Building a basic home lapidary setup, one machine at a time

You do not need to buy everything at once. Most people start with a rock tumbler since it is the cheapest entry point and needs almost no supervision once loaded. The next common upgrade is a trim saw, a small circular saw with a diamond blade that runs through an oil or water coolant, used for cutting slabs off rough material. After that most people add a flat lap or a combination grinder unit for shaping cabochons, which usually comes with a sequence of grinding wheels or discs at different grits plus a polishing wheel. Buy the coarsest and finest grits you will actually use rather than every grit available, you can always add steps later. Whatever you buy, make sure it runs wet. Dry grinding quartz-bearing rock throws fine silica dust into the air, and that is a genuine long-term health hazard, not just a nuisance.