Experiment with homemade sapphire stylus...some pics.

[Aussie_cutter]

Homemade stylus. Cut from synthetic blue sapphire. Now I need to get the tip right!

Dimensions are approx 2mm long and 1mm diameter.

[chaosbc]

Wow !!! how the heck did you do that ???

[Aussie_cutter]

It was very easy. I drilled the sapphire boule with a diamond tipped core drill. (of course the boule is just submerged in a shallow dish of water).The core ends up inside the drill bit.
I then remove the bit from the drill and push the core out.

Despite many attempts I can only get 2mm length cores. I need to improve my technique to try and achieve the 4.5mm cores I am looking for.

H

[opcode66]

Do you have the correct machinery to grind and polish? Do you know how to make the various facets? If you need some help let me know.

[emorritt]

At one time I had one of those Azuradisc machines that re-surface CD's and DVD's that have been scratched so they'll play again. The surfacing discs for that machine seemed to be very similar to lapidary discs used for shaping and polishing jewels. I've only seen photos of the setup used to create cutting styluses, much less would want to attempt to set one up, but the grinding/polishing surfaces seem really close to what the company sells for gently removing a layer then polishing the surface of an optical disc. These discs might work for a homebrew setup. They're adhesive and stick to the surface of a turntable of sorts that's spun at a high speed.

[Aussie_cutter]

Hi opcode66, yes I think I have suitable equipment for doing the faceting. Any tips though are greatly appreciated! It may save a lot of trial and error! (I never have enough time for experiments so advice may allow me to work more efficiently). If you have any documents please PM me and I can pass on my details.

Emorritt, many thanks for the idea, the pads may be better value than lapidary supplies, I will take a look. Thanks.

H

[opcode66]

I'll put together some scanned documents for you.