happen quickly. A cabochon is a stone which has been shaped and polished into a domed shape. Cutting in the manner of a cabochon is usually applied to opaque rocks and gems, while faceting is usually applied to transparent gems. The common shape for cutting cabochons is an oval. This is because the eye is less sensitive to small imperfections in an oval, as opposed to a uniformly round shape such as a circle, and because the oval shape, combined with the dome, is attractive. The procedure is to cut a slab approximately 1/4 to 3/8 thick from a rough rock with a slab saw; next you draw the shape of the cabochon on the slab using a template. Then the slab is trimmed close to the marked line using a diamond blade saw called a trim saw. Then diamond impregnated wheels or silicon carbide wheels are used to grind the rough rock close to its final shape and size. Most lapidary workshops and production facilities have moved away from silicon carbide to diamond grinding wheels and/or flat lap disks. Instruction If you decide to make cabochon you will need to sign up for training on our equipment regardless of your prior knowledge. It will take one or more workshops for your training, depending upon your availability to use the equipment and the availability of the equipment. Your training will be under the direction of a Society certified trainer. You may purchase a slab from the Society for your first stone, usually costing less than $2.00. Of course you are welcome to bring in your own stone. Some people have a wonderful time making cabochons without giving a second thought to mineralogy; others want to know everything about the different stones. You don't have to know all of that stuff to make beautiful cabochons. Time Required Count on your first cabochon taking 3 to 6 hours (basically two workshops); this is where you learn where everything is and what to do with it. After that, it will go faster- how fast us up to how much practice you get, and what you are cutting. An hour for a soft stone to three and more hours for a harder stone is what most people can reasonably expect. One of the good things about faceting is that you don't have to do the whole thing at once- you can spend only the time you want to. Page 3 of 5

5 FACETING Faceting, in general terms, means fashioning the surface of a gemstone in a design of small faces (or "facets"). Usually these are polished, but in some cuts certain facets are left "frosted" to create special effects. Typically, facets are flat surfaces. Colored stone faceting means cutting all of the "other" gems, except for cutting diamonds. Some of the same procedures apply in diamond cutting, but cutting them takes more specialized equipment and training. Cutting diamonds cannot be done on The Gem & Mineral Society s equipment. Instruction If you decide to be trained at The Gem & Mineral Society, you will have five workshops with a qualified instructor. The Society charges $5.00 for each of the workshops. After the initial five workshops you will be able to facet gems on your own using The Society s equipment. One of the great points about this hobby is that you can learn as much as you want without it being mandatory. Some people have a wonderful time faceting without giving a second thought to mineralogy or crystal structure; others want to know all about everything that influences the light path... suit yourself. You don't have to know all of that stuff to cut beautiful gems. Time Required Count on your first stone taking 6 to 8 hours (basically five workshops); this is where you learn where everything is and what to do with it. After that, it will go faster. How fast is up to how much practice you get and what you are cutting. An hour for a simple cut to 3-5 hours for complex cuts is what most people can reasonably expect. One of the good things about faceting is that you don't have to do the whole thing at onceyou can spend only the time you want to. JEWELRY MAKING The Villages Gem & Mineral Society presents classes on some of the methods at the Thursday evening workshops. We have some of the basic tools available for the classes, so you do not need to purchase your own tools, until you discover your level of interest. The Society s tools are only for use during the worships and cannot be taken home. The instructors also will have supplies available to be purchased. You are welcome to obtain your own supplies from other sources for the classes. Page 4 of 5

6 Various members can assist you with the following jewelry making methods: Beading: Using beads to make earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings. Stone Setting: A setting is a metal support for holding a stone. How the setting is made is linked to how a stone will be set. There are many ways to set a stone including bead, cabochon, channels, pave, and prong settings. Wire Wrapping: The technique of using different shapes of wire combined with beads and stones to make intricate pieces. Chain Making & Wire Weaving: Wire is shaped into links or rings and used to make chains for jewelry. It can also be weaved into various shapes for jewelry. We also do teach other projects such as creating a Tree of Life, which is creating a sculpture from wire and stones. Instruction Usually a new project is introduced at the workshop on the second Thursday of the month. The Society has sets of the basic equipment (pliers) available to be used at the meetings. You do not need to buy your own equipment before the class. The supplies you will need can be purchased at the workshop from the instructor. Of course you can bring in your own supplies. There is no class fee, only the regular $1.00 workshop fee paid to The Villages Gem & Mineral Society. Time Required Most projects can be completed in one or two workshops depending on your skill level and the projects complexity. However, since different projects are introduced each month, the time would vary depending upon your interest. Page 5 of 5