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The Diamond Cutting Wheel
A freshly scoured (resurfaced) wheel ready to charge with the diamond powder and oil mixture.
A close up of the wheel to show the detail of the scour lines which are necessary to hold the diamond powder and oil mixture in place.
This diamond cutting wheel has three different rings for starting a facet, cutting a facet just short of its finished shape and final polishing.
The wheel -- commonly called a scaife -- is surfaced to accommodate a diamond-powder-and-oil mixture. This powder mix is critical to enable the actual cutting to take place, since the only substance that will cut diamond is diamond itself. This surfacing -- commonly called scouring -- is done in different fashions, depending on the style of the cutter and the type of work being done.
The cutter generally has three cutting rings on the wheel, consisting of the innermost -- the starting ring, the second or middle -- the cutting ring, and the last or outer -- the smoothing ring. The starting ring is a test area to make sure the cutter knows he is perpendicular to the single grain (a condition commonly called "on grain"). This spares the primary cutting ring from unnecessary abuse during the process of locating the best cutting position.
