The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
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Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Aug 22, 2015 8:13:27 GMT -5
I think you should do a tutorial on the etching part too.... anytime I can get info or learn something new to improve my work, I'm all for it!!!
P.S. ..... you've always been so supportive of my work that I am glad/proud to be able to support a piece as wonderful as this one !!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 8, 2015 13:41:58 GMT -5
When tumbling any material, once you get to a clean out, try to remove the fractured pieces as they will trap grit in them and redeposit it onto the material in the next phase on tumbling which will in turn give you the scratches. This is referred to as grit contamination and is common when tumbling unknown material. some people will pull out the cracked rocks and grind them smooth before re-tumbling them, others will leave them in the course grind longer so that they smooth out completely. I saw a few that had large cracks in them and they may be the culprits. also remember that dissimilar material hardness can be a factor too. an agate that bounces around with quartz will beat up the quartz because it is not as hard as the agate.
Other than that I think they look really good. I went to a local landscape business and bought a 5 gallon bucket of river rock which is mostly quartz to tumble. they came out so nicely my buddy put them in his garden, he still owes me a new bucket of rock!! LOL
The main thing is to keep plugging away at it. It's sooooo much fun!!!!
Good Luck and always ask questions!! Mario
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 8, 2015 13:28:41 GMT -5
Bro, that stuff looks great!!! even the non tumbled pieces look killer.
I know they'll turn out great .... as always!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 3, 2015 16:08:01 GMT -5
you've done so many of these that you shouldn't be making these rookie mistakes!!!!!! What!! you have not done a lot of these? ? Well in that case...... Bravo, it came out really good... takes time, patience & practice to become as proficient as you want to be, and even then, we ARE, our own worst critics. Honestly, I think its great Donnie, way beyond what I can do!! I'd wear that any day... if my name was Autumn. If you have a fine tip 3 sided file, you can use the edge to cut lines into the pieces that stick out and ten fold them over onto the stone to flatten out the setting more, or....... you can file small v - notches into the raised parts and fold the rest down so it doesn't overlap and will close up the setting more.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 3, 2015 15:59:14 GMT -5
I think what you did.... You did right!!!!
Unfortunately the right way to do things like this is usually the longest way to do them too!!
I would be proud of this piece if I were you, it's a stellar looking piece, I really like the look.... definitely an art deco retro looking piece.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jun 25, 2015 16:36:31 GMT -5
I have an older Lortone QT66 and when it started running really hot I went to the local CVS and bought a small desk fan, very small. and set it next to the motor to help cool it. It has helped a lot , the motor is definitely running cooler. Best part is the fan only cost 6.00 & tax.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jun 25, 2015 16:12:56 GMT -5
I'm cringing as I read this... It's cool, but I collect Canadian coins, so everyone you make is one less I can try to get!!
But as I said, they're cool looking rings!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jun 19, 2015 12:21:19 GMT -5
Hey OB Man, I would definitely be interested in trading too... I have Mont. Agate, Thunder Eggs (cut & uncut), as well s other agates, jaspers and odds & ends. I can easily do a mfrb if you are interested. PM me if you want and we can work out details.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jun 11, 2015 10:41:46 GMT -5
Jaspers.... I have bags, boxes and buckets of it... all different kinds, as well as Montana agates, still have 3-4 buckets of them, couple buckets of T. Eggs, 2 LFRB of Obsidian, and bins of mixed material. I live in Fl so no rocks here, but, when I go out of state I try to collect anything that looks good and will be slabbing it the day after I get back home to find out whats inside.
I love to slab!!!!! I can cut slabs all day/night long if the weather is right, and I'll be doing preforms while the saws running!!
Did I mention I love to cut slabs!!!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 6, 2015 9:15:06 GMT -5
I used to use a biodegradable (citrus based) degreaser, and after wiping off the excess oil (mineral oil from tractor supply) put them in a bucket of degreaser & water to soak for the day... or 2 depending on how much cutting I was doing.
When the time came to rinse I would pull them out 1 at a time and use a scrub brush and garden hose to remove any oil residue left on them, The degreaser in the bucket is still good for cleaning with the brush, and set them out in the sun to dry.
