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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 10:31:39 GMT -5
Here are soms pictures of some of my work. I tumble, make cabochons and do jewelry. These are pictures of buckets of various material that I tumble. I tumble a lot of large slabs as well as smaller pieces. The first one is Blue Lace Agate i151.photobucket.com/albums/s160/Rocksbob/Bucket1.jpg[/IMG] i151.photobucket.com/albums/s160/Rocksbob/Bucket2.jpg[/IMG]This is a picture of my large tumbler. The frame of the tumbler is home made and has lasted for 30 years so far. These are of some of the jewelry that I make. I frequently cut very large cabochons for my display case. The largest cab that I have ever done was completed a couple weeks ago. It is 4" by 7" I make the large cabs because they show up the best in my display case. I'm not a member of any clubs but I frequently show as a guest exhibitor here in Northern California. Bob
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Wolfden
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2007
Posts: 1,368
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Post by Wolfden on Nov 18, 2007 10:35:47 GMT -5
WOW ,, geee Bob that is a beautiful display . did you cast the ring yourself ? they are beautiful pieces
Wolf
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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 10:48:48 GMT -5
Yes, I carved the wax and cast the model, cut the opal, set the diamonds, etc. I made this one for my wife. I use it as an example of carved wax method for my students. Bob
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Nov 18, 2007 10:58:09 GMT -5
Wow, Bob, you are a true artist! Thank you for sharing your beautiful work with us.
Could you give me an advice please? I didn't make any jewelry till now but I would like to try. My question is, what would you reccomend me to start with, soldering or casting? Which procedure is more simple? To me casting seems more simple and also offering more possibilities, but maybe I'm wrong.
Adrian
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Post by Michael John on Nov 18, 2007 10:58:34 GMT -5
Absolutely breath-taking. What a display! Very inspirational.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2007 11:06:19 GMT -5
Are you Bob Rush?
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Post by krazydiamond on Nov 18, 2007 11:11:57 GMT -5
what a gorgeous display! those large cabs are AMAZING!!!!!!! how do you go about making them that large? what kind of grinder do you have???
we are lucky to have a real pro join us!
KD
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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 11:28:22 GMT -5
Tony, Yes, I are. Bob
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2007 11:40:21 GMT -5
Welcome! I have seen Bobs amazing work up close, it is spectacular. Bob is pretty knowledgeable too on various aspects of lapidary.
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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 11:42:27 GMT -5
Adrian, Both casting and jewelry making require a torch, which is the most expensive tool that you need. My progression was lapidary (until I had so many cabs that I had to find a use for them), jewelry making and then casting. I started my jewelry making activities by taking courses a a local college in metal working. You can learn a lot by reading books but you really should have a good instructor and practice in silver soldering. Silver soldering is the most important task upon which build your metal working skills. You can also learn a lot about wax working from books and practicing on your own but the burn out and melting of the metal during the casting should be learned from an instructor. After doing a lot of work on your model you can easily waste it by not having success during the actual casting process. I think casting might be a little easier to learn, but you still need the metal working skills to finish the casting and set your stones. I hope this helps. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 11:53:11 GMT -5
KD My lapidary setup is home made and consists of an arbor with a 8" diamond grinding wheel, a stone 220 grit (worn down to about 5") wheel and an 8" by 3" wide expanding drum with Silicon Carbide belts. I designed the unit so I had a lot of room around the wheels and so that they were spaced far enough apart to manipulate the cabs without impinging on the adjacent wheel. The front of the machine is lowered to add more room. I polish on a (again home made) 13" slow spinning carpet covered wheel with Cerium Oxide. Bob
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Post by BuiltonRock on Nov 18, 2007 12:12:20 GMT -5
Wow Bob, That stuff is super. Thanks for sharing your talent and knowledge. john
ps- I'm gonna try one of those big cabs!
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Post by Bikerrandy on Nov 18, 2007 12:51:21 GMT -5
Cool stuff!
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Post by beefjello on Nov 18, 2007 13:06:24 GMT -5
Hi Bob, welcome to RTH! You sure do some beautiful work! Love the oversized cabs, and the ones that look inlayed with fish and an elephant maybe? I'd love to see close ups of those. Thanks for sharing your fantastic pieces with us.
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181lizard
Cave Dweller
Still lurking :)
Member since December 2005
Posts: 2,171
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Post by 181lizard on Nov 18, 2007 14:36:17 GMT -5
Hey Bob...welcome & we just can't wait to see more & pick yer brain!
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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 17:00:19 GMT -5
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Post by bobby1 on Nov 18, 2007 17:02:37 GMT -5
Somehow the last picture didn't post. Bob
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luv2hound
freely admits to licking rocks
I try & I try, but dang it! Those rocks just keep ending up in my pockets
Member since June 2007
Posts: 890
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Post by luv2hound on Nov 18, 2007 17:27:13 GMT -5
Wow Bob! You sure do good work. Love that big cab. That had to be a big rock to start with. How long did it take to make the bigun?
I really like the last pic. Is that Montanna agate?
Welcome to the board and thanks for sharing with us.
~~Mitzi~~
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181lizard
Cave Dweller
Still lurking :)
Member since December 2005
Posts: 2,171
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Post by 181lizard on Nov 18, 2007 18:37:58 GMT -5
Holy Smokes Bob! Those are really nice. Is the fish glued to the obsidian with a flat or curved underside? And the 3rd pic...ok...looked real close and some of the dendrites that didn't come thru the facing side almost look like pale green dots and my first impression was of a sea slug moving on the ocean floor. (gotta stop watching so many science shows!) Those are all beauts!
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Post by stonesthatrock on Nov 18, 2007 20:03:37 GMT -5
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