"Just ask Jeff" gives tips on choosing the right Faceting Machine. Several discounter's will sell anything that they can and do not care about the customer.
12 Minute Read
These are my opinions. Other people may have differing ideas. I have cut at one time or another on almost every major faceting machine. Some I liked and some I hated. I know people that are just starting in the hobby really have no idea of what they need or the best equipment to buy. I am giving my personal experiences and opinions here to try to help people and keep them from buying poor equipment or things they do not need.
Note: There are several discounter's out there that do not care about the customer and will sell anything that they can whether it is a good product or not just to make a sale. Be aware that these discounters bad mouth machines they cannot sell and say they can sell machines they are not dealers for.
In other words they are baiting and switching. Advertising they can sell a faceting machine they are not a dealer for, and cannot sell. When a customer calls for the machine they cannot sell they bad mouth the machine and try to switch the customer to another product. So be aware that there are some bottom feeders selling equipment and do your homework.
Learn about the equipment and the machines you are buying before actually purchasing them. It will take a little time and effort on your part to learn. But believe me it will save you money and lots of aggravation later. I am going to list the machines that are currently available along with what I know from my experiences. Like I said, I am giving an opinion. So others may not agree with me. By "Dealer Support" I mean, "Does the manufacturer support a good quality dealer network?"
If the dealer you are buying from says in their Return Policy some thing like this. "We do not accept returns on equipment. If you have a problem with any equipment purchased from us, the manufacturer will repair or replace the item at no charge during the warranty period."
Seeing some thing like this should be a RED FLAG to you. This means that this particular dealer is not going to be of any help to you, if you have a problem. This is not the type of person you should be dealing with, at least in my opinion. Remember that. Yes, some times equipment will have to be returned to the manufacturer for repair/replacement, problems do occur. But also quite often there is no real problem with the equipment, it maybe inexperience or lack of instructions that are causing the problems. In a lot of cases the new person just needs a helping hand to get things working and a quality dealer will be willing to help their customers. Some times the equipment will need to be replaced, some times just a helping hand is all that is needed. It is called dealer support.
Here is an article on dealer support, or lack of: Wonder why manufacturers are going out of business and getting product support is difficult?
Note: I am not talking about parts and service. I list that separately, although they are certainly a part of good dealer/customer support.
This machine was originally made in Australia and called a Hall faceting machine. Charlie Musitano bought the patent rights to the original machine when Mr. Hall decided to retire and brought the machine to the USA to manufacturer. Charlie has made some changes and improvements to the original design and from what he tells me he plans to continue to improve the machine where and if needed as time goes on.
Note: It is nice to talk to a faceting machine manufacturer that is willing to actually listen to faceters and at least consider changes and improvements.
The OMNI machine in my opinion is a nice quality machine . No, it is not a Cadaliac, but it might be considered the VW Bug of faceting machines. A decent quality affordable faceting machine for the average person.
I do not sell Facetrons. The Facetron is "OK" and while I really do not recommend it because of lack of dealer support, but it is worth people taking a look at. I do not think it is a great machine, but it's good and will get the job done.
Read My Machine Review: Facetron Faceting Machine Review
I do not sell Fac-Ette Gem Master II. This is the most expensive machine on the market (currently, that may change) and in my opinion you can do just as well if not better for a lot less money. Some people really like them. This is a case of… that if you can afford it, and want it, buy it. But I think you could spend your money more wisely.
Note: I have sold quite a few Ultra Tecs to people that owned a Fac-ette and had problems, so keep in mind that nothing is perfect.
I do not sell Polymetrics. Polymetric makes several different versions of their faceting machine (digital, non digital, 6″ machine, 8″ machine). I do not recommend them becasue of no dealer support.
Note: Polymetric is currently the only manufacturer that makes a curved faceting machine (Optically Magnified Facet - OMF). Yes, you can use Ultra Tec and Facetron heads with the OMF using an adapter. No problem.
Note2: Some people think that because a machine is digital it's more accurate. The digital read out accuracy is a myth in most cases. For a digital machine to be accurate the "digital pot" (electronics) have to be an expensive one, in the $300 doallar range for accuracy (2004, elcectronics are always changing, so…). The electronic pot Polymetric uses is inexpensive and is only accurate to around plus or minus 1/2 a degree (so about 1 degree cumulative). At least to my knowledge.
There are other thing to consider about digital faceting machines: Questions you need to ask when buying a digital Faceting Machine?
I do not sell or recommend a Graves. Graves has been around a long time and a lot of used ones are available. But it is a very poor choice in my opinion, at least until they have fixed some of the problems. About all I can say is that if you can buy one really cheap (I have seen them for $200) it is something to cut on.
Read My Machine Review: Graves Faceting Machine Review
They are currently out of the faceting machine business - Feb. 2004. This machine was available again in Feb. 2007. It is a decent entry level machine, particularly for the price. It is not as accurate as some of the higher level machines and uses a hand piece instead of a mast. This design is popular in Bangkok for mass commercial cutting because of the hand piece and works well for that type of cutting. The machine is really best suited for mass production commercial cutting and is not ideal for high quality meet point cutting in my opinion.
The old owner went out of business and the company was bought by a new owner. I talked to him at the Feb. 2004 Tucson Gem Show. He told me they were going to redesign the machine and improve them before marketing them again. I have no idea about what, when, or how.
