I Bought The Cheapest Faceting Machine On eBay for $200 

Only $200 plus all the shop hours at Mike's shop. I do not have a friend like Mike to help with modifications and those modifications are necessary. You just steered me away from those faceting machines -I could not make those modifications myself so your video is a success regardless.

Mike a whiz machinist . Not everyone has these skills . It’s a nightmare! Thanks for posting

Wow I’m really happy that you made this video. It’s great to see what the real quality of this type of cheap machine is. I will definitely be sharing this in those moment when people are asking about this machine.

That thing is a nightmare! Transforming it into something workable was a great journey. But, for those without the resources to fix all those problems, it may not be useable at all for any precise work! Really enjoyed showing all the issues and troubleshooting throughout its transformation

Really great video which is such an improvement on the usual thing when people dismiss them as rubbish and say that your only option to get a taste for faceting is to spend thousands on a established machine. I bought just the mast assembly and cobbled together reasonably successfully the rest of the machine from various bits and pieces that I already had including a suitable motor. I have to put thin shims of metal underneath the base of the mast to level it but the main thing I did was to fit a digital angle finder to it which overcame its major poor protractor problem. I'm certainly going to see what other improvements can be made after watching this video. The bicycle wheel clamp fitting will be a great help.

Great video and very interesting with the extent of the fixes you made to the machine in order to create the first stone. It does make you really love a precise, headache free machine if you've got one. Happy faceting, cheers!

Thank you for this! I am new to the lapidary art and am looking at these faceting machines. This helps me make a more informed purchase

This was a great video. I know longer content like this can take a lot more effort to produce but with this video you will help so many people that are interested in these machines. Also thank you for the mention.

Patrick you are one honest person and I want to thank you for your video. I am thinking about starting this hobby too.

Thank you for making this video, I had wondered about these cheap machines.

Thank you Patrick for your knowledge and mikes knowledge and machine experience to be able to take a cheap machine like that, and make it workable. The amount of work and know how, that Mike put into making this machine workable, is amazing. Without him, it may have been workable, but it couldn't have faceted an actual stone to any degree of accuracy. Thank you for showing us the out of the box product and what it took to make it a workable machine.

I've honestly looked at this machine as a cheap entry. Just something to learn and play around with. That it takes a mill or lathe to make it useable, means it's basically worthless.

Excellent Video ! This was soooo... needed thing you for sharing!!

Nicely done review, critique and modification guides. One thing I have wanted to do was create my own jewelry, and this may be a good first step on the gem processing side (I already have the basic equipment needed for the precious metals side) when I have the time for hobbies. As for the modifications required, that’s why I acquired a 9x20 mini lathe and a mini milling machine of the same brand. They are second hand me downs, but they are more than adequate for the things I need them to do, albeit after plenty of upgrades and modifications. Alas, the never ending process of making things used to make more things…

Great job. My wife begin learning faceting. Thank for all .

Simple fix for reading the protractor angle. Drill a small hole near the end of the pointer and drop a piece of piano wire in. Bend a 90 toward the protractor and another 90 pointing up. Gives you a fine wire to sight on. For someone with D.I.Y. skills who thinks they might like faceting but doesn't want to spend $$$$ to find out this could be a good option to get started. I started on Jerry Wykoff's Profacee, which was even worse than this machine.

Great video thanks, im tempted to get one. Subbed. Very interesting review.

Thanks for your thorough video! Here's a small idea for the LED brightness issue- you could put a filter over the light-such as masking tape, plastic etc. or possibly take sand paper the lens to diffuse the light. Just a thought.

I did almost the same modifications and adjustments (adding also digital protractor) for my machine about two years ago.

I like how this industry developed and so helpful.

Fantastic, hardest part looks like making mast 90 degrees! Im building of the top of a drill press..pulley area. Replaced motor with a treadmill motor. Was going to build the arm and mast, but now just going to get that part for about $80.00. Great saved me so much work!!!❤.

I have a "cabochon" machine since a several years and I wanted to facet stones for a long time but price of professional faceting machines, even second hand were not affordable to me. I bought one of these on Vevor two years ago. With some minor tinkering it was enough to facet stones quite well (to my point of view at least, I'm just a hobbyist). But you do have to buy a few things on the side such as more laps, a transfer jig etc... The 45° adapter was a major improvement compare to having the spindle at 90° directly, that really doesn't wok well. Thanks for your video it gives me some clues on what can still be wrong and can be fixed on my machine.

