
The History of the Beale/Woolley Depth of Cut Indicator.It was after Marcus and his wife Marie opened up a retirement business, the Amherst County Rock Shop
8 Minute Read
Marcus Beale and I took classes together at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, Virginia not knowing we shared interests outside the classroom. It was after Marcus and his wife Marie opened up a retirement business, the Amherst County Rock Shop, that we discovered other activities in common. I am a Geologist, and Marcus has a lifelong interest in rocks and gems. Back then, Marcus was perfecting his cutting techniques using an Ultra Tec faceting machine, while I was struggling with a Graves Mark IV. The Lynchburg Gem and Mineral Society was experiencing its rebirth; I volunteered to pen a series of articles for its monthly Journal. The Scratches from the Master Lap articles documented my learning curve. Marcus also contributed ideas that he discovered which made faceting more profitable.
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The articles led to experiments in faceting techniques and in fine-tuning machines. Our machines are mast type faceting machines, each with a lock or hard stop designed to end the cutting at precisely the same angle for a group of identical facets. Note: a mast must flex when a protractor lock is engaged. A mast flexes an unknown and therefore an uncontrollable amount from facet to facet, thus over cutting…









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Marcus Beale and I took classes together at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, Virginia not knowing we shared interests outside the classroom. It was after Marcus and his wife Marie opened up a retirement business, the Amherst County Rock Shop, that we discovered other activities in common. I am a Geologist, and Marcus has a lifelong interest in rocks and gems. Back then, Marcus was perfecting his cutting techniques using an Ultra Tec faceting machine, while I was struggling with a Graves Mark IV. The Lynchburg Gem and Mineral Society was experiencing its rebirth; I volunteered to pen a series of articles for its monthly Journal. The Scratches from the Master Lap articles documented my learning curve. Marcus also contributed ideas that he discovered which made faceting more profitable.
![]()
The articles led to experiments in faceting techniques and in fine-tuning machines. Our machines are mast type faceting machines, each with a lock or hard stop designed to end the cutting at precisely the same angle for a group of identical facets. Note: a mast must flex when a protractor lock is engaged. A mast flexes an unknown and therefore an uncontrollable amount from facet to facet, thus over cutting…

The History of the Beale/Woolley Depth of Cut Indicator.It was after Marcus and his wife Marie opened up a retirement business, the Amherst County Rock Shop

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