mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 16, 2012 22:58:38 GMT -5
That is a nice dozen Randy! I noticed you are pretty consistent with the shape of your cabs - must be a preferred shape for wire wrapping. I like them all, but my favorite is the second Imperial Jasper. Also that's one of the nicest Sheep Creek cabs I've seen.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 14, 2012 23:55:32 GMT -5
Those Tahomas take the prize, but they're all beautiful. Also, the unknown dendritic looks similar to a couple polka dot agate cabs that I did. I think you're right Randy. Polka Dot is really HARD, and I was wondering if this was Polka Dot when I was working it because of the hardness and color.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 14, 2012 23:44:50 GMT -5
Very nice looking group of cabs! Number 3 looks like Calico Lace and number 7 might be Pigeon Blood Agate. Thanks for the ID. I'm going to modify the post to call number 3 Calico Lace (in the far reaches of my memory I recall seeing some like that). I will call number 7 Pigeon Blood Agate with a ?. I've got some Pigeon blood agate but it all has larger specks of red in it. Thanks to all for your kind comments.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 14, 2012 19:04:11 GMT -5
Wow! Big and beautiful Krystee! You picked a great piece to do your mondo cab from. It looks like you might get another cab or two out of that slab. Any idea what the material is? Looks like some sort of Mexican agate.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 14, 2012 17:03:42 GMT -5
Wow, that first one is a really red alunite! I have some that is a darker red really nice fever! Thanks for the ID! I modified the post to properly label it.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 14, 2012 16:16:31 GMT -5
Hi All, A friend came over about a week ago and gave me a box of slabs and preforms. I immediately got cabbin' fever. This is what I did with them (except the Tahomas which I cut from rough material). Some of the material I wasn't familiar with so I just numbered them - Please chime in with an identity if you recognize any of the unknowns. Number 1: Alunite. This material is very soft, but suprisingly takes a decent polish. Number 2: Montana agate. This one is 2" tall with hole drilled for pendant bail. Polished front and back. Number 3: Calico Lace agate -love the pattern & colors. Number 4: Tahoma Number 5: Willow Creek Number 6: Tahoma Number 7: Pigeon Blood Agate (?) Number 8: Tahoma Number 9: Dendritic agate (possibly dendritic Polka Dot). This was the hardest stone in this batch. Number 10: Black Jasper from unknown location. Number 11: Tahoma Number 12: Jasper - Looks like a combination of Royal Sahara and Owyhee. Number 13: Rhodonite I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 6, 2012 18:42:17 GMT -5
That blue ice is .... COOL! Great job, Krystee!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Aug 5, 2012 22:13:15 GMT -5
I get the stone completely dry between wheels (I use a cloth and a small hair dryer) for inspection. If I see scratches from the previous wheel I mark them with a sharpie so I can sand this area well. I repeat this until all scratches are gone from the previous wheel. This can get frustrating at times, but if you move to the next finer wheel too soon, you will end up with scratches on your finished cab. Good luck!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jul 30, 2012 18:57:14 GMT -5
Thanks for all the nice comments. The agate was found on public land, but we don't plan on filing a claim on it. It's really hard digging, maybe getting 5 pounds a day (me) or 10 pounds a day (Chasfire, the agate magnet). I've only got about 10 pounds of rough and you do need to work around the fractures on most of the pieces, but the finished pieces are worth the work. The darker agate seems to be more solid than the lighter colored agate.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jul 30, 2012 11:31:32 GMT -5
Hi All, I tried posting this a couple days ago but couldn't get Photobucket to cooperate. Hopefully, everything will work this time! My rock hunting buddy, Chasfire, grandson Ryan, and I went to the south side of Mt. St. Helens about 2 weeks ago to look for some agate. Chasfire found the site years ago and was kind enough to show us where it is. As near as we could tell, nobody had dug there before. Anyway, I contour-polished a few pieces of rough and did a few test cabs. We are calling this agate Blue Jay agate. Some of the lighter pieces remind me of Ellensburg blue agate. The lot, taken outdoors: Just the cabs (all taken inside): Thanks for lookin'.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jul 30, 2012 11:15:36 GMT -5
Gorgeous Krystee! I see why you like this particular type of turquoise. What a great shine!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jul 30, 2012 11:06:50 GMT -5
Beautiful! My favorite is the first one, but all are superb!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jul 28, 2012 23:41:32 GMT -5
Sorry folks, but I deleted the pictures in this post because Photobucket (TWICE now on this one post) has reverted to the wrong photos - AFTER I POSTED THE PICTURES! I will re-post the photos if the Photobucket IT people can get it all in one sack. - Sorry for the screw up, but this is out of my hands. Is this happening to others --- Photobucket changing the orientation, un-cropping the (previously posted) cropped pictures, etc?
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 22, 2012 15:55:33 GMT -5
Beautiful stone and wrap! I had to do a Bing search on danburite. I've been collecting for decades and haven't had the opportunity to see it before. I noticed in my search that the danburite crystals make a gorgeous faceted stone too. Thanks for posting.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 15, 2012 19:01:06 GMT -5
Wow. Great shapes. Love the colors in the ammolite. I'm just a beginner. What did you use to cut those shapes (tree/leaf / and #2)? Bill Thanks Bill, I do 95 to 100% of my shapes on my trim saws. If I'm really serious about it, I will touch them up with my carving tools. Unclestu, I have posted leaf cabs on this forum before, but I couldn't get the search mode to work to find them. Here are some on another forum: gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/topic,8180.msg83391.html#msg83391 Thanks everybody for your comments! Think I'll go make another cab or two.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 15, 2012 13:50:35 GMT -5
Hi All, I just can't help myself from cabbing. I go out to the shop to do something else and then find myself looking through slabs for more cabs to make. Needless to say, the things I am supposed to do aren't geting done. I think I'm hopelessly addicted. Oregon jasper: Funky little AZ pet. wood: Cady Mountain moss agate gingko leaf: India green tree agate leaf cab: Oregon moss agate: Another Oregon green moss agate: Last but not least, a nicely colored ammolite: Have a great weekend and thanks for lookin'
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 21:58:46 GMT -5
Thanks Gary! Great photos - the next best thing to being there!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 21:42:22 GMT -5
Seriously nice sTuff! On the Spencers, did you do their process? Thanks! On these, I actually started with a small slab that was already backed. All I had to do was cut out the bad spots, cap them with optical quartz and cab them. I've done them from scratch before and it isn't too difficult once you've got the fire cut out of the potch. These came from a small slab shaped something like the country, Chile. Thanks for all your comments!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 19:02:57 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing - that is a cool trick!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 18:59:33 GMT -5
Great job, Hub! There's a big variety in the quality of Royal Sahara - looks like you got a good one.
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