sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_pink.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_pink.png)
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
|
Post by sheltie on Feb 12, 2013 17:14:07 GMT -5
Ever since I got my new saw in September, once I start on a piece of rough, regardless of size, I keep going until it was gone. The only exception to this was on those pieces that were obviously not the kind that I found interesting after they were faced.
What do most of you do? Do you just cut to get a slab or two and then the rest of the rough goes to a pile somewhere? Or do you do as I and finish the entire piece? I have a 16" saw.
|
|
Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
|
Post by Don on Feb 12, 2013 17:20:38 GMT -5
slab off what I need, then save the rest. maybe after working some of it I decide I want thinner slabs, or thicker slabs, or maybe the pattern is better cut in another direction. if you cut it all at once you can't change your mind about it later.
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 12, 2013 17:36:30 GMT -5
since its already in the vise and oily I almost always slab the whole thing but I have not cut anything that's hard to come by yet so that may be a different story.
Chuck
|
|
Charles
starting to spend too much on rocks
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_teal.png)
Member since May 2012
Posts: 161
|
Post by Charles on Feb 12, 2013 17:43:34 GMT -5
I just cut off a couple of slabs. Sometimes I'll rotate it 90 degrees take a slice or two to see what it looks like . If it looks good I'll take another slice or two. The rest goes back to the pile or bucket for another day.
Charles
|
|
snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
|
Post by snuffy on Feb 12, 2013 20:06:06 GMT -5
I usually take 4 or 5 slabs off each rock.I've got some of every rock left I have ever slabbed!
snuffy
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,472
|
Post by Sabre52 on Feb 12, 2013 20:22:47 GMT -5
I'm kind of like Snuffy. I usually vice up the rock, take a single cut to see if it's any good, and if it is good, I'll slab it as far as the vice will allow. Then, I often save the nub end for a specimen. Usually wind up giving them or swapping them away though. Real fancy stuff, I may re-vice or put in the slab grabber and cut more but, usually that seems like to much trouble.....Mel
|
|
|
Post by gr on Feb 12, 2013 23:58:08 GMT -5
Denny, when I first brought my slab saw home, I slabbed every rock all the way down, good stuff or not. Then, the light bulb came on and I realized that diamonds are expensive. I've since become very selective to what I chuck up in the vice and how far to go with it after that first or second cut. Good question! I wish that I had asked that when I first started. Would have saved me alot of time and $
|
|
robsrockshop
has rocks in the head
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_pink.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_pink.png)
Member since August 2012
Posts: 715
|
Post by robsrockshop on Feb 13, 2013 8:21:22 GMT -5
Only problem with not slabbing it all at once(which I don't do either) is getting the rock perfectly aligned the next time you cut it for a uniform slab. If it's an oddball I may be more inclined to cut it up while I have it in there.
I have a whole shelf of very large rocks that have been partially slabbed and I refer to it as my 'rock deli' lol.
|
|
sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_pink.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_pink.png)
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
|
Post by sheltie on Feb 13, 2013 9:24:45 GMT -5
My biggest problem has been that slabbing quickly became an obsession with me. If I start a rock that I like - and that's about 98% of them - I finish it to the nub using a slab grabber when necessary. I'm not interested in cabbing, I leave that to my wife. So now in a few short months, I have an inventory of slabs built up that must be above 1,000 just waiting for Kylene to pick and choose and do whatever she wants with them. Most will never be touched so I'm looking for the best way to finish and display them here at my house. In the meantime, all my trees and the walkway to the house have been lined with rocks that have been cut or are awaiting cutting. Looks pretty nice.
A day without slabbing is a wasted day! ;D
|
|
|
Post by gr on Feb 13, 2013 12:00:48 GMT -5
"Obsession", loosley translated means, Hook, line, and sinker ;D Case in point, tree beds and walkways smothered in rocks. I know because I'm there!! ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Feb 13, 2013 18:20:33 GMT -5
Gary, I think most of us are there! When I cut rough, I usually cut the whole rock, because , like Chuck said, it's already in the vice and oily. The only time I don't cut the whole rock is if it's not very good (pits, soft or ugly!), or if I'm short on time, in which case, I'll just set it aside and finish it later. I hate having to re-align it for another cut, since it almost never gets exact, and you end up with a cattywampus slab. Jean
|
|
snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
|
Post by snuffy on Feb 13, 2013 18:59:33 GMT -5
I usually have no problem aligning the rock again.I push the vise forward to where the blade is covering the cut of the rock.The rock is loose in the vise.With my left hand,I squeeze the rock snug against the side of the blade,thumb on blade,while tightening the vise with my right hand.Quick and easy.
snuffy
|
|
|
Post by gr on Feb 13, 2013 19:51:55 GMT -5
I've tried that to Snuffy. I still end up with a slab that I have to true-up (if it's woRTH it) I have been just sacrificing and thin slice to get back to square with the blade. Much less effort for me than trying to true up a boogered slab.
|
|
|
Post by phil on Feb 14, 2013 13:41:41 GMT -5
I do my rocks totally different. First, I cut them in half to see what the inside looks like, and if it's worth cutting, nice pattern, etc. Sometimes, depending on how it looks once halved, I may rotate it 90 degrees and cut in half again to see if I can find a different pattern. Once I determine which I want, I then glue the rock to a piece of 2x2, 2x4, whatever is appropriate, and once well dried, slab it 100%. This way the whole rock gets used, and nothing gets wasted, left in a butt box, etc. Sometimes those end nubs tirn out to be the most colorful, sometimes not.... point is, I slab it all if the rock is worth it, if I saw nothing during the halving process, then I don't slab it at all. Phil
|
|
The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
|
Post by The Dad_Ohs on Feb 14, 2013 14:10:43 GMT -5
I will chuck a rock into my 18 inch and cut a slab or 2 and if I like it I will continue all the way thru the rock until i have to reposition it in the vise, at that point I'l look for anything that looks interesting and turn the rock so that I can try another cut and if I like it will cut it down to a nub that can be traded or kept for specimen/comparison. All my slabs are out into small plastic totes, and put up on a shelf in my shed, labeled by what they are so I know where to look for them when I need them for cabs, trades, whatever... I currently have 18 slabs that I have polished to display in my shed, and a few more waiting to go.. mostly I slab for cabbing flat top cabs as I don't have my cab grinder yet.
|
|