I was given 20 pounds of kitty litter by a friend so I use that exclusively now and let them sit until the box is full of slabs then pull them out and dust them off. Then into baggies they go, dollar store ziplock style bags that I can write on so I know what each bag of slabs is.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 6, 2015 8:52:51 GMT -5
I wouldn't say you had too much water, just more than most would use. That being said, I definitely think it was too thin a mix to give you the polish you wanted. With most of the earlier grit sizes, as it breaks down it creates a "mud mix" of ground grit and stone that you lose as your grit size gets finer. to combat this the use of a thickening agent is needed or a lot of filler and smaller amounts of material to be polished (less material to bump into each other) I save my polish mix after the rocks are done and set it out in the sun in a bowl to evaporate, leaving me with a very fine powder that contains only ground polish and minimal stone dust. I then add about 2 tsp of this to my next polish run as a thickener. I must admit the idea of using sugar or the metamucil does sound easier, and I plan to try it myself. either way good luck with it and please post pics so we can see how it progresses.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 6, 2015 8:41:50 GMT -5
Bumble bee is noted to be toxic in it's raw form, and more importantly while being worked due to the possibility of dust, especially if worked without water!, that being said, once the material is polished, to a minimum of 14000, the stone is considered safe to handle. However if you want to assure your client of safety, you could coat the stone with a wax based polish or even a very thin CA glue before polishing to completely seal it. I know of no one that has suffered any ill effects from wearing it once it has been worked. As a matter of fact the whole "danger rating" to this and most of the toxic materials you may work with have to to with "working" the stone, not wearing it. Just as I had thought, too. I think that with the internet and so much info at people's fingertips, people will take a little info away from a source but, as Einstein said, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” I think they get worked up when they don't know the whole story. I mean, I'm all for safety, but I don't think anyone will find a credible source that says don't wear finished bumble bee (or, fill in the blank) jewelry. The main thing to remember is that there is no "Safe" stone/material to work. Even the common agates that we find and work every day can lead to silicosis of the lungs without some kind of precaution. and believe it or not we, as lapidary people, are more likely to get sick from working the common stones, than from the exotics that we only touch for special orders. One of the main reasons that water is used so extensively on the cabbing machines and water/oil is used on the saws, is to help minimize the chances of breathing in excessive amounts of dust from materials we are working on.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 5, 2015 14:39:56 GMT -5
Bumble bee is noted to be toxic in it's raw form, and more importantly while being worked due to the possibility of dust, especially if worked without water!, that being said, once the material is polished, to a minimum of 14000, the stone is considered safe to handle. However if you want to assure your client of safety, you could coat the stone with a wax based polish or even a very thin CA glue before polishing to completely seal it. I know of no one that has suffered any ill effects from wearing it once it has been worked. As a matter of fact the whole "danger rating" to this and most of the toxic materials you may work with have to to with "working" the stone, not wearing it.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 5, 2015 14:24:43 GMT -5
my sympathies on your loss Walt!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 5, 2015 14:08:03 GMT -5
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 5, 2015 13:49:26 GMT -5
Wow, these are all outstanding cabs entered for February's contest!! The Dad_Ohs, Wow, your cab looks like it is faceted! Thats kind of what I was going for due to one of the corners was cracked and broke during the rough grinding phase, so I tried to copy the copy to the rest of the corners and then brought the flat up and across both sides to make it look even. It's my 1st time using this material. glad you like it
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Mar 1, 2015 17:59:01 GMT -5
same here... I add it to all new bucket of tumble to make a slurry faster, and thicker! works great!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Feb 23, 2015 13:32:46 GMT -5
I know I have been cabbing for about 2 1/2 yrs now and I still have some material that gives me fits... but you got to hang in there and it will come with time and practice.
Mario
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Feb 23, 2015 13:25:55 GMT -5
I forgot to post the side view... the cab is just a hair under 1/2 inch high. Gotta luv them high domes!! LOL
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Feb 21, 2015 13:55:04 GMT -5
Nice looking material Mel !!
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