diamondust
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Post by diamondust on Dec 28, 2015 10:27:22 GMT -5
Very Nice material. I enjoyed looking at all of your nice slabs. Did you collect this material yourself? Also the "Glaucophane" is actually Lawsonite, Also called "Blue "G". I have made several carvings from it. it is from the Panoche Hills area of California.
Have a Happy New Year
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Dec 3, 2015 22:07:23 GMT -5
HI, I have been using Bobs process for a while now with great success, Sometimes I use it before I polish, to stabilize a stone then again after its polished. I heat my stones with a halogen bulb in a gooseneck. The stone gets very hot. I leave them overnight sometimes. I am in the process of carving a Christmas gift for a coworkers wife. It a Jade Sea horse on coral carved from ( I think it is white and lavender marble) with a jasper base, the base was difficult because It is Brecciated and full of flaws. Anyway, I carved out as many fractures and flaws as possible, then I polished it, and finally I coated it with unhardened Epoxy resin and heated it under my halogen bulb for a few hours, then I rubbed the epoxy into it by hand( wearing rubber gloves) and let it bake a few more hours. then I wiped the unhardened resin from the stone, mixed a small amount with hardener and rubbed it all over and let it set 30 minutes( to catalyze the resin in the fractures), finally I wiped all of the remaining resin from the stone, which brought the polished surface back, but with a greatly improved finish, because now all of the small little pits and flaws are filled. I have been able to save many otherwise lost causes with this method. and I tell others about it whenever I see a beautiful stone with a fracture.
Thanks Bob!
David
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diamondust
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Post by diamondust on Aug 27, 2015 23:06:01 GMT -5
Ok, I added a link to a couple of photos to my above post. I guess I did it right?
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Aug 27, 2015 19:40:21 GMT -5
Ok, I have been asked several questions, So I will attempt to answer them . First, "Rippling" I am assuming you are talking about a wavy surface on the carving? After I get my carving to the basic shape with Coarse diamond burs, I guide coat the carving ( usually with a sharpie marker) then dress the entire surface with a diamond file. if you have never used a guide coat , it shows you your highs and lows(Rippling) the dark sharpie stays in the low spots when you first start filing, you continue to work the surface until all of the guide coat is gone. then I further smooth the surface with Silicon carbide stones of various grits. ( you can get them at: jadecarver.com). Next question, The Sintered burs from China. Go to "AliExpress" and search: Professional sintered diamond burs, You will find all of the burs you could ever want. And lastly , the wooden "Buffs". I use the left over shafts from felt buffs, I drill a hole in a dowel shaped piece of wood( could be a piece of a dopping stick or some hard wood), glue it on the used shaft with super glue and when hardened, chuck it in your dremel, turn it on to 5k-10k rpm and sand it to shape with course sand paper then smooth with 80 grit. there you have it. each one should be grit specific, so mark them. Now, How the heck do you post a photo? I have tried before, and it always says too large of file? I have a photo of a few of my wooden buffs and one of a few of my carvings. s908.photobucket.com/user/Jadecarver7/library/
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Aug 26, 2015 22:38:08 GMT -5
Oh, also I use inexpensive sintered burs from china for my rough out work and plated burs for finer finish work. I polish with diamond paste on wooden buffs that I make, along with oxide polishes on felt buffs. I use chrome oxide for Jade and Pro polish for jasper and agate.
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Aug 26, 2015 22:29:43 GMT -5
Hi, I have been carving a few years and started with a cheap Foredom knock off, and it worked Ok. I have now moved to the Foredom Brushless Micro motor. It will run at 50K rpm for small diameter diamond burs. I use it at about 35k most of the time. I found that it carves much faster than a flex shaft and has a lot less vibration. It is pricy, but if you plan on doing a lot of carving it is worth it.
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Oct 20, 2014 9:13:39 GMT -5
KK, good luck with your entry! your carvings are very unique in design and have a lot of detail. I enjoy your posts and look forward to more.
