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Post by bobby1 on May 3, 2019 14:06:29 GMT -5
The mystery plume is Woodward Ranch (Texas) plume. Here is a photo of one with more of the typical red pattern. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on May 3, 2019 13:56:29 GMT -5
The easiest way to get the polish residue out is definitely using an ultrasonic cleaner. I use a teaspoon of cheap dishwashing liquid for the cleaning agent. I routinely dip my opals in the ultrasonic unit but I don't leave them in the unit for extended periods of time. I've never cracked a stone by putting it in the ultrasonic unit. The upcoming issue of Rock and Gem magazine will have an article on using the ultrasonic unit. It will be on my monthly "Bench tips" page. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on May 3, 2019 13:46:55 GMT -5
Yes, dop wax does get bad and the problem is the dop pot. The thing that makes dop wax sticky is shellac. As the dop pot sits there heating away for many hours it boils off the volatiles, namely the shellac, and the wax continually degrades. Cleaning out the old wax and adding new helps, but the best thing to do is heat the wax, dop your stones and immediately turn the pot off until the next dopping event. Personally, I don't have a dop pot. I use an alcohol lamp to heat the wax and the stone. Most dop pots don't get the stone hot enough. For those that use a dop pot to heat the stone, it helps to use the alcohol lamp to heat the dopped stone even more to get the best adhesion. Absolutely remove all of the polishing residue from the dop stick after polishing the stone. I use a small ultrasonic cleaner to do the final cleaning of the residue. The polishing residue seriously degrades the dop wax. I also use a paper towel with a bit of denatured alcohol to wipe the cab and the end of the dop wax on the stick just before heating both up as you are doing the dopping. If your shop is cold and you have left the dopped cab on your bench overnight reheat it with the alcohol lamp before resuming the cabbing process. This has been my method for the last 30+ years of lapidary work and I can't recall the last time I have had a cab come off during the cabbing process. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Apr 30, 2019 0:59:10 GMT -5
I just finished this Piranha Agate cab yesterday. It is 2-1/2" high. I love the vibrant colors of this agate. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Apr 13, 2019 23:27:27 GMT -5
Anything under 2" goes on a dop stick. 2" up to my largest (6"+) are hand held until I go to polish then they go on a dop stick. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Mar 18, 2019 21:11:03 GMT -5
On the 9th and 10th we had our annual show in Turlock, CA - turlockgemshow.com. The glyptic artist Jack Hoque, who I wrote about in the December issue of Rock and Gem Magazine, was a demonstrator of his art of carving from the back. I showed him a small slab of obsidian that had a mountain in it. I asked if he could carve an old man of the mountain on it. This is the result of his very creative and imaginative mind. When my wife Pat saw it she said that will be how I will look in my old age. Hmmmm. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Mar 2, 2019 2:20:57 GMT -5
Make sure that all of the polish is thoroughly removed from the dop stick before you reuse it. Polish contaminates the dop rather quickly.
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Post by bobby1 on Feb 24, 2019 11:21:04 GMT -5
Can anyone help me with this one, please? Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 28, 2019 10:59:38 GMT -5
A fantastic project! When can expect another one? Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 26, 2019 23:38:57 GMT -5
This is the material that I made the cab from. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 26, 2019 23:38:07 GMT -5
This is the material that I made the cab from. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 22, 2019 20:22:02 GMT -5
I finished this one recently. It is about 1-1/2" wide. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 18, 2019 18:34:33 GMT -5
Mine's a bit not organized. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 16, 2019 18:50:23 GMT -5
I wrote about Oregon's Glass Buttes Obsidian in my latest Rock and Gem Magazine submission for my monthly article "Bench Tips". It will be in the magazine either in the March or April issue. The article explains how to select the best pieces and how to cut them. This slab came from a 4-1/2 piece. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 16, 2019 1:11:31 GMT -5
I would go for Phrenite
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 16, 2019 1:06:23 GMT -5
Here s a photo of better quality Chapenite. I would also go for Chapenite. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Jan 15, 2019 20:38:53 GMT -5
I was slabbing some Glass buttes material and one of the pieces had this pattern. Rather scary! Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 29, 2018 12:24:30 GMT -5
The material was in their yard in two bins that we picked through. In the attached photo you can see the bins. The people in the photo are some club members, my wife Pat and our granddaughter Maci. Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 23, 2018 13:02:50 GMT -5
Jack actually does reverse intaglio carving on clear quartz crystals. This is all free-form carving from his imagination. A superb artist! Bob
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Post by bobby1 on Dec 23, 2018 1:48:29 GMT -5
Pat, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this piece, probably an undulating free form pendant piece. I had a few minutes to doodle on the piece tonight but I won't get to any serious work on it for a few weeks. I just became president of out society (again) so now I have to spend my "idle" time on preparation activities for our show in early March. We are trying to make it bigger and better than ever. Last month I wrote an article on Jack Hoque, a glyptic artist. He is going to be demonstrating the process at our show so I have to build a lighting system for his table at the show. Bob
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