khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Nov 11, 2022 1:36:17 GMT -5
Well, I have officially earned my current tagline "starting to spend too much on rocks"!    I joined here sometime in September after finding this forum while researching and comparing cabbing machines. Spent the next couple months of late nights after work clearing out a tiny space in our garage, building myself a workbench, deciding on a machine, ordering it, waiting for it, tracking it, waiting for it some more, standing in my driveway watching for the fedex guy, watching the fedex guy unload it, setting it up, breaking in wheels, digging through storage to find my old collection of slabs and dop-sticks and what-nots, and then finally now starting to learn to properly cab using some of my already pre-formed material from years ago when I was attempting to cab on an inland flat lap and then got frustrated and gave up.  After all that as of last weekend my workspace is officially all set up. I'm really quite pleased with it. I love it that I can have just 20 minutes of time to spare and go out and grind on something. So far I'm not very good at it, still learning, but I think each cab is getting better. I'll add some pictures below of my space and my favorite cabs so far. One I know is Calico Lace Agate because I've already had that identified on here. The other one, I'm not sure what it is, I was thinking maybe a petrified/agatized wood? Not sure. These both have gorgeous colors and formations and took an excellent polish. Glad I found this forum, it's been very helpful. Thanks especially jasoninsd liveoak rockjunquie hummingbirdstones opalpyrexia rmf Bravura Cabochon Designs stardiamond Pat for all of your help over the past couple months! I've got many more posts bookmarked, too many people to list!      |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 11, 2022 1:42:44 GMT -5
Those cabs are looking great!!  It's gonna get a little tight working on that right side with the garage door there...but so far, it doesn't look like it's hurting you any! That Calico Lace Agate is AMAZING!! Loved hearing about the "waiting" for the FedEx person to show up...glad I wasn't the only one to do that! LOL |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 11, 2022 1:58:24 GMT -5
Those cabs are looking great!! It's gonna get a little tight working on that right side with the garage door there...but so far, it doesn't look like it's hurting you any! That Calico Lace Agate is AMAZING!! Loved hearing about the "waiting" for the FedEx person to show up...glad I wasn't the only one to do that! LOL Makes me think of the movie, "The Music Man." It's a musical. The entire town breaks out into spontaneous song throughout the movie. One song is about the town folk waiting for the Wells Fargo Wagon, and what goodies they could expect to to receive. Partly sung by a shy, stuttering Ron Howard. A great movie! |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Nov 11, 2022 2:15:23 GMT -5
Very nice cabs! You are well on your way!
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Nov 11, 2022 2:18:40 GMT -5
jasoninsd Ya it’s a little bit small but really not too bad. I have maybe 8” or so on the right and just a couple inches to the left of the machine. It’s the maximum size bench I could fit next to where we store the lawn mower and also the maximum I could build out of the scrap wood that I found in the garage. The space on the right is wide enough for a dop pot and to set some small things on and just enough room to use the polishing lap. I also have a spare board, you can see it on the water buckets, that I put over my machine tray area to create a little table top for looking at slabs and stuff. The last thing I did last weekend was cut slots in my bench top for the water lines to go through. I wanted to work on the machine for a while before committing to where I was going to cut those. It was really cluttered with hoses before I cut them and now I love how clean it is. rockpickerforever Thanks so much! And Thanks for the movie recommendation. We are always looking for old shows to watch as the new ones mostly just kinda annoy us.🤓
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Nov 11, 2022 2:32:04 GMT -5
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Post by liveoak on Nov 11, 2022 7:10:42 GMT -5
Looks terrific - love that you built the bench.
I need to cut holes through mine for better drainage too !
Although mines not wood - so a bit more challenging.
I know (with me anyway) work spaces evolve.
So I'm sure yours will too over time.
But looks like a great starting place - nice and organized. AND I Love  that you're on Rock Time out there !
Sorry, almost forgot - your cabs look good. I really like the first one.
Nice shape & polish on both- no wonkies that I can see on either. 
I look forward to seeing more.
Patty PS- When I got my cabber last year I had it MUCH worse than just waiting for the FedEx guy.
My husband ordered it for me as a birthday/x-mas present, as my birthday is the week before Christmas.
So it arrived here the first week of Dec & I was determined to not open it till my birthday .
So we had this huge box to stumble over in the living room for 2 + weeks.
It was worth the wait.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2022 8:28:57 GMT -5
kharaThat’s so awesome!! I’m excited for you! Those cabs look great!!
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 11, 2022 8:32:29 GMT -5
So- all those questions paid off. LOL! Seriously, you have a very nice space. More than I have, for sure. You knocked your first cabs outta the ballpark! Awesome!
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Nov 11, 2022 8:56:46 GMT -5
Those cabs are beautiful! I'd say you're there Love the rocks too, such beautiful formations and colors. Congrats on your set up! It looks great....one day....**dreaming** lol |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 11, 2022 9:32:32 GMT -5
khara you did an awesome job building your cabbing space and it's soooooo organized! Your cabs are fab, too!  The first one does look like pet wood to me, too and the Calico is yummy! Great job all around.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 11, 2022 9:43:00 GMT -5
khara - From that straight-on picture, it looks PERFECT! From the other angle, it didn't look like you had elbow room because of the garage door. I do have an old kitchen towel (this time actually WITH permission from my wife! LOL) folded and set along the right side of the machine. I get some leakage on that side...so I have it there to stop it. It's minimal...but does happen a little on mine.
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Post by mohs on Nov 11, 2022 9:59:12 GMT -5
gniess!  and the rock clock is coming along Ed |
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Post by rmf on Nov 11, 2022 10:50:11 GMT -5
Nice shop area and nice cabs!!
