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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 13, 2018 7:26:13 GMT -5
These are groove wrap cabs with my step list for creating them. 1 - template the shapes and trim the preform out 2 - edge grind to final shape on 80 then 120 wheel 3 - cut the groove. Final depth not important just need a good witness line to determine girdle height. Final depth groove cut is done when the stone gets wrapped. 4 - draw the girdle line slightly above the groove and dop the cabs 5 - fully cab the dome from 80 to 3000 wheels on the genie 6 - remove the cabs from the dop sticks and clean up the backs on the 220, 280 and 600 wheels 7 - put the cabs in the lot-o for 48 hours in A/O polish and ceramic media. These were all from some random slabs my 13 yr old son bought at a rock shop a few weeks ago while on a road trip with his Grandma. Top row starting left - Leopard skin, Mexican lace, Three that might be pet wood? Bottom row starting left - Three unknowns, Botswana agate, Missouri lace agate Chuck
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Post by toiv0 on Mar 13, 2018 8:03:59 GMT -5
These are groove wrap cabs with my step list for creating them. 1 - template the shapes and trim the preform out 2 - edge grind to final shape on 80 then 120 wheel 3 - cut the groove. Final depth not important just need a good witness line to determine girdle height. Final depth groove cut is done when the stone gets wrapped. 4 - draw the girdle line slightly above the groove and dop the cabs 5 - fully cab the dome from 80 to 3000 wheels on the genie 6 - remove the cabs from the dop sticks and clean up the backs on the 220, 280 and 600 wheels 7 - put the cabs in the lot-o for 48 hours in A/O polish and ceramic media. These were all from some random slabs my 13 yr old son bought at a rock shop a few weeks ago while on a road trip with his Grandma. Top row starting left - Leopard skin, Mexican lace, Three that might be pet wood? Bottom row starting left - Three unknowns, Botswana agate, Missouri lace agate Chuck This helped a lot. Thanks these look great. How thick are your cabs? Is the groove cut in 1/2 the thickness? Do the backs polish up as nice as the front without going the extra steps on the wheels?
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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 Mar 13, 2018 8:35:34 GMT -5
Wow, what a shine,and that Leopardskin is not all that easy to polish either.....Mel
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 13, 2018 8:43:05 GMT -5
These are groove wrap cabs with my step list for creating them. 1 - template the shapes and trim the preform out 2 - edge grind to final shape on 80 then 120 wheel 3 - cut the groove. Final depth not important just need a good witness line to determine girdle height. Final depth groove cut is done when the stone gets wrapped. 4 - draw the girdle line slightly above the groove and dop the cabs 5 - fully cab the dome from 80 to 3000 wheels on the genie 6 - remove the cabs from the dop sticks and clean up the backs on the 220, 280 and 600 wheels 7 - put the cabs in the lot-o for 48 hours in A/O polish and ceramic media. These were all from some random slabs my 13 yr old son bought at a rock shop a few weeks ago while on a road trip with his Grandma. Top row starting left - Leopard skin, Mexican lace, Three that might be pet wood? Bottom row starting left - Three unknowns, Botswana agate, Missouri lace agate Chuck This helped a lot. Thanks these look great. How thick are your cabs? Is the groove cut in 1/2 the thickness? Do the backs polish up as nice as the front without going the extra steps on the wheels? I do not worry as much about the backs but I do like a nice sheen on them for a finished look. I usually do not groove wrap anything less then 1/4" thick. I cut the grooves as close as possible to the backs to leave as much room as possible to create a dome. If I do groove wrap a 3/16" thick stone I just cat the groove right in the center and do not dome it at all. For those ones I just tumble them through all stages in the lot-o to round over the edges all the way around. Those are just considered groove wrapped tumbled preforms. I'll post a couple more pictures to help explain Chuck
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 13, 2018 8:45:08 GMT -5
Wow! What a polish!
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Post by gmitch067 on Mar 13, 2018 8:48:23 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs Chuck! Did your Son help do the cabbing? I particularly liked your description of the process. I only hand cab with Dremel and sandpaper, but it made me appreciate the process better... made it more personal.
Thank you.
