|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 14, 2022 12:08:07 GMT -5
I like to make cabs with orbs and the orbiest material is Misty Mountain orbicular which is a type of polychrome jasper from Madagascar. I got this 6.5x4.5 inch polychrome slab. It has lots of orbs but not as tight as Misty Mountain. I respect tumblers. I just wish they wouldn't tumble gem Owyhee. I'm going to recut this tumbled slabette as a cab. It has a minor vug that goes all the way through but I couldn't snap it with my fingers.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 13, 2022 22:05:10 GMT -5
Classic Tahoma pattern across the seam: With the seam that barely works: This is the goal when cutting with the seam: The results are not technique related, they are material related. When cutting against the seam the results are known. With the seam it is the bands and there thickness.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 13, 2022 20:22:05 GMT -5
Beautiful material. I've been buying Tahoma rough and slabs for 20 years. It is best described as a jasper/agate. Each piece has varying amounts of jasper and agate where the agate is clear and the jasper provides the color. It is also referred to as seam agate. The Tahoma is found in a seam between the matrix. Most usable areas tend to be narrow, unless cut with the seam instead of against the seam. Cutting with the seam produces layers that can be thick or thin. Cutting cabs with thin layers doesn't work most of the time.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 13, 2022 16:47:00 GMT -5
I was digging through the Riker boxes and found stuff that my wife collected and two cabs on the right that I made years ago. Bottom right is Clay Canyon. Top row I am guessing variscite but don't know exactly the type. Bottom row some kind of turquoise but don't know the type. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 12, 2022 20:52:06 GMT -5
I have five boxes with over 200 cabs pulled from the pile. I take five pictures with a quarter in the box for scale. You circle the ones you are interested in using paint. I take them out of the boxes and photograph the group.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 12, 2022 15:48:32 GMT -5
I have over 1,000 that I won't list on Etsy. I can take pictures of them in Riker boxes. Price per cab depends on quantity.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 12, 2022 14:01:19 GMT -5
I had to look up what a group of butterflies is called, it's a kaleidoscope. All from the same slab.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 12, 2022 13:22:30 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 10, 2022 19:36:31 GMT -5
There's a long wire at the end of the assembly. I made a loop at the end to hook around a bolt. I'm going to try bending it closer to the spring to increase tension. If that doesn't work, I'll find a spring. I expect to have my new 14 arrive in the near future and I can do a side by side comparison. Thanks for the suggestion. I have enough slabs and preforms to last for months. I make cabs ten times faster than I sell them. The 10 has a narrow kerf but is slow and great for small rough.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 10, 2022 14:03:50 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 10, 2022 12:55:27 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 9, 2022 21:34:53 GMT -5
DEFIANTLY Lucin Utah variscite from Utahlite hill. I bought all my variscite from Leland Turner who owned Turner Glass in Provo Utah. He would mine it with a pickup and a drag bucket. At rock shows I used to sell ~ 1"X1" pieces for a quarter. The expensive stuff came from the Little Green Monster Mine in Clay Canyon, west of Fairfield Utah. There are still bargains out there. I paid $10 including shipping for these two pieces. I then paid $25 for 6 more pieces including shipping. I was so grateful for the deal, I sent the seller one of the cabs I made from the 6 and a Lucin. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/98380/different-kind-rock-hounding-projectThey are small 1/2 nodules. I will be glad to provide the source. He has a big bucket of them.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 9, 2022 17:33:04 GMT -5
I dopped 4 more to work on tomorrow. 2 Turquoise, a Butterfly and a Pink Lady. One turquoise was from the remnant of the one I completed. It fractured when cutting so is shorter now. The other one has vugs and I hoping that grinding the dome will improve the cab. I started off dop and they have improved a bit. The dome is currently 10mm so I have some more I can grind.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 9, 2022 16:10:22 GMT -5
Looks like Lucin variscite from Utah.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 9, 2022 12:56:17 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 8, 2022 17:00:27 GMT -5
dopped these to work on.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 8, 2022 16:30:47 GMT -5
I've been waiting on a part for my HP 10 slab saw. I tried to replace it. The only part of the assembly I needed was the spring for disengaging the carriage. I had a piece of gem Owyhee rough I got from Tony at fullmoon. No pattern was showing for the listing picture. I took a guess and windowed a small face. The spring was too loose so the carriage moved very slowly. I gave up and completed the small cut on the trim saw. I got the cut orientation right. I'll put it aside until my HP 14 arrives.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 8, 2022 15:40:49 GMT -5
Pink Lady, Jelly Bean, Butterfly Wing, Turquoise.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 7, 2022 17:05:54 GMT -5
A template for the curve, tweet, 15 yard penalty. The curve is part of a freeform and that needs to have the entire shape be pleasing to the eye. When making the preform, the bottom edge is pushed into the wheel and then the girdle is marked. As the cab is domed the shape and pattern change. the shape can be adjusted to get the best appearance.
I only make freeforms when no template shape best frames the material. This is usually done with scraps from trimming another cab. I don't know how long Paul has been swooping, but Silverhawk was a big time swooper. My wife collected cabs and I have some of his. If one of his shapes framed a piece of my material, I would put a loop of painter's tape on the back and trace it on to the bottom of the trimmed slab. I usually start with a wedge shape with the trim saw, trace the cab and then trim again before grinding.
It took me a long time to figure this out and the best doming technique is the same no matter the shape. It is what is taught in cabbing pamphlets for circles and ovals.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Oct 7, 2022 12:53:39 GMT -5
The slab arrived and I started studying it and laying out preforms. BWJ has fractures and the best way to find them is to give the slab a couple whacks. Once that was done I could continue with the designs. I expect some of them to fracture on the saw. I have one more design on the other side.
|
|