Ultra Tec News - Summer 1995


The Ultra Tec Owners' Newsletter Summer 1995 "The Some Times"
Dear Ultra Tec Cousin, A newsletter? In the middle of the year? That's unusual. Yes. Isn't this sort of breaking the newsletter 'formula" - you usually start out with "this is the Ultra Tec 'Some Times'", and all about if you're a new owner and you're getting the newsletter for the first time... and all that stuff... Yes. ...and then you tell which Ultra Tec cousin is responsible for getting you to write... Right. ...and then saying where you been travelling - like all around... Well, yes...since the last newsletter we went to the Northwest Faceters' Conference-I'll tell about that. And did you miss Tucson this year? Yes. No, I mean did you really miss Tucson? Oh yes, we really missed it. We love Tucson--we would have moved Ultra Tec to Tucson, but we couldn't get the crew to go--they say they love the LA Lakers...and their families too. And is it true some guy wrote you a letter and said how come, in the last newsletter, you didn't even say your name was Joe Rubin...or give any name...but somehow he figured out how to write to you? Yes... he must've asked around. But anyhow this takes care of the name thing for this newsletter. I mean is it true that you're writing this way because you're been reading a lot of stuff by some author who sort of writes this way? Right...OK here's a contest--name the author and win three dops. You going to cut this out now? People aren't going to read six pages of this stuff. Yes...OK
	A VISIT TO ULTRA TEC. In February, we had interesting visitors, Ross Whipple and his wife Tarja, on a winter vacation to sunny California, from their home in Finland. They actually live near the Arctic Circle - where the year has one long day and one long night. They met and married in California, and moved to her homeland - away from the hustle and bustle. Ross is an enthusiastic facetor (his father, before him, was a gem designer). He's now Ultra Tec's representative in Finland - and hopefully he can lead the locals into a worthwhile way of whiling away the long Arctic night.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN. The Northwest Faceters' Conference was in Bellevue, Washington, this year. After years of saying we'll go "next year", we decided that this year would be it - finally. So, in the first weekend in June, Maxine and I flew off to Seattle. They maintain an interesting format--really a "conference" and not a "show". The meetings were in a conference room--long tables, with attendees facing a podium and a viewing screen--and the concentration was 100% on faceting. Norm Steele (of Long & Steele faceting books fame) directed the conference with participation of many others, notably, Martin Bliefernich and Bob Long. The audience was free to participate, and they did. There were many chances to visit and chat with people--renewing old friendships, and starting new ones (we did both). A few of the 'gleanings' from the conference appear later on in this letter.
	In particular, I was pleased to meet face-to-face with one of my "voices on-the-phone"--our dealer in Portland, Grover Sparkman. Did I say face-to Well Grover towered over me, but he looked down, and I looked up. Grover is a self-effacing guy, who won't toot his own horn - but let me tell you he does a superlative job in editing the Columbia Williamette Guild's newsletter "Facets". Its probably the most consistently informative of the Guild newsletters (well worth your getting a subscription - see the Guild info. attached to this newsletter).
It was also nice to talk to old Ultra Tec friend Chris Herold who is now President of the Columbia Willamette Faceter's Guild. We knew Chris when he lived in nearby San Diego. At the conference, Chris was selling copies of the year's 12 best new faceting designs - and outstanding designs they are. They are very modestly priced and well worth getting (again - see the page attached to this newsletter).
THINGS I LEARNED--and THINGS I RELEARNED... Discussed at the Conference was the subject of COMPUTER REPRESENTATIONS OF STONE BRIGHTNESS. Recent articles in various guild newsletters have shown computer generated light ray tracings--representations of gem "brightness" resulting from various combinations of pavilion and crown facet angles. Whether or not you're someone "into" computers, the information gained from the printouts is easy-to-grasp and useful for all facetors.
	This gives you an idea of it (if you haven't seen them yet). A main question, of course, is whether the computer shows the "real world". So, in a cooperative effort (prior to the Seminar), a group of stones were faceted--all the same except for the varied angles--to see if the computer results would be confirmed. And, not to keep you in suspense, the real world stones were as the computer predicted.
