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This question comes up every few months on this site. You can find a lot of user info on various blades using the search feature. Here's a link to a recent previous response:
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1052913/thread

Larry C.

Update 8/10/2019 - This item is now SOLD. Thank you!



I have a 1970s Ultra Tec V2 faceting machine for sale. This machine has a brand new Ultra Tec factory speed control unit installed, a new rubber splash pan, a new solid walnut base (the new speed control units are taller than the old ones so it required a new taller base), and a new set of German made NTN brand arbor bearings (same make as the originals). This machine is very clean and in good condition, and also comes with a flexible Moffat light, a replacement drip pot, a 64 index gear, and two Allen wrenches.

I have cut a Barion Emerald Cut test stone on this machine and though the accuracy is not equal to a new machine, I was still able to cut a commercial grade (or better) stone with it. I did not have to use the cheater at all until after I had cut the pavilion and transferred the stone to another dop and was finishing up the first row of crown facets when the stone came unglued from the dop. I had to re-dop the stone to finish the crown, and so at that point had to use the cheater to realign the second and third rows of crown facets. But in order to show the level of meetpoint accuracy of this machine. I have posted several photos of the test stone's pavilion taken at various angles on my flickr page to show the varying meets which were made without having used the cheater (see link below).

These older model V2 machines did not use keyed dops but rather have a removable keyed tapered dop collect in which 1/4" diameter shaft dops are inserted and secured with the collet's set screw. The original UT dops, the dop collet key, and the UT tapered shaft 45 degree table adapter were not with this machine when I acquired it. But it works fine leaving the original tapered collet fixed in place and using any standard 1/4" shaft dops and 1/4" shaft 45 degree table dop. When cutting the test stone with this machine I used standard non-keyed Graves brand dops, a Graves brand 45 degree table dop, and a Graves transfer jig all with no issues.

To see additional photos of the machine and test stone at this link - www.flickr.com/photos/quailriver/

*NOTE: 8/8 Update - I had also posted this machine on eBay and it has an opening bid now so is on longer available to purchase outside of eBay. If still interested you can view the machine eBay listing at the following link:
www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-Tec-V2-Faceting-Machine/123866662232?hash=item1cd7074558:g:uE4AAOSwlqVdSkQ3

Thanks for looking!



Larry C.

Very sad news! Prayers for Sophia and family!

Larry C.

Pro-slicer blades used to be considered good blades. But as gemfeller mentioned they were usually used for trimming faceting rough or slicing opal, turquoise and other valuable materials. I think the last one I had was made in the 1990s and it was a good blade. But they, like the rest of the old name brands may be outsourcing production overseas now.

Larry C.

You may have misread, I don't yet have a 60 grit sintered. Just have 30, 80 & 220 in sintered. I've considered the Crystalite Turbine and Crystalite Diamondback wheels in coarser grits (60 or 100) for rough doming but they are nearly as costly as the Inland sintered wheels (at Johnson Bros prices). I think I have 180 and 260 Crystalite Turbine wheels in 6" diameter around here somewhere but have never mounted or used them for performance comparison to other wheels.

Larry C.

There is no reason a properly clamped rock should "fall out" of the vise. And once a first cut is made the rock should not be removed from the vise and re-clamped until all slabs have been cut that can be cut (unless the material is found to be unworthy of continuing slabbing) and the rock clamp has become too close to the blade to cut further without the blade hitting the vise. If there is still good material left on the rock then at that point the rock will need to be moved over, or repositioned in order to produce more slabs. And if just moving over, sometimes the shape of the rock can be a little difficult to get the slabbed face exactly flush or parallel with the blade again.

As hookedonrocks suggested, get a good assortment of wooden wedges in various sizes and cut at various angles to use to help secure the rocks in position prior to the final tightening of the vise. When using medium to large saws I've also found having several rectangular shaped pieces of 3/16" and 1/4" thick, 2" wide Masonite ranging from 2" to 6" long to be helpful for filling gaps between a rock face and vice. These can be stacked and Masonite is soft enough for the rock surface to bite into. And when the vise is tightened and they are compressed they do no have a tenancy to slip.

Larry C.

Been meaning to post this for a while now just to give everyone a heads up - Microsoft is discontinuing support for Windows 7 January 14th, 2020. So anyone who may still be using this system (including my wife and I) may want to take this into consideration prior to sinking anymore cash into a windows 7 system. And also may want to upgrade to a more current system prior to then, for security reasons.

Larry C.

Very nice Richardson's Moss! The last one resembles Maury Mountain Moss Agate.

Larry C.

