Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 23, 2014 20:44:32 GMT -5
Just a few more cuts. Being trying self discipline and making myself run the saw a little each day so as not to overheat the power feed. Usually get about six slices a day. Thanks for looking.....Mel Another kind of ehh shrinkie: This is an odd one. Kind of looked like palm root on the outside but inside just kind of a breccia. To thin for slabs so just a specimen: Another shrinkie. First I've cut with pink agate filling between the wood pieces.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,685
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Post by Tommy on Jun 23, 2014 21:35:01 GMT -5
I haven't been posting in each one but I even can't tell you how much I've been enjoying all the posts! keep 'em coming!
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miander
spending too much on rocks
Searching for the shop of my dreams...
Member since November 2013
Posts: 407
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Post by miander on Jun 24, 2014 23:41:49 GMT -5
Mel - what do you do with all your fantastic slabs - besides make the rest of us nuts for 'em?
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 25, 2014 0:27:43 GMT -5
Awesome!
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Post by snowmom on Jun 25, 2014 4:56:55 GMT -5
theres that giraffe thing going on in the last one again....
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 25, 2014 10:44:12 GMT -5
Miya: I actually do cut quite a few cabs even though I pretty much hate cabbing. Mostly cut on batches of about 25-40. Usually wait till fall though as my shop no longer has AC. It had it but a hail storm destroyed the unit and I haven't bothered to replace it. *L* So hot here in summer that my visor constantly fogs up and the sweat keeps dripping my eyes so I can't see the dang wheels. Mostly, I just preform and dome the cabs then finish them in the vibe if they are of similar hardness. I hate the sanding stages most of all. Too time consuming....Mel
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miander
spending too much on rocks
Searching for the shop of my dreams...
Member since November 2013
Posts: 407
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Post by miander on Jun 25, 2014 21:51:45 GMT -5
I hate when my mask gets foggy and sweat drips in my eyes, that sounds miserable! I am with you on the pain of polishing, sometimes it takes me days to get it flawless, and it seems to loose some of the excitement in the process. I am too chicken to risk fractures from tumbling though, I am too inexperienced in both cabbing and tumbling, so I guess I'll just have to wipe the sweat from my eyes and keep at it - I can't seem to stop anyways. I wish you'd post more of your cabs, you have such nice material...What's the name of your shop?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 25, 2014 22:50:00 GMT -5
Miya: I use a UV-10 vibe with about 6 pounds of smalls and a big slug of plastic pellets and I've only had maybe one or two cabs fracture. Some of the plume agate cabs were very thin too. The main problem with vibe tumbling cabs is undercutting. A lot of the inclusions in things like moss agate/jasp-agate etc etc are softer than the high silica parts of the stones This can result in uneven finishes and pits etc that show up in fine grind. Very annoying! I ofttimes have to redop the stones and go back to finish them on the wheels or else use super glue or hotstuff on the pits before finishing on the wheels. Fortunately, I use dop tape so the redopping is not all that difficult. I just have so many hobbies ( especially playing with the horses) that I hate to spend hours sitting at the bench sanding those dang stones. If you time the tumble just right, usually two to three days max in 110-220 the stones come out really nicely sanded and then it's a piece of cake finishing them in the tumbler in a separate dedicated barrel. Neat thing about vibes, is they change the contours of the stones very little and they really do a good job on the freeform shapes I prefer. Round cabs are more of a problem as the vibe, if you run just a little to long in fine grind, will sometimes make them out of round. Overall, I'm really not a very good cabber compared to some of the awesomely skilled folks here on this site.
I don't have a shop though I occasionally sell stuff when I need me a new pair of cowboy boots, a new saw blade or see a pistol I like. ( I have Imalda Marcos syndrome where boots are concerned. See'um, want'em, gotta have'um). I think the wife refers to it as a boot fetish *L* so I like to pay with one fetish with another "rocks" I have tons of cab pics and post them now and them but I fear most the folks here have already seen them so I don't like to bore them with too many reposts. I can post something on request if there's something special you'd like to see and I have it cabbed. I especially like the poppies! Since I started working on the Agate Index with Lowell, more of my collection has been oriented towards type specimen slabs but I still have a pretty good variety of cabs as I hardly ever get rid of any......Mel
PS: As some here have said before I tried the rock jewelry thing for awhile and found the having orders to fill spoiled the fun. More fun to cut what I want, when I want than to make something for someone else.
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junglejim
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 344
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Post by junglejim on Jun 25, 2014 23:04:47 GMT -5
Really like the bottom shrink, reminds me of snake scales.
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