Lapidary is the work of cutting, shaping and polishing stone, and a lapidary is the person who does it. The word comes from the Latin lapis, stone. A lapidary takes rough stone and turns it into a finished piece: a polished cabochon for a ring or pendant, a faceted gem, a flat polished slab, a sphere, a carving, or a tumbled stone. Nearly all of it is done with abrasives harder than the stone, mostly diamond, used wet and in steps from coarse to fine.
The main branches
| Branch | What it makes | What it runs on |
|---|---|---|
| Cabbing | Cabochons: stones with a domed top and a flat back, for rings, pendants and bolos | Diamond wheels: hard wheels to shape, soft wheels to smooth and polish |
| Tumbling | Smooth, polished stones that keep their natural shape | A tumbler, loose silicon carbide grit, polish and media |
| Flat lapping | Flat polished faces on slabs, bookends and specimens | A flat lap with diamond discs, or loose grit |
| Faceting | Gems with flat facets cut at set angles | A faceting machine and laps |
| Carving, spheres and drilling | Carvings, spheres, beads, holes | Burs and points, sphere cups, core drills |
| Sawing | Slabs and blanks for every branch above | A slab saw or trim saw and a diamond blade |
Glass is cut, ground and polished with many of the same tools, which is why our catalog covers lapidary and glass working together.
Cabbing
Cabbing makes cabochons. A slab is marked from a template, trimmed on a saw, ground to shape on hard diamond wheels, then smoothed and polished through a series of soft diamond wheels, each finer than the last.
| Stage | Our products |
|---|---|
| Shaping | Nickel bond hard wheels, 4", 6" and 8", 36 to 600 grit; sintered wheels, 6" and 8", 30 to 600 grit |
| Smoothing and polishing | SuperNova soft wheels, made in our Orange, CA warehouse, 4", 6" and 8", 60 to 200,000 grit plus cerium, chrome and tin |
| Worn soft wheels | Resurfacing: a worn soft wheel from any maker gets a new diamond face, for half the price of a new SuperNova at 4", 6" and 8" |
| Machines | Cabbing machines, including the Diamond Pacific Genie and Titan, which we resell |
The order of the wheels matters more than anything else in cabbing. See Cabbing grit progression, and for the steps in full, How lapidary work is done.
Tumbling
A tumbler turns a load of rough stones in loose grit, coarse first, then finer, then polish. It takes no shaping skill, and the stones keep their natural outline. A rotary tumbler rolls the load in a barrel; a vibratory tumbler shakes it in a bowl.
| Item | Our products |
|---|---|
| Vibratory tumbler | Gy-Roc, made in our Orange, CA warehouse: 3 lb. (Model B), 10 lb. (Model A) and 40 lb. (Model C), each also in 220/230 V, with parts for all three |
| Grit | Silicon carbide grit: coarse 46 to 80, medium 120 to 220, fine 400 to 1,200 |
| Polish and media | Polishing powder, including CPP tumbling polish; tumbling media: ceramic, plastic pellets, walnut shell |
| Rotary tumblers | Lortone rotary tumblers and the Diamond Pacific heavy duty rotary tumbler, which we resell |
Sawing
Everything except tumbling starts at a saw. A slab saw cuts rough stone into slabs. A trim saw cuts the slab into blanks close to the shape you want.
| Item | Our products |
|---|---|
| Trim saw | Rock-Rascal, made in our Orange, CA warehouse: Model JM, a 6" trim saw, or Model TM, a 6" trim saw with a grinder, both complete and ready to run |
| Blades | Diamond saw blades: sintered 301 and 303 compatible, Pro-Slicer plated, notched rim, and meteorite blades |
| Saw coolant | Mineral oil for slab saws; Lube-Cool water soluble oil, which we resell and which the Rock-Rascal listing recommends |
| Other saws | Sawing machines, including Covington slab and trim saws and Lortone trim saws, which we resell |
The Rock-Rascal 6" trim saw.
Which blade for which stone: see Choosing a saw blade.
Flat lapping, faceting, carving, spheres and drilling
| Branch | Our products | Resold |
|---|---|---|
| Flat lapping | Resin bond lapping discs, made in our Orange, CA warehouse; nickel bond lapping discs; silicon carbide grit for loose-grit laps | Lapping machines, including Covington vibrating laps and the Lortone oscillating lap |
| Faceting | Black dop wax for faceting, in Dop Pot & Accessories | We do not list faceting machines |
| Carving | SuperNova diamond points, resin bond; sintered burs and points | JoolTool |
| Spheres | Sphere machines, Covington; cutter cups | |
| Drilling | Sintered core drills | Drills, including Covington ultrasonic drills |
Questions we get
What does lapidary mean?
The cutting, shaping and polishing of stone. The word comes from the Latin lapis, stone. It is used both for the craft and for the person who does it.
What does a lapidary do?
Cuts rough stone on a saw, shapes it on diamond wheels or laps, and polishes it through finer and finer abrasives. The finished piece might be a cabochon, a faceted gem, a sphere, a carving, a polished slab or a tumbled stone.
What is the difference between lapidary and jewelry making?
Lapidary works the stone. Jewelry making builds the metal setting it goes into. Some people do both: they cut a cabochon, then set it in silver.
What is a cabochon?
A stone with a domed, polished top and a flat back. It is a common shape for stones set in rings and pendants.
Why is lapidary work done wet?
Water cools the stone and the wheel and carries away the slurry. Our soft wheels must be used with water. Running wet also keeps stone dust out of the air; with quartz stones such as agate and jasper, that dust is silica.
What is the simplest way to start?
Tumbling takes no shaping skill: load the stones with grit, run the tumbler, and step through finer grits to the polish. Cabbing takes more equipment and practice, and gives you control of the shape. How lapidary work is done walks through both.
Related: How lapidary work is done, Cabbing grit progression, Bond types, Choosing a saw blade.