Thanks for posting!Excellent video!You point out the problems' with all of these 'cheaper' machines'.One has to be a 'machinist' and have some good 'background-knowledge' of lapidary-work,in general,to really be able to use this machine.🥂

I am a fan of gemstones and have been buying them. some but I would like to make my own. and take this as a job for me to be my own boss I already have. Excellent raw stones, not of AAA quality, but they are a real rarity and I hope to soon learn this noble craft of faceting.

Thank you for the video. I have a buddy with a shop plus I can do a lot of the work. Thank you

I have a much simpler method to lower the mast. Just put the adjuster on the top side upside down, and put a rubber band to hold the arm up instead of gravity holding it down. and you don't lose the fine adjustment.

The issues outlined still exist. There are at least 3 different "stores" pushing this exact manipulator and it's garbage. The only thing these machines are good for without heavy changes ( like you have outlined ) is a flat lap. Considering the price of flat laps it works quite well.

My whole family do stone faceting from decades but we dont use machines and still we make more beautiful gemstones. I wish we could have teach to more people around the world.

So, essentially, the only thing that didn't need modifications is box it came in. You basically built a new machine. I was looking at just grabbing one of these just to introduce myself to faceting, but I think I might skip up to the next price point and start the research over. So for that, I thank you. I don't mind spending money on a learning tool, but wasting money is no fun - I could spend that on accessories and supplies.

Got mine and never got it to work right 😂 thanks for the video I’ll have to try something you did

I would say its 100% useless without flattening the pole base. Great video. ❤

Mike probably already suggested this but you can put some black or red enamel on your scale and wipe it leaving just the marks and numbers colored. It should help you eyeball it better.

Mike is a god! Hope he's getting lots of business from your vid!

For the most part the fixes are easy to do at home with basic tools. If you don't have a lathe the mast can be squared up at your local machine shop. There's almost no setup time involved so they shouldn't charge you much more than $50 to have it done, I quote and do these types of jobs regurlarly so know my pricing. A small shop might do it for a case of beer. Have them take atleast 3mm, measure what you need to get the handpiece as low as you need. See below for other ideas. You can get all mast as low as you want with only modifications to it. You could have machined the few required mm of the bottom of the base to get what you needed. The round collar on top of the base that the rod goes into could have been shortened. Remove the rod from the base and take a few mm there. Alternatively you can take some off the lower brass collar that locks the height or off the top of the adjustable brass piece. There's also room to remove material from the structure that holds the hand piece. All said you could have gotten 5 times what was needed without having to machine an adapter for the spindle. Other that squaring up the mast which requires a lathe the rest of the must do fixes can be done not much more than a saw, drill and file if you had to. I have the same setup with only a couple minor differences though I'm lucky enough to have a well equipped shop. I also fit a piece into the protactor slot to take up the slop. Rather than grind the degree marker I drilled and tapped a hole and used a piece of steel to make a pointer that extends all the way to the scales face. It's easy to set within a half degree that way. A finer thread on the fine angle adjustment is helpful and I also made it so a dial indicator can be use on the height adjustment. This way you know when your at your final height mark and makes things more accurate. Leveling feet on all four corners of the machine allow you get the machine perfectly level. If you don't want to make them you can buy them on amazon cheap, A few drilled holes and your done. This way you can use a quality digital angle protractor on the hand piece and get repeatable results to a tenth of a degree. You can skip the other mods and just use the digital/ You can go as far as you want. You can get very good results with the big issues fixes and more refined ones with a bit more work. It's an incredible value for the hobbiest!

Quite lucky that the arbor is perpendicular to the table. And is the table flat enough along the groove?

Good video, this answered a lot of questions for me. I love Mike. The problem with girdle height setting wasn't the mast or the arbor, it was the locking collar on the mast, it's too tall. Every millimeter of material removed from it means another millimeter smaller in radius capability. That is the quick fix. Tell Mike to look into the stainless "breadbox" style import machines. Best flat lap for the money.

Very useful. Thanks.

@patric the traytec has a vernier scale on the angle setting this should allow you to easily set 1/20 of a degree.

One problem with the riser adapter is that any run-out of the disc surface will be increased. That will reduce the flatness of any facet. Is the base top flat and at right angles to the mast? If the degree markings are accurate, then you can make a simple scale that will read to 0.1 degree. The major problem there is the width of the degree markings. You could probably make a better replacement.

I’m a machinist in Washington state and have always wanted to get into this. I might just make my own machine.