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Post by opalpyrexia on Nov 11, 2022 12:07:05 GMT -5
You certainly created an excellent workspace, khara. Are those work-in-process cabs hanging from the pegboard? That's a clever idea. Outstanding cabs, too! |
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Post by parfive on Nov 11, 2022 12:50:05 GMT -5
Looks like a nice efficient corner you set up there.
Got a scrap piece of rug for the floor?
Cabs can be slippery little buggers and it’s only a matter of time . . .
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 11, 2022 12:57:32 GMT -5
These cabs are excellent. I especially like the windows you can see through for the botryoidals without the windows being broken.
Your workbench is super tidy!
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller 
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,498
Member is Online
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Post by realrockhound on Nov 11, 2022 13:21:36 GMT -5
Nicest “first cabs” I’ve seen done to date!!
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,176
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Post by rockbrain on Nov 11, 2022 20:12:45 GMT -5
I'll just echo what everyone else has already pointed out. Nice space and some beautiful cabs! It's so nice when you have a dedicated space and can go work for just a few minutes.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Nov 11, 2022 20:50:23 GMT -5
Thanks everyone, fun to read your replies! liveoak Thank you! Yep I'm pretty pleased about the bench, all scrap wood so no added expense. The only thing we bought was the electrical outlet and ceiling light and that's basically a whole garage upgrade. We use the light ALL the time now. I think you'd like drain holes if your hoses are a cluster. I worked on this machine for several weeks before cutting the holes and then when we finally did I kept stopping to admire it every time I walked by. It was such a great improvement. Much tidier. And fun that you noticed my Dop Clock! It was originally filled with dopped preforms and now I'm filling it with finished cabs, in order. 9 o'clock is definitely better than 1 o'clock! ashley Thank you! rockjunquie Thank you! Yes... I pretty much beat a thing to death if I'm researching it. If I'm looking for something to buy I'll scour the internet and make sure I'm comparing every single option. Not always an attribute. It takes a lot of time so thanks for humoring me! rocknewb101 Thank you! Welcome to the forum. It has definitely helped me get going. I remember a decade or so ago, it was really hard to find info. I think it definitely helped to get me off the dime and set up quicker. hummingbirdstones Thank you! Yes, that Calico, well both of them really, they just kept getting clearer and more colorful every wheel. It was really neat to watch the agate become so translucent and expose the botryoidal underneath. I promptly scoured the internet and ordered more! And thanks for the possible wood confirmation. It looks more woody as a raw slab. jasoninsd I'm glad to see you approve! If not I'd have to scrap it and start all over. :-) I'm very pleased with this KN machine so far. I really like the all stainless unit. I like the wheel spacing and the front lip for a hand rest. It's also smooth and quiet and feels pretty solid. The side water spouts suck. Well actually they pour. I guess that's the opposite of suck but it's still bad. I don't use them. Spray bottle for now until I decide to do the liveoak mister upgrade. And yes, I've actually realized I'm glad my garage isn't an opposite layout. When I'm doing the rough grind at left, I often sit at the corner of the machine and really need to be able to move around and see the wheel. I'm very glad there isn't a wall there or I would've battered myself silly by now. This doesn't matter on the polishing side though. That's just feel so being so close to the garage door is fine over there. I usually tuck an old towel in front and around the sides a bit. I have the machine propped up for better drainage so the gap makes for a good towel stuffer inner space. :-) mohs Thank you! Yes, I'm up to 9 o'clock on the dop clock! There might even be some gneiss in there. There are several with banding anyway... rmf Thank you! Bravura Cabochon Designs Thank you! opalpyrexia Thank you! Yep that's a scrap of pegboard I found and then a spare screwdriver rack. Works great for dopped cabs! parfive Thank you! I was thinking of the carpet as well. Not only are cabs slippery buggers but that smooth concrete floor is a slippery bugger in the winter when the car tracks in rain. My use of space is so "efficient" that I actually sit behind the car when cabbing. Works great! pebblesky Thank you! Yes, those botryoidals were really fun to watch as they slowly appeared. Botryoidal is one of my favorite formations. Love your profile pic! realrockhound Thank you! But to be fair... I didn't post my 1 o'clock cab! These were #'s 7 and 9. They are in order on my dop clock. :-) rockbrain Thank you! Ridiculously long post for you all to scroll through! Thanks for the fun conversations everyone!! |
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I joined here sometime in September after finding this forum while researching and comparing cabbing machines. Spent the next couple months of late nights after work clearing out a tiny space in our garage, building myself a workbench, deciding on a machine, ordering it, waiting for it, tracking it, waiting for it some more, standing in my driveway watching for the fedex guy, watching the fedex guy unload it, setting it up, breaking in wheels, digging through storage to find my old collection of slabs and dop-sticks and what-nots, and then finally now starting to learn to properly cab using some of my already pre-formed material from years ago when I was attempting to cab on an inland flat lap and then got frustrated and gave up.
After all that as of last weekend my workspace is officially all set up. I'm really quite pleased with it. I love it that I can have just 20 minutes of time to spare and go out and grind on something. So far I'm not very good at it, still learning, but I think each cab is getting better. I'll add some pictures below of my space and my favorite cabs so far. One I know is Calico Lace Agate because I've already had that identified on here. The other one, I'm not sure what it is, I was thinking maybe a petrified/agatized wood? Not sure. These both have gorgeous colors and formations and took an excellent polish. Glad I found this forum, it's been very helpful. Thanks especially jasoninsd liveoak rockjunquie hummingbirdstones opalpyrexia rmf Bravura Cabochon Designs stardiamond Pat for all of your help over the past couple months! I've got many more posts bookmarked, too many people to list!
YEAH 
that you're on Rock Time out there ! 
The first one does look like pet wood to me, too and the Calico is yummy! Great job all around.
