Lapidary is off the agemda.

Ultra Tec machine and accessories.

Purchase of a gem cutting machine has been under consideration for a while. It's an old machine but Ultra Tec is considered to be a very good brand (made in USA). The price of $800 was very reasonable considering the machine came with lots of extras and the seller, Mary of Hobart, was most helpful on the phone. She bought it second hand some time ago but hasn't used it since her interests moved from gem cutting to silver smithing. However, further research indicates that the dust and chemicals involved in faceting can be hazardous so, for someone with breathing problems, it's not worth the risk. Fossicking will continue and gems will be sent away for cutting.

Ben's in Bicheno today and plans to go to Beaconsfield to get gems cut there. Bicheno has a motorcycle museum and the personal favourite was a yellow Ducati 750 which you can see in this video (at 1:05 minutes). The Ducati Monster 600 timing belt service is scheduled for tomorrow in Launceston.