Lapdary for Kids
Making a Cup Coaster
Materials:
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A slab of any rock about 4 inches by 4 inches- quarter inch thick or a little
bit more.
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A square of felt. I recommend black felt.
Procedures:
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Draw out your design for the coaster. If you use a big cup at home, you
might want to make a larger coaster size, so your slab will need to be bigger.
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Once you have chosen your design, square, or round, then cut it out with
a trim saw. Be sure to cut it a little away from your drawing lines. I recommend
using a Sharpie Marker so the shape will not wash away.
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Grind down the sides so they are flat and to the shape of your coaster.
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Once the sides are flat, then gently use the diamond wheel to round off
the edge of the top of hte coaster to the side of it. This is so it will not
chip away or fracture. It will also make the coaster smooth at all angles.
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Once you have a nice curve but a flat top, well sand at 220.
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Wash your stone and hands well. Then move on to 400 when all of your scratches
are gone. You can ask an instructor if your ready to move to the next step.
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Wash again and sand at 600.
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After your completed with the sanding, you will have to polish your slab.
Wash your ston enad your hands really really well with soap and water. We will
use a polishing plate in the polishing room for this.
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First, scrub the polishing plate to clean it from the last use, making sure
you wotn have any contamination. Then, put it on the spindle( instructor will
assit you) Once you have it attached securely, we will turn the machine on.
Squirt some polish on the wheel and hold the stone ontop of it. This step will
take a while, but will be the most rewarding.
A good polish is when you can see the light bulb in the shine. An even better
polish is when you can read the light bulb :)
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