rhythmdvl
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2016
Posts: 2
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Post by rhythmdvl on Jan 11, 2016 17:42:12 GMT -5
I'm sorry if this isn't the right place to start asking these questions, and I'm sorry if this is an oft-asked question that I should have been able to find on my own if I knew better search terms.
I have some small pieces of Ohio Flint that I want to tumble and make a couple pieces of jewellery out of. Nothing in particular or too special, pretty much just three or four pieces that have yet to be determined. In my minimal experience tumbling rocks, (very, very new and have done it mostly because I was fascinated with tumbling when I was a kid and wanted to share that magic with my son), the results are beautiful but oddly shaped and not quite suitable for most jewellery projects (another area with minimal experience, but I have the I-like-to-make-things gene and have crafted a small number of gifts for my wife).
My hope is that I can tumble the rocks and then cut (grind?) slices to make one flat side. I figure I'll be able to work that into either a pendant or a ring. But I'm not sure where to start, if this is something I can do, or if it's something that I can send out to have done. See--I have no idea what I'm doing.
I do have a small workshop, but it's mostly repair and wood-focused. Would a bench grinder help here? How the heck would I hold onto the polished stones? Would a Dremmel cut through stone?
For such a small one-off project, can I put them in a (soft-sided) vice and hand-saw them?
If slicing/shaping these calls for a non-trivial investment, is there somewhere I could send them to have the two or three cuts done? I'm in rural New York but can get into NYC/the metro area easily enough if that would help.
Any thoughts, direction or even search terms would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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Post by mohs on Jan 11, 2016 18:27:38 GMT -5
Warning!!! Will Robison DO NOT USE THE BENCH GRINDER ON ROCKThe speed of the wheel on a bench grinder (3250 rpm) is not only way dangerous !!your not going to accomplish what you hope to Lapidary grinders wheels turn a 1725 rpm that a very safe speed it take real talent to hurt your self with a lapidary grinder A bench grinder it is really easy to get hurt! so that my warning I like what your trying to do and it simple but at minimum you'll need a tile saw to cut that tumble stone although I never tried hand sawing one and they probably make diamond encrusted hand held blades, but you'd be in for a long laborious expensive task! Many will be able to give you more specifics patience and your doing right thing by seeking advice I was just taking break from grinding and figure I’d write technical treatise and warning Ed
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Post by mohs on Jan 11, 2016 18:28:25 GMT -5
oyeah Welcome to RTH
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Post by DirtCleaner on Jan 11, 2016 18:37:45 GMT -5
I would suggest putting the city where you live in a post. Maybe somebody on the forum is close enough and would offer some saw time. Do you have or can you get a tile saw? This would get you through the cutting part of the project. But watch out, if you start this stuff it may become consuming. And there are some small, inexpensive tumblers. Under (or near) $50 at Harbor Freight. But before doing that check your local Craigslist and see if you can get one locally. Good luck.
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rhythmdvl
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2016
Posts: 2
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Post by rhythmdvl on Jan 11, 2016 21:55:28 GMT -5
Thanks heaps, especially saving eyes/fingers/dignity by avoiding the bench grinder! By "tile saw," do you mean a specialized tile saw or would something for simple home use like this work? I only want to make three, but the "for now" part of my brain just kicked in and whispered "what about tomorrow?" At eighty to a hundred bucks, plus my pre-existing rock tumber, it could end up with more than a one-off use. I would never put something that small on my bandsaw or a table saw---are there jigs or other holders specific for holding small objects? Thanks for the welcome! I'm about an hour northwest of the city and would have no problem (or minimal problem) shipping things with pre-paid returns and whatnot, or if I knew what kind of store to call/questions to ask making a drive. This project is slated for May, so I have a little time.
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Jan 12, 2016 1:04:13 GMT -5
It sounds like your interesting in making what is call a "cabochon" or "cab" for short. The process of which many people call "cabbing". I'm a newbie, too, only ahead of you a bit because I've acquired some equipment. A basic, basic procedure (in my mind) would be something like: * Use a tile saw to cut small/mini slabs from a rock. Most any tile saw should work. The blade is the important part. Use a continues edge diamond blade, not a segmented one. A continuous (non-segmented one) blade will be hard to cut yourself with...most people hold the small rocks by hand. The continuous edge diamond blades will not cut flesh but (from what I understand) *will* cut fingernails. I guess they act kinda like the saw that a doctor would use to cut a plaster cast off of your arm...it cuts the plaster but not your arm. * Draw the oval, circle, oblong, square, cross, etc., out on the mini-slab with an aluminum nail or pencil. * Use the tile saw to trim as closely as possible to your outline using numerous straight line cuts...don't try curves. * Once the blocky-looking oval (or whatever) is cut then you have to figure out how to grind the straight cuts to a smoothly curving shape. This is where a grinder comes into play. There are DIY versions...several can be found here on RTH. * Finally, once you have the shape of the "cab" and have smoothed the edges out pretty well you can drop it in your tumbler for polishing. If you are using a rotary/rolling barrel tumbler then your cab will get rounded off. A vibratory tumbler is better for this as it doesn't "shape" the stones. This is all rookie talk, I'm sure someone will give you a better idea of how to do it. Or, you could possibly get someone here on the forum who owns the proper equipment to do it for you if you don't think you want to do this as a hobby. Warning, though,....messing with sasqurocks can be addicting. Btw, welcome to the forum!!!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 12, 2016 9:48:16 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum......I'm thinking,once you start this project,you will want to continue with making and cutting rocks and rock projects... Depending on what your doing with grinding rock after polish,it might have to be repolished again,after its been on the grinder... A lot of rock clubs and hounders everywhere,just start asking around your area,someone will come forward to help you out...
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 13, 2016 0:28:18 GMT -5
Welcome! I think the question was asked - what city do you live in? There are a lot of people at this site. You may live close enough to someone who will be willing to help you out. The saw you linked to is the one I own and have used for like 4 years. There's lots of ways to go about what you want. Check around this site some more examples and narrow down what you want- cab or tumbler? It will make a big difference as to what tools to get. Check your area for local rocks clubs. They often have equipment you can use. At least one of our members, micellular, is doing a fabulous job polishing by hand, which is always an option, too.
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micellular
has rocks in the head
Rock fever is curable with more rocks.
Member since September 2015
Posts: 640
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Post by micellular on Jan 13, 2016 14:21:31 GMT -5
Yes, if you have a grinder that can shape the stones to your liking, then you finish polishing using 3M wetordry sandpaper (used wet). It takes a while but you can get pretty good results. You can get assorted packs of various grits on amazon - I went from 220 to 2500 with 3M and 3k-5k with another supplier. I would try to machine-grind up to 600 if you can to save yourself a lot of time.
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Post by pauls on Jan 21, 2016 15:41:03 GMT -5
"I would never put something that small on my bandsaw or a table saw---are there jigs or other holders specific for holding small objects?"
Lapidary equipment is totally different to woodworking equipment, no big sharp teeth to rip fingers off, a rock saw is just a really thin grinder, it wears through a stone with diamonds. they just don't do a good job of cutting skin or flesh, fingernails they will cut, I am always growing peculiar flat spots out of my nails. This is all done wet too as the dust (silica) is not very good for your lungs.
I would be looking to find a lapidary club to see how they do things, and see if its what you want to do before investing much in equipment. Though just lately my tile saw has been getting a lot of work in its intended use, and wide diamond wheels are fantastic for sharpening woodworking tools, they are always perfectly flat.
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