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Too often I find that I do not have the proper proportioned templates to best take advantage of a nice patterned agate or scenic jasper slab so I've started using my scanner/printer along with Microsoft Paint software and Microsoft Office Picture Manager to make custom proportioned templates for cabochons and thought I would share how I've been doing it. I'm not sure if anyone has covered this here before and there are probably other softwares available that this can be done better with. But since MS Paint and MS Office Picture Manager came preinstalled with Windows 7 on my HP desktop that is what I am working with. Am also using a lower-end HP Photosmart 6520 series printer/scanner.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial. I've used red stars imposed on the accompanying screen-shot images to denote which boxes to click for most of the steps using the software and printer/scanner that I have. Obviously those using a newer or different system will have to take a different approach but maybe this will help get you started.

Step 1:
Place your slab on your scanner window and cover entire scanner bed and slab with a piece of fabric to contain light and reflections.

Step 2"
From the main "Windows" menu open the Print/Scan window and select "Scan a Document or Photo". Then select "JPEG Photo To File". Then "Scan ".





Step 3:
Once image has scanned correct brightness and contrast and then give the scan a name and "Save" to the selected folder of your choice. For this demonstration I have named my scan "RedLagunaLace1" and saved scan to "My Pictures" in a created file entitled "Slabs".





Step 4:
Then go to the file the scanned image is saved in and right-click on the scan. In the drop down box select "Open With", and in the second drop down box select "Microsoft Office Picture Manager".





Step 5:
In Microsoft office Picture Manager right click on the scan image and then select the "Edit Pictures" function in the drop down box, and then select "Rotate and Flip" in the "Edit Pictures" tool box in the right column.



Step 6:
MS Paint's template shapes only operate in two planes so use the "Rotate and Flip" functions of MS Office Picture Manager to align your scanned slab image to the vertical or horizontal position best suited for your desired shape. After having done so do NOT crop the image at this stage but rather save it in it's current form and exit MS Office Picture Manager.



Step 7:
Now return to the file containing your scan image and right-click on the image. In the drop down box select "Open With", and in the second drop down box select "Paint".





Step 8:
Now with your scanned image opened in Paint go to the bottom right corner of the screen and correct the size so that the whole image of the slab is visible on your screen. (In the case of my image 50% was a suitable size.) Now go to the top tool bar and select the shape you desire from the template shapes available. (I selected oval for mine).



Step 9:
Now using your curser and the left-click button of your mouse plot your chosen shape on the image of the slab. You can shrink, enlarge, or move the chosen shape by grabbing the dots on the rectangular frame box surrounding the chosen shape and moving them to the desired location.



Step 10:
Once you have the desired proportions and location of your chosen shape plotted on the image of your slab click on the drop down command box near the top left corner of the screen and select "Save As" and then in the next drop down box select "JPEG Picture" and then exit Paint.





Step 11:
Now go back to the picture folder your image is saved in and right-click on it and in the drop down command box select "Open With" and in the extended box select "Microsoft Office Picture Manager". Then select the "Rotate and Flip" function again and return the image back to it's original position where the top, bottom and sides of the original image scan are parallel with the top, bottom and sides of your screen box. This is important to do accurately in order to keep the image proportions accurate to the slab actual slab size for when you print your template.





Step 12:
Go back to the edit box near the top right corner of the screen and now select "Crop". And use the outline of the original scan borders to crop the image back to it's original scan size. Then click "Okay" and save changes. Now exit MS Office Picture Manager.





Step 13:
Return to the picture folder your edited scan image is saved in and select the image and right-click on it and in the command box select "Print". In the "Print Pictures" format box select "Full Page Photo" and make sure the "Fit Picture To Frame" box is checked and then print. (I print mine in B&W but color is fine too - just costs more for the ink.)







Step 14:
Place the printed page on a scrap piece of paste board, or on a cutting board, and with a sharp x-acto knife trim along the line of your imposed template shape to make your paper template.



Step 15:
Lay the paper template over your slab and line it up in the desired position. While holding firmly in place with one hand use a Sharpie Ultra-Fine pen (the one with the fine metal tip) to mark the image on the slab. Since standard printer paper is thin and delicate a light touch must be used when marking with the Sharpie pen or the pen will stray off course. Now you're ready to trim!



And here are a few more:









Larry C.

I agree not Rocky Butte. But either Palomino or Disaster Peak.

Larry C.

I have both the 10" and 6" Raytech saws and without going out to the shop tonight to pull off the switch box cover to check, I'm pretty sure both use a 4rpm motor for the power feed. Also they come wired from the factory so that the power feed motor will only turn if the power to run the blade is turned on as well. So if when the power feed lock lever is disengaged, and both switches are turned on, the threaded power feed shaft isn't turning then the first thing to check is to make sure that the set screws in the coupling that joins the threaded power feed rod to the power feed motor shaft are tight.

If the threaded feed rod does turn when the power feed lock lever is disengaged but doesn't when it is engaged then give the threaded power feed rod a good cleaning with a fine wire brush and 3-in-one oil or WD-40.

