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 CutKit™1 comes with:

• 1x CutKit™ Mast
• 1x dop holder
• 1x 6mm dop pair
• 1x 10mm dop pair (May have some rust spots, that's how they come from the factory)
• 1x transfer jig (now with new magnetic transfer jig!)
• 1x 240 grit lap
• 1x 600 grit lap
• 2x copper polishing laps
• 1x 8k Gearloose Diastik™ (Diamond dust polishing compound)
• 1x 60k Gearloose Diastik™ (Diamond dust polishing compound)
• 1x stick Princeton low temperature dop wax (may shatter in shipping, but will still melt fine)
• 1x stone tongs
• 1x nut/bolt set
• 1x marker
• 1x water shield
• 1x charging ruby/corundum (some kits will come with a piece of colorless sapphire rather than ruby, both work great)
  
• 3x YAG facet rough (assorted colors)

The CutKit™2 is the same as the CutKit™1 but with the new, upgraded CutKit2 mast (with a larger, thicker base, larger lap nut and bolt and solid post).

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

• 1x larger knurled lap nut (custom machined and much more ergonomic than the provided hex nut),
• 1x large high temperature wax stick,
• 1x 120 degree index gear (good for 10-fold symmetries)
• A three-piece premium rough set (approximately 13g total of LuAG, dichroic moissanite and pink laser sapphire.)

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 round and overall better construction to remove the massive 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 NEW 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.  An essential purchase for those using faceting machines in this series that don't come with one.

The NEW 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.

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

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.

For other accessories, such as wax 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.  I recommend buying via eBay because they occasionally run sales there with even lower prices.  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.

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