Looking at stones in the dark? The stones were laid out in a segmented tray--corresponding to the computer print out. It wasn't easy, except in the extreme cases, to see the differences - moving the position of the lamp helped some, but it was still difficult. Bob Long watched our fiddling with the lamp, and said "you need to look at them in the dark!" He not only had us take the tray away from under the lamp, but had us set the tray around in back of the showcase, in its shadow, in a very subdued light condition. I'm not going to ask you to "guess what?", since I've telegraphed the answer, but that's right, the variations in brightness, and the exact pattern of brightness, were very apparent--in the dark. Try it (I just did, again - looking at a group of stones, in a dresser drawer, in a dimly lit room--and again confirmed what Bob had taught us). So, these computer programs are "real world" helpful in determining angles. Those who like to play with computers, can now be confident in the results. And, for those who aren't computer buffs (or, who have time for faceting, but not for computing too), brightness patterns will (hopefully) become part of the design instruction (hint to you computer gem designers).
The positioning of corner girdle facets in Cut-Corner Rectangle Designs - "emerald cuts" - and their variants was also discussed at the Northwest Seminar. The discussion centred on the need to measure the position of those facets, for the same reasons that the length and width of the stone are measured. Norm Steele said that future design diagrams would provide those dimensions (in the form of a ratio to the stone's width). He acknowledged that performing a measurement of corner positions is a problem, since, on
rectangular shapes (except for square shapes), the corners are parallel but not in a straight line--and so using a caliper to measure corner-to-corner accurately is most difficult - and, with a long stone, it becomes impossible. Well, that's not a problem for you. With your Ultra Tec's calibrated mast you can control that dimension in the first place--which leads me right into the following: ABOUT YOUR ULTRA TEC...Using the CALIBRATED MAST. A main advantage of the calibrated mast is that it allows you to control (when you wish) the size of the stone you are cutting. Since the calibrated mast allows you to know the distance from the surface of the lap to the stone, you can cut a precisely calibrated stone (without sneaking up on it, and "measuring it in"). Think about it--if you know the height reading that represents the surface of your lap, it's a matter of setting the height position of your dop above that lap surface by 1/2 the diameter of the stone you want to obtain. So, initially, you need to know the height reading of the lap surface (unfortunately different for each lap since the thickness varies, but fortunately, easy to determine). Here's a routine to do it:
1. Dop a piece of material (you can do this with a stone on which you are working, or you can do it as a special little project - using, say, a piece of glass). Insert the dop into the Spindle and lock it in. 2. Set the Angle Dial at 90°. At O and 48 (on a 96 Index Gear--or, at 180° on whatever Index Gear you're using), grind two opposite flat surfaces. Grind to the stop, using the same height setting on both sides. Write down that height setting. 3. With a Millimeter Caliper measure the stone over the flats that you just cut. Write down that measurement--divide it in half - add that half-reading to the height setting (of step 2) - that's the height position of the lap.
Having determined the height reading of the lap surface, you can cut an exact sized stone by setting the height position of your dop above that lap surface by 1/2 the diameter of the stone you want to obtain. For example: Example 1: Say that using the above three steps, you determined that the surface of your lap corresponds to 14.64 cm. You want to cut a round girdle 12 mm (1.2 cm) in diameter. You would set the position of the dop 6 mm (.6 cm), (that's half of the 12 mm diameter that you want), above the lap surface--setting the Mast position to 14.04 cm. (the arithmetic: 14.64 cm - .6 cm = 14.04) Example-2: If you want a rectangular cut, 25 mm (2.5 cm) X 14 mm (1.4 cm). For the length, set the dopped stone 12.5 mm (1.25 cm - half the 2.5 cm) above the lap surface, that is, at 13.39 cm. For the width, set the stone 7mm (.7 cm--half the 1.4 cm) above the lap surface, that is, at 13.94 cm. Now, if the design is a cut-corner type (as almost all are), and if the diagram includes information about the measurement over the corners (as we've been promised future designs will), you can calculate the height position for those corners: The corner-to-corner measurement information is given as a ratio, for example, D/W=1.643 (that is, D [the corner to corner measurement] divided by W [the width measurement] equals 1.643 - or, one step simpler, D = W X 1.643). So, going back to our example, where we had a width of 14 mm, D = 14mm X 1.643, D = 23mm. Dividing that 23 mm in half, we get 11.5 mm (or, 1.15 cm), and so the height setting for the corner cut is 13.5 cm (the arithmetic: 14.65 cm [the lap surface height] minus 1.15 cm [the corner measurement we figured out). You mathematical swiftys have already figured out that since we are looking for 1/2D for setting purposes, we could have used the .7 cm half-width measurement that we figured out previously, giving: 1/2D = .7 X 1.643, 1/2D = 1.15 cm. OK?