Hi , nice video . Also, the 3d printed parts , the transfer and 45° adapter

Great video. I bought this same machine. It hasn’t arrived yet but thanks for the info. Hopefully I won’t have to do as many adjustments 😂

funny thing is, its probably better than what they used to cut the hope diamond way back when.... or Englands crown jewels...

I got a Sterling because it was the most affordable faceting machine with good reviews, I couldn’t afford an Ultra Tec and didn’t like the Facetron. Couldn’t be happier with the Sterling for $2,400ish

Hello Patrick, thanks for the video, the black screw at 16:53 on the top to stop the angle is delivered with the machine ? Thanks for your reply :)

On my machine. I bought a new mask handpiece. It does have the digital on it. But. Not the greatest because the fine adjustment on my I'm I fasted degrees. It constantly moves. I constantly have to I touch the stone reach UB turn the knob back to her supposed to be just to Stoneridge so I have to put something in there to keep it stable or just stop unscrewing on me. As far as the 90 I get fairly close to it by just dropping a straight down and I have a loop that has like a finger ring I put that underneath it and I guess me somewhat close is not not good. I do stack we laps underneath the fast laps or whatever they're called cheap ones there. It does Polish fine for the most part. I have one that has a little bit of a swing issue so I have to correct by moving to one side or the other to straighten my facet lines and meet points. Well you said it didn't come with a belt but I already ordered some of the stuff you suggested thank you for that. As far as the Herkimer I started something about 6 days ago. Just barely getting off the Pavilion. Just because I had to recut because I could not get some of the facets to line up proper. When my OCB there was bothering me. And one question how do I get ahold of Mike. Does he have a RU-vid channel I didn't catch that watching the video I don't know if you mentioned it or not. Sorry for the bad pronunciation. Thanks for the advice man. I really do appreciate it

Thank you!

Thanks so much ❤

Use a digital angle finder with a magnetic base. Home Depot,Lowes

Thank You for helping me make a well informed decision! Do not buy unless you have a Mike! I am in Carnation Washington how far is Mike from me? It’s basically a brand new 200 overhaul of a brand new machine.🤷‍♂️It’s definitely not worth the money or hassle! When in doubt dull the money out for a quality machine from USA- HighTech

The flickering must be from the motor inductance throwing a fit every time you try to change its set point.

Do you have a suggestion for the an affordable faceting machine? I just want to cut glass. Thanks for the video!😊

If you can do a few fixes to this machine and get going making facets. I think that equals a pretty good deal. I hate spending thousands and finding I don't enjoy something. Just my 2 cents. Lol Great video Thank you for sharing

Some parts for good quality faceting machines are outrageously priced - for example, $200 for a splash pan.

Thank you

Hello Patrick Very informative content. Best Regards and good luck! Filip

I will never use one of these machines and yet I watched the whole thing with fascination. I like problem solving.

Can you do bigger gemstones with this faceter too?

Found a solution for the 90 degree issue that is simple. Remove the brass fine adjustment...stuff...and substitute an adjustable 15mm shaft collar. If nothing else it makes creating your girdle possible.

I would've sent it back, before all that work, but really for $200 you know what your getting

Very helpful. I did some of the adjustments you mentioned, however raising the bed to cut a gurdle was out of my pay grade. So, I bought an UltraTec V5 instead. Delivery due end of Feb. In the meantime, my chunk of China is being used for cabbing and preforming!

Oh hey, it's the machine I bought

HI, which machine do you recommend for person that is new in this (not expesive)

Nice LP turntable

looks like the majority of problems is in the quill. Does it look like it could be cut down on a lathe?

“Some assembly required”

Is the stl file for that transfer jig you printed available somewhere online? I could not find one like that.

Yes, it is true, faceting machines are the most over priced piece of equipment out there, that said, I have this machine, and it is junk, but I use the flat lap to cut cabs on it. You can't replicate the angles using this machine or damn near impossible.

Hello I am left handed , please advice me witch left or right handed faceting machine is good for me ? I think buy ultraTec V5 that is possible to order both left and right handed machine . Best regards

You will also need to cut an area in the bowl

I found that removing the gear cheater allows the quill to rotate freely.

Hello thank you for you nice videos. Is possible to buy upgraded this faceting machine from you ?

If I had a MIKE I'd probably consider buying one of those..... but, alas..........

Lucky you knew a few people that can machine parts and do 3D printing for you , the average person is not going to be that lucky to fix a machine that bad for faceting , sadly a waste of money.

So i guess my question is does mike sell some of those modified pieces like the arbor riser?

Did you contact the company before ordering and tell them you'll be making a video about the machine? I just wanna know if they hand picked that machine.