I've bought and sold several used saws and have found that more times than not if the power feed motor isn't working after the above then it's either a bad switch or the grease in the gear case of the power feed motor is dried up and preventing the reduction gears from turning. Replacement toggle switches are available at most good hardware stores. And the gear case on the power feed motor can be opened and the old grease cleaned out and replaced.

If all that fails, then it's new motor time.

Larry C.

Which is precisely why IMO adding a dial gauge to the hand piece would be a waste of time for this machine design.



Not so if the handpiece platform isn't true. The adjustable set screws on the aluminum mounting bracket (that is mounted to the faceting machine base and which the hand piece table rod inserts into) only serve to adjust the angle of the steel rod that the round hand piece platform is mounted to. But the round hand piece platform rotates/swivels horizontally on bearings. So if the hand piece table gets warped or bent to where it is no longer a flat plane, or is no longer at a 90 degree angle to the steel rod mounted to the underneath side, then no amount of adjusting the set screws on the aluminum mounting bracket that the rod is inserted into on the base can correct that.

In that situation the only way to compensate without ordering a new hand piece platform and rod assembly is to use a dial gauge mounted on a surface plate (while resting on the round hand piece table) to find the most level zone parallel to the lap platen, mark it, and then place the hand piece in that zone and use a large (preferably 1") flat dop mounted in the hand piece with the angle set at "0", and a machined flat lap mounted on the lap platen, and then adjust the three feet of the hand piece until the flat surface of the dop is sitting perfectly flat on the lap. Then always keep the hand piece aligned in that same marked zone when faceting.

On a new machine or a well taken care of machine that will not likely ever be an issue. But if the hand piece platform assembly has ever been dropped, or anything too heavy has ever been sat on it, or if is was used repeatedly by someone using too much downward pressure, then it may be damaged "out of true".

Larry C.

Many of us still use wax for at least one half of the stone. I use wax for the initial dopping for cutting the pavilion and then transfer using thick gel C/A glue. After the C/A glue cures put the assembly in the freezer for a few minutes and the wax dopped end let's loose without affecting the C/A glued dopped end. Others I know do the reverse and use C/A for the cutting of the pavilion and then transfer with wax into the cone or vee dop for cutting the crown.

Larry C.

Dressing them with SC does make a difference. I purchased mine from Hans back in 2011. And at that time his 8" x 1.5" sintered wheels were $200 each regardless of grit size. Delivery time was only a few days from China (via DHL shipping if I remember correctly). But shipping costs were really expensive.

Since then Hans has adjusted his prices and shipping. He now sells on Amazon too. He doesn't show a 30 grit wheel but on Amazon he sells his 8" x 1.5" 60 grit sintered wheel for $299 w/free shipping and his 6" x 1.5" 60 grit sintered wheel for $229 w/free shipping.


Larry C.

Thank you James for taking the time for such a detailed response! The minor edge chipping you show on your glass cabs caused by the 60 grit sintered would be acceptable as they appear they could easily be removed with back-beveling.

I had considered going with the 60 grit sintered. But am not sure if there would be enough of a difference (time usage wise) between a 60 grit sintered and the 80 grit sintered to get me out of the woods so to speak. Reason being due to osteoarthritis, the last time I preformed a large number of hard material cabs in one afternoon it took my hands a couple of weeks to recover back to normal. And that was even with having used a tool rest in front of the grinding wheel to brace the slabs on.

So I'm looking to severely shorten the time it takes to preform cabs to their outer profile shape. At 2x the grit size of a 60, and nearly 3x that of an 80, a 30 grit sintered should be plenty aggressive enough to shorten usage time. But if it causes excessive edge chipping the additional work required for removing the chipping at later stages, especially when polishing the backs, may negate the wheel time and hand fatigue saved during the preforming stage.

Those 30 grit sintered wheels are so costly I was hoping that before taking the plunge that someone here may have tried one and could share their experience with it.


P.S. Your glass cabs are beautiful! You should do great with them!

Larry C.

The cost for the new arbor/bearing assembly was $105. Not sure why the email is kicking back but if you have any other questions that you don't wish to post in the open forum then you can use the "Message" function of this site linked at the blue bar near the top of the page.

Larry C.

I don't know what types of materials you are cutting but I can't imagine using 4 gallons of oil or having to clean a 10" saw four times during 16 hours total of use. And I'm pretty fussy about keeping saws clean.

I use the brown paper grocery store bag method for cleaning my oil. I have a couple of these 3 gallon plastic buckets from Lowes www.lowes.com/pd/Encore-Plastics-3-5-Gallon-Residential-Bucket/3064343 and have drilled several 5/8" diameter holes in the bottoms. Then line the inside of them with a standard brown paper grocery bag and insert the 3 gallon pal with the paper bag liner into a 5 gallon plastic bucket similar to this: www.lowes.com/pd/Encore-Plastics-5-Gallon-Commercial-Bucket/3083565

Then pour the oil into the paper bag lined 3 gallon pail and let it sit overnight. The handle-shoulder of the 3 gallon bucket rests on top of the lip of the five gallon bucket so you can clean about 2.5 gallons of oil at a time with this set up. As long as there are no holes or tears in the brown paper grocery bag the oil will filter through very clean and can be reused and filtered many times with little loss.

Larry C.