Full Membership
There are MANY ways to skin the proverbial cat when it comes to finishing jade with a polish. For the jade tent, the tried and true method for our purposes is with hard felt wheels that accept diamond compounds that start at 14,000 and top off at 50,000. Maple wood is also used for polishing. Compound is […]
The point carvers used at NWSSA symposia are horizontally mounted drill presses that have had the base, stands and tables removed. The beauty of point carvers is that a small piece of jade or a chosen gemstone, can be taken from the rough to a polish with a variety of different diamond abrasives. They are […]
When drilling holes into or through jade, both sintered and plated core drills will do the job nicely. Plated diamond core drills are less expensive but and have a shorter life. They are inserted directly into the Jacobs chuck of the drill press. Water must somehow be directed onto the stone and core drill while […]
To accommodate the diverse projects that are undertaken at the symposium there is a wide array of tools and accessories to accomplish the most challenging project. The tool table will have mostly plated diamond burs, from tiny inverted cones for use in micromotors, foredoms, and deremels, to large egg shaped plated diamond points that are […]
Theres not one hard and fast rule with how to plan your jade piece. There are some jade pieces that dictate to the maker how it will evolve, but forthe most part, once an idea has taken hold after selecting a chosen piece of stone,one can either draw directly on the stone, or make drawings […]
What could be more succinct than a white board with the 12 steps. If this is all you need then you are ready to go, otherwise check out Deborah’s posts that elaborate each step, and if you want something more hands on, attend one of our symposiums. Sculpting and carving Jade and other Gemstones requires […]
This is where it all begins, selecting a piece of jade or a gemstone that checks all the boxes. Color, inclusions, dealing with fractures, shape and cost, all to be considered! Each one of these has equal importance but the individual carver will have a bias to one or some of these characteristics. A granite […]
We need some kind of descriptive text here.