First stone on my Sterling ST-08
Wow, what an adventure that was!
Just finished my first stone on my Sterling ST-08 handpiece machine :)
I've been following along with Justin Prim's Faceting Apprentice online/distance course and I can't imagine attempting to learn to cut on this machine without it!
I decided to start my journey on the Sterling half due to relative affordability, and half because Justin's videos sold me on the promise of a more agile and intimate approach to cutting. I'm a super tactile person that values flexibility over rigidity so I drank deeply of that kool aid lol.
Not shown:
'Stone 0' which got scrapped because my index wheel wasn't marked the same as his and I totally mucked up the crown breaks.
*and*
Chipping the culet off the bathroom tile wall while I was trying to dry the handpiece after cleaning it off post-pavilion cuts. WOW did I feel like an idiot!
I recut the pavilion to remove the chip, but there must have been more subsurface damage because a tiny flake still came off during prepolish. At that point I was done splitting hairs and just finished the thing.
Thanks to everyone in this subreddit for the constant inspiration and generosity sharing their knowledge <3