Here is a formula for stabilizing water glass that I had saved as a document file several years ago. I have not tried using this formula myself. And unfortunately I do not remember who the original author was in order to give them credit. My apologies to the original author for not saving that information.

"Here is the Waterglass/Emergen-c silication formula. The addition of Emergen-C makes the silication waterproof where straight Waterglass will not hold up to the lapidary processes.

Since most stones are cut in water and will probably be subjected to immersion and water-based cleaners, waterglass isn't a satisfactory stabilizer. Various chemical processes can cause silicates to polymerize into opal or agate, as occurs in petrified wood. The hardened silicate from my procedure is clear and colorless. It's not as fast as epoxy, but treated material is "rock-solid" --- no undercutting or discoloration with age. In the end, it's also safer, cleaner and a lot cheaper than Opticon or other epoxies.

Here's the general procedure that seems to be working now. It's not as involved as it may seem at first glance, and gets easier with practice.

1) Clean slabs (or rough less than 1" thick) in a solution of hot water and trisodium phosphate (available in most paint departments for wall cleaning) prepared in the concentration specified for grease removal. I let them soak overnight. This may cause some slight color change - deeper blues and greens on
chrysocolla and turquoise. Rinse slabs thoroughly and allow to air-dry.

2) For this step, you need a shallow, lidded stainless steel (not iron or aluminum) pot or pan and a means of holding temperature at around 180 F, substantially below boiling. I found a thrift store electric buffet warming plate which worked nicely. The stabilizing formula is based on sodium silicate solution with a weight ratio of around 3.2 (available at <http://www.chemistrystore.com/sodium_silicate.htm>
www.chemistrystore.com/sodium_silicate.htm and other similar sources).
Read the MSDS! This solution is caustic, and you should wear eye and skin protection to handle it. Spray the pot lid edge with PAM or other cooking spray to keep it from adhering to the pot. Clean up drips and used utensils immediately with warm water. If the solution gets on fabric, rinse and wash it before the silicate dries.

3) Now, this is where things get a little weird... it takes a combination of very low activity organic acid and alkali mineral salts (carbonates, phosphates and sulfates of calcium, potassium, etc.) to get the silicate to polymerize in a non-water-soluble form, e.g. as agate. Though this can be done with very concentrated mineral water (about 1 gallon boiled down to 1 cup) and aspirin or citric acid, I found the easiest and cheapest way to do this was with Emer-Gen-C Lite mineral supplement packets. ***It's important to get the Lite sugar-free version --- sugar or fructose will oxidize and may discolor the stones.***
Dissolve one packet of Emer-gen-C in 1 cup (approx. 250 ml) of water and allow the fizzing to disperse. Add this solution to 8 oz. of sodium silicate in the stainless steel pot and stir to mix. For stones with very fine porosities or hairline cracks, add about 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap to reduce the viscosity of the solution.

4) Submerge the slabs in silicate solution in a single layer. Stacked slabs may stick together. Cover and let stand on the heat source for at least 24 hours. Longer cooking won't hurt... I've left some material in for up to 4 days. [For very thick material, a pressure cooker has been suggested, but the risks of
silicate splash clogging the vent mechanism are too great for my peace of mind.]

Remove the slabs and set them on a spray-greased baking rack over newspaper.
Allow the slabs to drip dry. The dried slabs are safe to handle bare-handed, and
can be gently pried off the rack if they stick. A word of caution --- dried silicate can be as sharp as glass!

5) Place the dry slabs on a cookie sheet and set in a cold oven. Turn the oven to "warm" and leave it on overnight. Turn the oven off and allow the stones to cool to room temperature with the door closed. The slabs should look shiny and any deep cracks will be partially filled. Porous stones should feel noticeably
heavier after this treatment. at this point, you can re-clean the stone and "paint" silicate formula to fill larger cracks and voids. Repeat the drying and baking processes to set the added silicate.

The whole cleaning, soaking, drying and baking process can be repeated as many times as you feel necessary. There may be some brownish surface discoloration on the stone, but this comes off with polishing.

Silicate solution can be reused multiple times, adding a little water to replenish the volume. The solution may have some precipitated white silica gel and will turn tea-colored. When a thick layer of silica gel has precipitated and the solution seems thin, treat it by pouring out on about a pound of scoopable cat litter, allowing the litter to dry, then discarding it in regular trash. Don't pour it down the sink.

I've tried to explain in as much detail as I've gleaned from a half dozen or so different trials. So far, it's worked on slabs and rough of many different jaspers, chrysocolla, turquoise, Laguna, Botswana, plume and moss agates, Koroit opal, petrified woods and fossil coral."


Larry C.