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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 13, 2023 10:57:02 GMT -5
I just got myself some accelerator spray for super glue. That’s how I’ve been dopping even though I have a dop pot. The spray really helped. Super glue doesn’t harden near as fast on rocks as it does in fingers! And my dop pot keeps getting used for a coffee cup warmer!🤣 I can see getting tired of a material. I cut 5 triangle preforms out of one slab and have been working on those. I’m not tired of it yet because I’m still figuring out my own methods and pleased to get pretty much anything done but I am hoping I’ll be good enough fairly soon to get into some of my higher grade material. 🤞 Here's a money saving tip for you. Use Baking Soda to "accelerate" the super glue! I glue my cabs on dop on top of a paper towel. Then I "generously" sprinkle (read that as pour! LOL) baking soda around where the glue has "oozed" out. It will harden the glue in a couple hours. Then I just pour the baking soda back into a Ziploc bag for the next batch. Another way I'll do it is to let the glue set for just a minute...enough to ensure it's holding the stone. If I'm sure the glue is sticking, I'll hold the dop with the cab in the Ziploc bag and just spoon the baking soda over the cab so the baking soda hits the oozed glue and goes right back in the bag. Lightly tap off the excess and go put it down by the cabbing machine for a couple hours. I like the 2nd Gary Green. With the right wrap it could be stunning. Thanks Beth!  I'm not sure I'm capable of coming up with a wrap that would be "right" in my eyes! LOL *Of course...you never know! LOL The first Gary Green is really graceful.
But wow, here I'm thinking I might have a pretty small slablette I purchased at the local rock show, and here you are using it for practice! Clearly your practices are much different than mine. 
But I think you need to challenge yourself to come up with an appropriate wrap for Frankenstein's brides pendant. I mean it has his blood line.
Another nice doublet, as well.
The sagenite tubes are pretty cool.
It would be interesting when you do your doublets, to show a photo of the 2 stones you are putting together, before hand.
I for one, have to go look up the individual stones to understand what you started with.
Thanks for the show,
Patty
Thanks Patty! I have a bunch of Gary Green...and I didn't think the spots I chose for "practice" cabs were going to yield a cab with a "wow" factor. So, to me...yeah...they were "practice" cabs.  I think I challenge myself quite sufficiently such that I don't feel the need to add an "unwanted" challenge of wrapping that monstrosity! LOL I never thought I would say this about your work, but I really don't like the first two... at all. Something about those shapes just don't work for me. However, the sagenite on the other hand, IS AWESOME. Thanks Tela! Seriously...thank you for being willing to voice your true feelings! That being said...are you out of your mind?!? (LOL - Totally KIDDING!!) - I actually REALLY like that first shape...but I'm totally with you on that second one! LOL Jasoninsd, 1 & 3 are my favorites. I would like for you to rotate #2 180 degrees and see how it appears to the eye and then wrap it with three balls(swirls) or hangers on the bottom. Thanks Victor!! That's a thought with regards to the wrap on that second one!! |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Jan 13, 2023 11:36:17 GMT -5
Oh interesting, thank you. It’s funny you mentioned that. A few days ago I fell asleep while watching YT videos and somehow ended up on one of those you’ll never believe this! ones. Some guy was mixing baking soda with super glue and building/repairing with it. It did look cool, almost like the baking soda made it stronger or something.🤷♀️
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Post by pebblesky on Jan 13, 2023 12:20:10 GMT -5
The golden tubes on the 3rd cab are so amazing to look at!
