zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 26, 2016 18:05:50 GMT -5
I am almost finished with another project. Will post pics soon. Some advice on what type of stone to make the base out of for it would be wonderful.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 23, 2016 23:09:38 GMT -5
Really lovely piece of stone. How does the back and side look? Is it a carvable slab?
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 21, 2016 13:47:41 GMT -5
The Frog is 4x4" so for a proper leaf I'd probably need an 8x8" slab at the smallest. I had a look on ebay but no luck. Only small bits and pieces. I'll see if anything pops up over the next couple weeks.
Are there any other green stones that might work instead? I'm not well versed in rock names and what they look like.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 20, 2016 19:45:32 GMT -5
Wowwwwww. Yes That is gorgeous. Where can I get some of that?
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 19, 2016 11:06:20 GMT -5
That sounds great, if you can I'd love to see some pics of the rock you have.
I'm pretty excited about this now, I also just got my 46 grit diamond carving bits in yesterday, so I'm ready to carve it.
I might do a practice run on some marble I collected a few years ago to get the technique down.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 19, 2016 1:20:06 GMT -5
Hmmm yes a stone lilypad. That is a really great idea. Where would you get a slab of malachite that large from? I imagine I'd need a piece at least 10x10" if not a bit bigger or perhaps another green rock would work. Any ideas where to start? I'm in two minds about the patina on the frog. I usually like to polish my pieces to a high shine and keep them like that rather than patina them. I enjoy the shiny gold metal I have two copies of the frog, so perhaps I'll shine one up and patina the other one.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 17, 2016 8:26:58 GMT -5
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 16, 2016 17:44:56 GMT -5
You fabricated copper to make molds, then cast silver. Why not just fabricate silver parts? No casting required? The first few pictures show a brown casting wax (which looks a bit like copper in the pictures) I used them to make the shape of the final silver part since working with wax is pretty easy. It had to be made of wax so that it could be burned out of the investment to leave a void to pour metal into. Thanks guys & gals, I have some other photos I can post if anyone is interested? Should I just post them here or in another thread?
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 16, 2016 14:48:14 GMT -5
Please excuse my ignorance. If you can fabricate copper forms to them cast. Why not simply fabricate,in silver and be donw with it? I'm not sure I understand what you mean?
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 16, 2016 12:53:33 GMT -5
icatz if you have any Qs on how to get started in casting let me know. I have much more experience with metal casting than stone work. I'm only now getting into stone working so I can add to my metal sculptures. I'd like to make my own statue bases eventually since they are quite expensive to buy premade. The operculum are the trapdoor of certain snail species, they use them to close the entrance to the shell so they can defend themselves against predators. Almost all snails have operculum but not all of them have a nice gemmy operculum, only certain species have it. The ones I have are from one of the tropical islands (I think in Asia if I remember right). Yes I soldered the jump rings and each and every chain link too. Took me quite a while, but it was worth it in the end. arrowheadave - I cast the fittings because casting is what I know and I hadn't worked before with silver plates. I was also learning to solder silver (which is quite different from bronze!!). I probably would do it differently if I had to do it again and just use the plates, or roll my own 20 gauge. This is a picture of my burn out kiln for jewelry stuff This is an example of the other projects I've done. Got loads more pictures of random things but maybe I'll do another thread about that (if it is on topic enough for the forum? not sure since it is mainly metal casting and not rock related)
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 14, 2016 17:32:36 GMT -5
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 14, 2016 14:20:05 GMT -5
I ended up finding a set of 50 dremel diamond carving bits on ebay with 46 grit size. I'm looking forwards to getting them and trying them out on some marble I found.
unclesoska, I have diamond cut off bits but they cut a much larger radius out of the stone than I'd like. I need bits that can grind out smaller areas.
Initially I was using some diamond bits that are made for cutting holes and they worked well for general bulk material removal, but weren't good for smaller areas.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 7, 2016 12:23:41 GMT -5
I was thinking of using the rough burrs to just remove bulk material, then gringing the surface down with a finer grit size.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 5, 2016 1:58:28 GMT -5
Not sure if this has been asked before or not but are there any very rough diamond burrs on the market for grinding stone into shape? Ideally something around 30-60 grit in a burr I can use in a Dremel or drill. I've checked ebay several times but they only seem to sell the 240 grit type which aren't good for shaping.
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zapins
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 116
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Post by zapins on Mar 5, 2016 1:38:27 GMT -5
First off, great build! I've been thinking about making one like yours for the last few months.
I've got a couple of questions for you.
The metal pulleys one on the motor and one on the shaft - what is that called?
How are you controlling the motor? Just directly plugged in to the wall or is it a DC motor with motor controller? If so what kind of controller are you using?
The shaft you are using - what material is that just a steel rod or a proper axle of some kind?
The blade - what grit is it? Is it the type that has a diamond coating only at the edges or does it have diamond all across the surface of it as well as the edges?
How did your saw hold up over the last 2 years? Any modifications or issues?
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