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November 2014

The US Faceters Guild (USFG) has taken over management of the Franklin Faceters' Frolic (a July event) and the USFG - is planning a similar - but bigger - Faceters' Frolic in Tucson, in February 2015.  

Over a period of 3 days, it will include a group of practical lectures - with live demonstrations and plenty of Q and A time.

 And, time for attendees to meet and chat - swap stories - swap techniques, and similarly meet with company representatives and see what's new.   As you can imagine .... we'll be there too!

 Did I say they are all nice people?  They are.  You would enjoy it, and come away smarter.

We'll have more details, so "watch this space".

See if this trip to Tucson fits into your schedule - the dates, Feb 5-6-7 - yes, 2015 - not too far off to start planning.

 Mark Oros of Hashnu Stones, is a many faceted guy - innovative, creative, inventive, always enthusiastic - and now we can add, whimsical.  The case in point?  Take a look at Mark's Faucet Kit setup.

Looking through some pictures in Mark's workshop - what did we see in the background!

We asked Mark about it, and he said - "Ultra Tec's V5 is a serious faceting machine, but sometimes you need to lighten up and get a little whimsical. I'm enjoying my new Ultra Tec Faucet Kit and so are my friends".

Actually, it started as a practical joke - and afterwards, the reservoir with its (not real) floating fish remains -  as a bit of whimsy.

The Faucet Kit is pretty nifty - it provides 2.5 gallons of water.  You need a place to set it, of course, and if you get one, be sure to get a 2.5 gallon jug to drain into.

Mark Oros gets serious about his faceting, and he has developed new designs and techniques - among them a "free-wheeling faceting" technique - here's an example of a free-wheeled quartz stone.

 Mark has been writing about some of his techniques in The Lapidary Journal (and his article on this particular technique will appear soon).

Find out all about Mark's work at his  Hashnu Stones and Gems company website.

 

We welcome all our ULTRA TEC cousins as FANS -- your, pictures, videos, experiences, comments and suggestions are always welcome!

Don't Forget to Click on the LIKE button to be added to the community.

Roco Gems is the name of UltraTec's new representative in the Durbin area of South Africa.  Durban is located on the beautiful east coast of South Africa - and it's on that beautiful coast, that Roy Brain (left) and Colin Glover are pictured.  

Now, can you guess where the Roco name comes from?   Both of them are Ultra Tec faceters, and will be ready to assist and explain Ultra Tec equipment to you.

Roy has been active in the faceting world and his stones have been featured on Ultra Tec's Facebook page on several occasions.  The dazzler above, a 12mm cubic zirconia, was his top-scoring entry to the USFG Masters competition in 2012. We welcome Roco to the Ultra Tec Team!

More details at: http://rocogems.co.za/

 Tim recently retired after 44 years in public education - starting out as a high school Math instructor and moving on to district administration. 

Tim writes:  "I have been faceting for 16+ years and have experience with a number of different faceting machines although the Ultra Tec V5, my favorite, is now the only faceting machine in my shop.  I set most of the stones I cut in findings obtained from a variety of commercial vendors and, although I do sell a stone on occasion, most of my creations are given away as gifts to family and friends.  I have faceted most of the more popular materials, but my favorites are tourmaline, garnet, and the beryls, especially aquamarine."

So, Tim offers a world of experience - a great guy to visit.  He might sing you a song.  He will answer your Ultra Tec questions.

Welcome Tim!

Jeff Warrington, of Bognor Regis (a small city on England's Channel coast) was a little concerned about just diving into Fantasy cutting on his own - no "lessons" -  no teachers around.  But he obeyed his urge to do it, and went ahead and purchased an Ultra Tec Fantasy machine.  Soon afterwards, he wrote to us about his first effort - we should say his successful first effort, on the first try.  He included a photo of the stone.  Here it is...

Jeff wrote :  "My first fantasy stone is a CZ 12mm round cut to Dalan Hargrave's directions, as available from the Lapidary Journal archive.  Rather than cut a flat table I have left the table facets cut to a centre point giving a 'flower' ".

Jeff went on to say: "It is difficult to believe that even a CZ could be so scintillatingly brilliant...

the still photo shows only half of the actual brilliance of the cut.  Needless to say I am over the moon with the Fantasy machine and look forward to cutting more stones with it."

  FANTASY.  Yes you can.