How do we get ahold of Mike for parts and sending him spare parts for these machines. I have the vevor $349.00-$389.00 model but it was missing parts like the dops then it was missing ceramic polishing media. I don't know why it would include them period also it had two light switches one on the front next to digital panel and the other on the lamp and if you turn them both on it burns out the LCD lamp I do have the digital level built in and simply took a drill bit and widened the arbor for dops to almost 6mm. The version I got has digital control it lies about max speed on all the descriptions because besides me who actually checked, but doesn't need the speed advertised anyway it does have forward and reverse but no manual and honestly have no idea the settings fully I can adjust forward and reverse along with speed but there is other controls and even speaking Chinese you don't know what the different controls actually do I honestly can't make sense or find a video of how to operate them. I do have two bases one perfectly level the other is off and needs leveling. And would like a freespining attachment I just remove the cheater currently but after stating that it was missing the dops polishing media has no instructions and ran at half the advertised speed I ended up making a video showing all the problems and sent it to the seller including the speed test using a marker and car timing light (hey it worked to see actually the rpms) I paid a total of $67.43 because from when I opened the box stating what was missing and replacement costs from Amazon and ebay for exactly what was missing or asked they were replaced and all the things that were wrong or broke within the first weeks like the light. The seller just kept discounting it I never argued or suggested how much to discount but for under $70.00 with all the discounts added up I think I did extremely well. I was always polite explaining that I'm sure he is just a resaler and should bring up the issues with his supplier so I didn't blame him directly but it had problems.

Link to the other inexpensive machine that you mentioned ?

I am amazed how little quality control is imposed on the manufacturers-in general-there should not be tools on the market that are disposable or require that much modification. That is a lot of work with expensive equipment to set right and obviously anyone purchasing an inexpensive faceting machine does not have expensive shop tools and machines. Thanks though-

Can you just adapt a better quality mast to this machine?

What cost this machine.

Looking at the comments on this video tells me there are two types of people- ones who sees modding something like this as an impenetrable wall and those like me that think this thing looks like a fun project lol (Not that there is anything wrong with just wanting to buy tools that work out of the box) I have no intention of using one of these for cutting gems anyway so i guess my want to modify it is inherent in my plan.

Thanks for sharing. I'll skip this machine for sure

So for those of us without a Mike, this machine is a pass.

I have this machine and it is the worst. Because the motor is placed where it is, you are unable to achieve angles that’s you need. the setting on the protractor for angles, does not have a locking mechanism. I had to completely redo this machine to make it work. BEWARE BEFORE BUYING THIS MACHINE! You will have to make so many major changes to it before you can even achieve the 45 & 90 degree angles

where is a good place to learn how to facet? Id love to learn more so I just dont make cabs all the time.

Merci

That’s a lot of work 😅

I bought in Australia not used it $260 . Need mods

What is the cheapest setup that actually works straight out of the box?

This is the video we needed about those machines. Can be an interesting and inexpensive way to sart , exept if Mike lives thousands kilomtres from home 🥲.

How much would Mike sell me a working one for? Im in oregon.

omfg there is a timing belt pulley on it, it's worth 200 though

My friend you should charge the company which you bought it from for all these modifications you did. The product was peace of junk to be honest with you. I am surprised you were so cool. If it was me I would charge the seller. 😀

just drop the 5k on a 88.. or a ultra tec v5

Thanks for your video on the various problems of the Chinese machine. I thought I was the only one having such problems. I purchased the same machine from China, for about Australian $650 in 2021 just before Covid. My dial is digital which switches itself off if you are not moving the quill for a while, problematic. I had to set "Zero" by eye using a plum line, as there is no hard stop. It is difficult to accurately cut any gem on this machine in its original condition. I am not even sure the mast is perpendicular to the lap, so cutting a lot by eye. I did manage to cut quite a few sparkly gems, not easy. Compared to GemMaster machine I used, the Chinese machine is not engineered for accuracy, especially for new cutters. It takes a while to get used to the Chinese machine. Difficult to cut competition gems on the Chinese machine. USA machines are USD 7,000 to 8,000. So I guess you get what you pay for. Thanks for useful ideas on your video.

Huh wonder if I could pay Mike to get one and fix the problems for me as a I'm too poor to get into the hobby with a good machine and just want a usable starter to see if I like the hobby cause the local joints want me to join and pay mega fees before I can try a machine out

I want by this machine

If you have no clue on faceting your 5 grand machine will do you no good anyway .

I learned 2 things. 1 these are crap and 2 flat laps are way over priced.