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on May 17, 2014 22:58:43 GMT -5
KK, I was wondering what you were going to carve for the symposium. I was considering this event but I don't have a good enough quality Jade or the money to purchase it. I do have a small piece of " ice" Guatemalan jadeite and you are right about the burs , I destroyed three just cleaning up the surface. since then I have purchased some sintered burs from china and a new Foredom brushless micromotor. the burs are good and the Foredom is awesome! it cut my carving time in half. what are you using?
Enjoy your carving
David
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Mar 31, 2014 19:00:36 GMT -5
I started carving about 8 months ago and I would recommend looking at the Jade carving sites for some ideas. A basic twist is not too bad. are you carving with diamond burs in a flex shaft or what tools are you using? My first carving was a dragon pendant, it took me 40 hours! I learned a lot and now I can do thinks faster.
David
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diamondust
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Post by diamondust on Feb 15, 2014 22:43:20 GMT -5
Roy, so you do auto body repair and paint work too, I thought I was the only one. I was a tech for 28 years, taught at Wyotech for 71/2 years and now am a trainer for cooks Collision in Sacramento. I would now rather be Rockhounding or carving!
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Feb 15, 2014 11:40:25 GMT -5
Pat, yes an automotive store like NAPA would have it. you can get black and a white for darker stones. clean your stone in alcohol or acetone before you spray a lite coating, then smooth as you normally would, the contrasting color will highlight the scratches, when all of the guide coat is gone, so are the scratches.
David
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
Posts: 20
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Post by diamondust on Feb 13, 2014 23:19:17 GMT -5
Hi all, if anyone is still curious? I tried a rattle can of automotive grade "guide coat" and it worked well for highlighting scratches when smoothing carvings.
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Feb 2, 2014 13:06:50 GMT -5
oh, a couple of questions, do you smooth your carvings with diamond burs or rub stones or? Like I said I am relatively new to carving
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
Posts: 20
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Post by diamondust on Feb 2, 2014 13:02:31 GMT -5
very nice use of the stones coloration and very imaginative! I am new here ,but from what I have seen you have quite an imagination for design. I have been carving for maybe 6 months and you have opened up my mind to other directions!
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diamondust
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Post by diamondust on Jan 28, 2014 21:47:48 GMT -5
If you go to the "Rockhound Field trip fanatics" website and find my page there is a picture or two of the material I have. its not brilliant blue but it is blue..
David Lang
PS I don't even know how to Photoshop
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diamondust
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Post by diamondust on Jan 27, 2014 16:25:35 GMT -5
yes the lawsonite is blue. I saw on an old thread that Kris from "Rockhound field trip fanatics" had offered some to be carved. how did that end up? I don't remember where I saw it. and on the (I am assuming you mean aluminum?) probably would not work on what I am doing. I will post some pictures in the future.
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Jan 22, 2014 22:07:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips I never thought of using my goose neck lamp for heat. I tried it and it worked great.
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
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Post by diamondust on Jan 22, 2014 22:02:47 GMT -5
So far I have only carved nephrite Jade and some blue Lawsonite and the sharpie does not penetrate it when I have used it for sketching the carving. but you are right soft porous stones would be easily ruined. I will look into other spray paints and let you know what I come up with.
thanks all
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
Posts: 20
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Post by diamondust on Jan 22, 2014 16:10:20 GMT -5
I use the sharpie to draw what I am going to carve, never thought of using it as a guide coat,
thank you
David
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diamondust
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Member since January 2014
Posts: 20
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Post by diamondust on Jan 21, 2014 16:04:04 GMT -5
Hi all, I am newbie as they say, I have a question, I have read that carvers use a guide coat to highlight the scratches in their carving while smoothing. I have been using some light grey rustolium( I just happen to have some) So my question is, what do you use that has a thinner body? with the rustolium that I use ,I spend just as much time removing the paint as removing the scratches.
thank you
David
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