Glenn
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 13, 2018 8:49:12 GMT -5
Beautiful stones! Holy smokes, they're so shiny it's hard to see what those 3 bottom unknowns might be. I also appreciate the steps you use. I've been considering doing some groove wrapping for some less expensive pendants for our shows.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 13, 2018 8:55:44 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs Chuck! Did your Son help do the cabbing? I particularly liked your description of the process. I only hand cab with Dremel and sandpaper, but it made me appreciate the process better... made it more personal. Thank you. Glenn Thanks - My oldest son got me started in the rock hobby when he was 11 years old. He is now 18 and has moved onto other stuff. My youngest son got interested around that same age (9 or 10) but he is now 13 almost 14 so rocks are not the cool thing to do for him now either. They both still really know their stuff they just wont admit it anymore, lol. They both have tumbled and cabbed in the past but neither really got into the wire wrapping or jewelry part. Chuck
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 13, 2018 9:15:48 GMT -5
toiv0Here are a couple more pictures. This slab was a hair under 3/16" thick. Center groove then fully tumbled in the lot-o. This is the backs on the 10 cabs above. Chuck
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fishnpinball
Cave Dweller
So much to learn, so little time
Member since March 2017
Posts: 1,491
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Post by fishnpinball on Mar 13, 2018 10:12:40 GMT -5
That shine is something else.
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Post by adam on Mar 13, 2018 11:09:51 GMT -5
toiv0 Here are a couple more pictures. This slab was a hair under 3/16" thick. Center groove then fully tumbled in the lot-o. This is the backs on the 10 cabs above. Chuck I would like to send you some samples of Kentucky material and see what you could make out of it. Seriously. If I had a saw, I'd be getting to work on my bunch of stones. lol but nah, I just have so much rough rock, some of which is already slabbed, but only a couple tumblers to polish rocks. I still haven't figured out what to do with it all.
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Post by orrum on Mar 13, 2018 11:36:15 GMT -5
Thanks Chuck, you always give so much very good info and show how with pics!!!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,686
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 13, 2018 11:49:27 GMT -5
Beautiful stones !!! Really liking the three petwood pieces...
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 13, 2018 14:22:06 GMT -5
I didn’t realize that you recut the groove after tumbling. In the past, I thought I remember you saying that you liked how the groove got smoothed out during tumbling.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 13, 2018 14:29:47 GMT -5
I didn’t realize that you recut the groove after tumbling. In the past, I thought I remember you saying that you liked how the groove got smoothed out during tumbling. The edges still stay good. I just recut the depth if they need any adjustments when I get ready to wrap them. It works fine as long as the cutter height is the exact same both times. Chuck
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,171
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Post by jamesp on Mar 14, 2018 6:59:11 GMT -5
Nice niche these groovers.
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Post by fantastic5 on Mar 14, 2018 8:13:01 GMT -5
Thank you for the explanation! I've been watching for a glass grinder, but am set on not paying much, so I may be watching for awhile.
Do you use 18g square for the wrap itself?
And do you find the the fully cabbed pendants sell better than the slabs that are run through all stages of the Lot-O? I wonder if the average consumer cares about the difference?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 14, 2018 8:25:56 GMT -5
Thank you for the explanation! I've been watching for a glass grinder, but am set on not paying much, so I may be watching for awhile. Do you use 18g square for the wrap itself? And do you find the the fully cabbed pendants sell better than the slabs that are run through all stages of the Lot-O? I wonder if the average consumer cares about the difference? Glass grinders seem way easier to find then lapidary equipment on craigslist around here. I have three of them now. I bought two spares just because I could not pass them up at less then $50 each. I use 20 gauge square wire. I still prefer the domed versions and I think customers do too. They just look more finished to me. Chuck
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capt38
starting to shine!
Member since November 2017
Posts: 45
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Post by capt38 on Mar 14, 2018 9:38:52 GMT -5
Outstanding shine on these cabs, and also a beautiful wire wrap. Great job Chuck!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,171
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Post by jamesp on Mar 14, 2018 9:53:57 GMT -5
Thank you for the explanation! I've been watching for a glass grinder, but am set on not paying much, so I may be watching for awhile. Do you use 18g square for the wrap itself? And do you find the the fully cabbed pendants sell better than the slabs that are run through all stages of the Lot-O? I wonder if the average consumer cares about the difference? Glass grinders seem way easier to find then lapidary equipment on craigslist around here. I have three of them now. I bought two spares just because I could not pass them up at less then $50 each. I use 20 gauge square wire. I still prefer the domed versions and I think customers do too. They just look more finished to me. Chuck Don't be hoarding the used glass tooling.
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