I strongly recommend AGAINST buying an Alpha Tarous or Diamante. Both machines are made by same guy/company. He used to make Imperial faceting machines.
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These are my opinions. Other people may have differing ideas. I have cut at one time or another on almost every major faceting machine. Some I liked and some I hated. I know people that are just starting in the hobby really have no idea of what they need or the best equipment to buy. I am giving my personal experiences and opinions here to try to help people and keep them from buying poor equipment or things they do not need.
Note: There are several discounter's out there that do not care about the customer and will sell anything that they can whether it is a good product or not just to make a sale. Be aware that these discounters bad mouth machines they cannot sell and say they can sell machines they are not dealers for.
In other words they are baiting and switching. Advertising they can sell a faceting machine they are not a dealer for, and cannot sell. When a customer calls for the machine they cannot sell they bad mouth the machine and try to switch the customer to another product. So be aware that there are some bottom feeders selling equipment and do your homework.
Learn about the equipment and the machines you are buying before actually purchasing them. It will take a little time and effort on your part to learn. But believe me it will save you money and lots of aggravation later. I am going to list the machines that are currently available along with what I know from my experiences. Like I said, I am giving an opinion. So others may not agree with me. By "Dealer Support" I mean, "Does the manufacturer support a good quality dealer network?"
If the dealer you are buying from says in their Return Policy some thing like this. "We do not accept returns on equipment. If you have a problem with any equipment purchased from us, the manufacturer will repair or replace the item at no charge during the warranty period."
Seeing some thing like this should be a RED FLAG to you. This means that this particular dealer is not going to be of any help to you, if you have a problem. This is not the type of person you should be dealing with, at least in my opinion. Remember that. Yes, some times equipment will have to be returned to the manufacturer for repair/replacement, problems do occur. But also quite often there is no real problem with the equipment, it maybe inexperience or lack of instructions that are causing the problems. In a lot of cases the new person just needs a helping hand to get things working and a quality dealer will be willing to help their customers. Some times the equipment will need to be replaced, some times just a helping hand is all that is needed. It is called dealer support.
Here is an article on dealer support, or lack of: Wonder why manufacturers are going out of business and getting product support is difficult?
Note: I am not talking about parts and service. I list that separately, although they are certainly a part of good dealer/customer support.
This machine was originally made in Australia and called a Hall faceting machine. Charlie Musitano bought the patent rights to the original machine when Mr. Hall decided to retire and brought the machine to the USA to manufacturer. Charlie has made some changes and improvements to the original design and from what he tells me he plans to continue to improve the machine where and if needed as time goes on.
Note: It is nice to talk to a faceting machine manufacturer that is willing to actually listen to faceters and at least consider changes and improvements.
The OMNI machine in my opinion is a nice quality machine . No, it is not a Cadaliac, but it might be considered the VW Bug of faceting machines. A decent quality affordable faceting machine for the average person.
I do not sell Facetrons. The Facetron is "OK" and while I really do not recommend it because of lack of dealer support, but it is worth people taking a look at. I do not think it is a great machine, but it's good and will get the job done.
Read My Machine Review: Facetron Faceting Machine Review
I do not sell Fac-Ette Gem Master II. This is the most expensive machine on the market (currently, that may change) and in my opinion you can do just as well if not better for a lot less money. Some people really like them. This is a case of… that if you can afford it, and want it, buy it. But I think you could spend your money more wisely.
Note: I have sold quite a few Ultra Tecs to people that owned a Fac-ette and had problems, so keep in mind that nothing is perfect.
I do not sell Polymetrics. Polymetric makes several different versions of their faceting machine (digital, non digital, 6″ machine, 8″ machine). I do not recommend them becasue of no dealer support.
Note: Polymetric is currently the only manufacturer that makes a curved faceting machine (Optically Magnified Facet - OMF). Yes, you can use Ultra Tec and Facetron heads with the OMF using an adapter. No problem.
Note2: Some people think that because a machine is digital it's more accurate. The digital read out accuracy is a myth in most cases. For a digital machine to be accurate the "digital pot" (electronics) have to be an expensive one, in the $300 doallar range for accuracy (2004, elcectronics are always changing, so…). The electronic pot Polymetric uses is inexpensive and is only accurate to around plus or minus 1/2 a degree (so about 1 degree cumulative). At least to my knowledge.
There are other thing to consider about digital faceting machines: Questions you need to ask when buying a digital Faceting Machine?
I do not sell or recommend a Graves. Graves has been around a long time and a lot of used ones are available. But it is a very poor choice in my opinion, at least until they have fixed some of the problems. About all I can say is that if you can buy one really cheap (I have seen them for $200) it is something to cut on.
Read My Machine Review: Graves Faceting Machine Review
They are currently out of the faceting machine business - Feb. 2004. This machine was available again in Feb. 2007. It is a decent entry level machine, particularly for the price. It is not as accurate as some of the higher level machines and uses a hand piece instead of a mast. This design is popular in Bangkok for mass commercial cutting because of the hand piece and works well for that type of cutting. The machine is really best suited for mass production commercial cutting and is not ideal for high quality meet point cutting in my opinion.
The old owner went out of business and the company was bought by a new owner. I talked to him at the Feb. 2004 Tucson Gem Show. He told me they were going to redesign the machine and improve them before marketing them again. I have no idea about what, when, or how.
I strongly recommend AGAINST buying an Alpha Tarous or Diamante. Both machines are made by same guy/company. He used to make Imperial faceting machines.
