CutKit™ Faceting Kit -- Faceting for under 500 dollars all-in!

This is the CutKit™!  If you want to get faceting for under 500 dollars, you can!  All you need is: this kit, a Vevor faceting machine (not included in the kit, see purchasing links below), an alcohol lamp, a can of WD-40, a roll of paper towels and two buckets.  Visit Facet.ing for full information and instructional videos.

The NEW CutKit™2.5 comes with:

• 1x CutKit™2.5 Mast (with a solid steel post for added stability)
• 1x steel girdle plate
• 1x dop holder
• 1x small brass lap nut
• 1x 6mm dop pair
• 1x 10mm dop pair (May have some rust spots, that's how they come from the factory)
• 1x magnetic transfer jig
• 1x 240 grit lap
• 1x 600 grit lap
• 2x copper polishing laps
• 1x 8k prepolish diamond compound syringe
• 1x 30k polish diamond compound syringe
• 1x stick Princeton low temperature dop wax (may shatter in shipping, but will still melt fine)
• 1x JB Weld UV-activated superglue (for easier dopping)
• 1x stone tongs
• 1x nut/bolt set
• 1x marker
• 1x water shield
• 1x motor shim kit
  
• 1x charging ruby/corundum
• 3x YAG facet rough (assorted colors)

If you get it with Premium Rough Addon, the following are added to the kit:

• A three-piece set of some of our best-selling rough (approximately 13g total of LuAG, GAGG lumogarnet and pink laser titanium sapphire.)
• 1x larger knurled brass lap nut (nicer on the fingers)
  
• 1x 120 degree index gear (good for 10-fold symmetries)
  
• 1x 3000 grit prepolish diamond compound (ideal for all ruby/sapphire and fast on anything)

The Dice-Cutting Addon contains:

• 1x 100 grit lap for extra-coarse roughing
• 1x 80 degree index gear (ideal for cutting D20s)
• 1x Sapphire Rod Preform (approximately 30g, grown for infrared countermeasures)
• 1x Golden Laser Garnet Cone (approximately 40g)
• 1x larger-format transfer jig

The CutKit™ Precision Handpiece is a brand new, drop-in replacement for the handpiece that comes with these machines.  It is a huge upgrade!  It has a functional, easy-to-use cheater with 1/4 degree markings, a standard ER-11 collet for holding dops, easy-to-read angle marking lines and overall better construction to remove the excessive slop in the original.  I've been working on this since last year and have loved cutting with the prototypes.  Each handpiece comes with pair of wrenches for tightening dops in the collet.

The CutKit™ ProTractor2 is a drop-in replacement for the smaller protractor on all machines of this style--it is much nicer to use with easier-to-read markings and a micrometer for fine angle adjustment.  It has particularly good synergy with the Precision Handpiece.

The universal table dop is a custom-designed adapter for cutting tables at approximately 45 degrees (closer to 46 in practice).  Every 6mm table adapter I tried had problems that made them annoying or unusable so I just had to make my own!  It has a 6mm shaft and its unique square hole allows any nominal 6mm or 1/4 inch dop to be held securely--undersized dops will still be centered well, and oversized dops will still fit.  I have found this simplifies table cutting a great deal.

The plastic Water Guard sits on top of the round water shield and has an adjustable-height splash guard. It cuts spray down significantly during cutting steps and is especially nice for tall sintered laps.  Highly recommended--this part was designed by Garret Mitchell from the CutKit community.

The stainless steel post upgrade is a replacement for the aluminum one on the CutKit™ 1 and 2 masts--just unscrew the aluminum original and thread the steel one on.  Note that this is already included in the CutKit2.5.

The Girdle Plate is a stainless steel plate which fits over your mast and the bolt that supports the girdle nut.  It prevents sweeping the handpiece from rotating the girdling nut and changing the vertical level.  This is included in the CutKit2.5

The motor shim kit comes with a set of 0.1mm washers and a pointed dop for shimming the motor flat relative to the mast.  This is included in the CutKit2.5

The NEW Handpiece Holders are a replacement set of holders with better machining.  Comes with bolts and an allen wrench.

For other accessories, such as wax, UV dopping superglue and more index gear types see this page:  https://store.turtleshoard.com/collections/faceting-accessories

For discussion we have a facebook group over at https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutkit

The kit was designed initially with the Vevor KD-8801 faceting machine in mind, which can be purchased at any of the the below links.  AliExpress seems to have the lowest prices these days.  Other similar machines from Vevor or other suppliers can be used though they typically require additional modification--in particular sharpening a blunt angle indicator and replacing the original protractor with the CutKit™ ProTractor2.  Just avoid the kind with a cast iron base and long skinny legs, the kit is compatible with them but they aren't ideal.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808216341158.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145039310594 (this was formerly the Vevor eBay store but still has the correct model at the best eBay price)

https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Gem-Faceting-Machine-Manipulator/dp/B0C1C8S8HB

https://www.vevor.com/gem-faceting-machine-c_11125/vevor-gem-faceting-machine-180w-jade-grinding-polishing-2980rpm-rock-polisher-p_010173616181