OK! Why this translating of mm's to "cm's" when stones are always described in "mm's"? Because the Scale is calibrated in cm's. So, why not calibrate the scale in mm's? Good idea. Here's another good idea reverse the scale, so that zero is at the bottom - we'd be adding for a bigger stone, instead of subtracting. Well, that's right too. Well? Well, give me chance--I'll do it--soon--I've only been at this 20 years ..."So soon old, so late shmart. " Where'd you get that saying? I've always known it. Keep in mind, once a particular lap's position is identified in this process, it's always that position (on your machine), so if you make note of it, this routine needs to be done just once. (Also, if you're in the mood to do other laps, recording their positions, you don't have to do any more grinding. Leave that original dop (material with the two flats) in place, in the spindle--set on the new lap--determine the stop position on the new lap (very easy with a Dial Indicator Attachment or a Down Indicator Light), and then do the arithmetic. Easy. When I returned from the conference, I looked over the "Best of the Best" Design selection--a "Checkerboard Barion Pavilion" by Sid Word. I saw that he had included the corner-to-width ratio in his instruction (he had also included the computer generated brightness printout - so those weren't just "promises"). And so, that's the diagram I chose to include with this newsletter. It'll give you some practice (and it's a super design). Start of a short commercial: MILLIMETER CALIPERS We've seen the price of millimeter calipers zoom up--something out of our control and worsened by the U.S. dollar's drop of about 15% relative to Swiss money (that's where the calipers are made). But I can yell very loud (particularly on the phone) and I got a special deal that we can pass along. So....special sale: until Nov. 10th (and while the limited quantity lasts - maximum of 1 per customer), Millimeter Calipers are $22. BLAME THE COMPUTER The poor computer got blamed for slipping a decimal point (do you believe that? I don't.) and we are overstocked on Cerium Oxide Ultra Laps (good for Quartz materials). So, a sale: until Nov. 10th (and while the limited quantity lasts) Cerium Oxide Ultra Laps, normally $16 for 10, are $19 for 20. End of short commercial. SEVEN-SIDED DESIGNS. Bringing up this subject was the publication, in the March Lapidary Journal, of a nice seven-fold design, the "Seventh Veil", by Jerry Capps. He specified using a 120 Index Gear, that being "...nearly divisible by seven". Odd-numbered designs, like 3-sided and 5-sided stones, are popular - they produce a lot of scintillation. Well, so do 7-sided and 11-sided designs, and, about 5 years ago, in response to requests, we introduced a 77 Index Gear. That gets both seven and the eleven-fold designs. Not all facetors, and in particular not all new facetors, are aware of the 77 Index Gear - so this is to alert you. It exists, and it's on the price list, but buried in with that other stuff. In several newsletters, we printed special designs for the 77 Index Gear, and, if you purchase a 77 Index Gear, we'll send along copies of those designs, to get you started (and, it's not a giant task to convert an 8-sider to a 7-sider). FACETORS' GUILDS On an accompanying page is a list of Guilds and a list of their newsletters. I urge you to join a guild that you might be near, and in any event treat yourself to a newsletter or two - they contain excellent faceting information. They are issued regularly, so they can be counted upon to keep you up-to-date (whereas this newsletter can be counted upon not to - so it sort of evens things out for you). If you're a member of a Guild that is missing from the list, get in touch with us at Ultra Tec - we want to keep this as an ongoing current listing. Also, if you belong to any smaller faceting group ("club" or whatever), and you would like to be included on the list, write and tell us about it. MISCELLANEOUS. The good news is that the Ultra Tec factory has been busy, busy...the other side of that coin is that it's a lot of work, work. It's a "high class problem", as they say. It sure beats the low class problem New voice on the phone: Candyce Will (right-"Candy"). Be nice to her - she's just learning this faceting stuff Several people asked if we ever got our (stolen) car back (and using the political rule of thumb, - that means two thousand people are interested). The answer is yes we did - undamaged--with a thousand extra miles on the odometer (a round trip to San Francisco?)--and that's the car we're driving now Designs anyone? Faceting ideas? If we're going to be pumping out newsletters at this dizzying pace, we need input from you. You won't go unrewarded-you'll have the good feeling that you've shared with others, and, the undying fame of your name in the newsletter--in bold print(!) suitable for framing). So this is a mid-year newsletter, and you're going to do another one - this year? Just watch me. Best regards -- from me and the Ultra Tec gang.
