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Cutting and Polishing Rocks
So, you want to learn how to cut and polish rocks?
Lapidary is the world of rocks and gemstones and the work involved in engraving, cutting and polishing them. A person who cuts and polishes stones is also called a Lapidary or a Lapidary Artist.
Check out my blog on Setting Up a Beginner Lapidary Shop here.
A fun way to start polishing rocks is by tumbling them. You can read abut tumbling rocks here.
A really good place to meet follow “rock people” and to find people willing to help you is to join a local rock club. Here is an explanation of what Lapidary Clubs are and how to find one.
The clubs will often put on rock and mineral shows. These are also great to attend to buy rock, create friendships and get equipment. For a good source for rock and minerals shows click here.
I also recommend checking with your local community college. Sometimes they have lapidary or jewelry classes and sometimes they even have a “cutting shop”.
The best place to look for equipment is in the used market: craigslist, Facebook marketplace, eBay, etc. Sometimes you can find good stuff through the local rock clubs or at the rock shows too.
I have started a new series of blogs that will help you understand what the process of cutting and polishing rocks entails. My First one is title “Cutting Rocks” and you can read it here. It deals with the actual cutting or sawing of the rough rock. This is just an overview of the equipment you may need and the steps you will take. There are lots of you tube videos out there too and you may want to check some out before you begin.
OakRocks is part of Barlow’s LLC, who has been in the lapidary rock and mineral world for over 40 years! Bruce Barlow is a G.G. (graduate gemologist) and a renowned lapidary artist. Bruce does a lot of our cutting and polishing. He is well known for his great Chrysocolla polished pieces-some as large as 300 pounds! We mine a lot of our semiprecious stone materials and most of the polished rocks are done by Bruce.
Bruce is very free with the information, so if you buy our rough rock or slabs, feel free to call him for advice on how to cut it!