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Here is a list of Guilds. Join one, if you are near enough--and in any event, subscribe to a newsletter (they are very informative--and there's always a design or two, or three). Columbia-Willamette Faceter's Guild Faceters' Guild of Southern California Faceters' Guild of Northern California Midwest Faceters Guild North York Faceters Guild Intermountain Faceters Guild Australian Faceters Guild New Mexico Faceters Guild WERE YOU MISSED ON THIS LISTING?--PLEASE CONTACT US, AND WE'LL ADD YOUR GROUP TO THE LIST. Contact the Columbia-Willamette Guild and ask about their design publications. They are very inexpensive (for example, $3 for the year's "12 Best")--they are available not just for this year, but for a number of preceding years as well. They're very nicely done - they are a "Best Buy". This was selected as "Best of the Best" at the Northwest Faceters Conference. It's by Sid Word, who is popular (for himself and for his designing) and prolific (you can get a collection of 42! of Sid Words designs from the Guild).
THE SOME TIMES DESIGNS This design was printed previously, for the conference of course, and in the July issue of "Facets", the newsletter of the Columbia-Willamette Guild. We usually try to have a design that hasn't been in print (at least not so recently), but this design was perfect to illustrate some of the things talked about in this newsletter--the brightness diagram on the upper left, and the callout for the corner dimension "D", given as a ratio to the width--as D/W=1.249. The cut is square, so this is a case where you can easily confirm the D dimension with a millimeter caliper. Table Brt 89 Avg Brt 84 Spot+Amb, Trans 0.6 RI 2.17 07.073 Checkerboard Barion Pavilion Reference: WORD, Sid: FACETS, Mar 90, p3 96 Index L/W=1.000 P/W=0.569 C/W=0.251 T/WV=0 76+8 facets H/W=0.840 S/W=0.736 D/W=1.249 Rl=1.77 PREFORM CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS Step Angle Index Remarks PF1 41.5 96-24-48-72 Cut to TCP PF2 35.3 12-36-60-84 Cut to TCP. Meet PF1 G1 90.0 96-24-48-72 Fix stone size G2 90.0 12-36-60-84 Level false girdle Alternate preform is to cut G1 to give size, then cut G2 to give D/WV=1.249. D Is diagonal, W is the width. PAVILION CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS Step Angle Index Remarks G1 90.0 96-24-48-72 Girdle facet from preform G2 90.0 12-36-60-84 Girdle facet from preform P1 45.0 12-36-60-84 Locate girdle P2 68.0 96-24-48-72 Level girdle P3 43.0 09-15-33-39-57-63-81-87 Meet P1-P2-G1-G2 P4 41.5 06-18-30-42-54-66-78-90 Just reach line P2-P3 96-24-48-72 Cut to PCP P5 43.0 03-21-27-45-51-69-75-93 Meet P2-P3-P4 CROWN CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS Step Angle Index Remarks A 75.0 96-24-48-72 Fix girdle width B 41.0 12-36-60-84 Level girdle C 36.0 07-17-31-41-55-65-79-89 Meet A-B-G1-G2 D 23.0 12-36-60-84 Meet C-B-C E 34.0 03-21-27-45-51-69-75-93 Meet A-C (make equal) F 18.0 06-18-30-42-54-66-78-90 Meet E-C-D G 10.0 12-36-60-84 Meet F-D-F