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 13, 2023 13:49:40 GMT -5
Oh interesting, thank you. It’s funny you mentioned that. A few days ago I fell asleep while watching YT videos and somehow ended up on one of those you’ll never believe this! ones. Some guy was mixing baking soda with super glue and building/repairing with it. It did look cool, almost like the baking soda made it stronger or something.🤷♀️ I have to be careful on YouTube...I can get lost for hours when one video leads to another...and another...and another...ad infinitum! LOL (Usually it's "The Voice" or "X-Factor" auditions from around the world! LOL) The golden tubes on the 3rd cab are so amazing to look at! Thanks PS! Yeah, I HAD to include a macro shot of those sagenite tubes! It's so fascinating to me! |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 13, 2023 15:48:03 GMT -5
I've gone back to look at that first one a few more times. It's that bump on the bottom left that I just don't like. I like the rest of the shape.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 13, 2023 17:08:28 GMT -5
I've gone back to look at that first one a few more times. It's that bump on the bottom left that I just don't like. I like the rest of the shape. I seriously love these kind of discussions... For me it's that little bump that makes it different than this other shape on the doublet...which I also like very much:   |
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 13, 2023 17:52:03 GMT -5
They look like they belong on my Milwaukee Fastback
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 13, 2023 19:30:52 GMT -5
They look like they belong on my Milwaukee Fastback Thanks Chad!! I had to Google that! LOL - I can see what you're sayin' though!!   |
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adrian65
Cave Dweller 
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
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Post by adrian65 on Jan 13, 2023 23:40:00 GMT -5
Beautiful shapes! I like the flowing curves you choose. Excellent, as always!
Adrian
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 13, 2023 23:56:55 GMT -5
Beautiful shapes! I like the flowing curves you choose. Excellent, as always! Adrian Thanks Adrian! I was going through a bunch of old threads and ran across your "yin yang" cabs. I was stunned to say the least! I'd love to make some of those one of these days! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 14, 2023 10:54:40 GMT -5
Those shapes are new to me too! LOL I think the white color in the translucent agate around the sagenite helps it to blend with the white backing, it looks a lot more natural than true black or any bright color backing. I like it! The colors in the sagenite are similar to what you see in polka dot agate, I might have guessed it was a polka dot agate cab with some unique inclusions if I didn’t know better. Thanks my friend! I was searching online for new shapes and ran across those top two. I really do like that first one a lot for some reason... I didn't get a "clean" white spot for the backing. There was a bit of brown on the top, which you can see on the left edge. That shows the agate isn't completely translucent...which I knew before I started. I figured anything other than white with that particular agate would make the background color look "cloudy". I saw that on those Graveyard Point doublets I did. The agate wasn't super clear, which made the Basanite backing look a touch "blue" almost. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 14, 2023 11:18:22 GMT -5
Thanks my friend! I was searching online for new shapes and ran across those top two. I really do like that first one a lot for some reason... I didn't get a "clean" white spot for the backing. There was a bit of brown on the top, which you can see on the left edge. That shows the agate isn't completely translucent...which I knew before I started. I figured anything other than white with that particular agate would make the background color look "cloudy". I saw that on those Graveyard Point doublets I did. The agate wasn't super clear, which made the Basanite backing look a touch "blue" almost. That little bit of cloudiness in the agate will almost always be there, so don’t worry about how vibrant the backing color shows through. Better color equals better contrast with the inclusions, but any level of contrast is still very noticeable. That blue in the graveyard is the actual agate color, I’d bet it would show up to some extent with a white backing. That's actually good to know about the tint! That would change the "expected" color when using any colored backing...to an extent. I have some Malachite/Azurite that I might see about using on a backing. I have two huge milk crates full of Badlands Plate Chalcedony which I might mess around with today to see if I can get some cuts that would work as a doublet. I've cut some cabs before out of it...and it looks like it'd work pretty well... |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 14, 2023 11:39:26 GMT -5
jasoninsd I wonder if a red backing would cause those blue areas or the backing behind them to appear purple, or if a yellow backing might look green? That's what I was trying to get at...I'm wondering the same thing. I've got some Mary Ellen Jasper that is a really deep dark red which I'd like to try using as a backing. I should take some before and after pics to compare the color...see if it puts a purple tint to it. Yellow might be an easier one to see any differentiation... |
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,176
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Post by rockbrain on Jan 14, 2023 14:16:14 GMT -5
I've gone back to look at that first one a few more times. It's that bump on the bottom left that I just don't like. I like the rest of the shape. I seriously love these kind of discussions... For me it's that little bump that makes it different than this other shape on the doublet...which I also like very much: I've been passing by this shape in my templates. (the one on the right) Now I'm going to pull it out because I really like it with the bottom bump gone. I had looked at that shape you used for your number 2 cab and passed it by. Of course, I haven't had the templates for that long. I think it might look slightly better with the corners rounded quite a bit, but only slightly. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 14, 2023 19:43:27 GMT -5
That's what I was trying to get at...I'm wondering the same thing. I've got some Mary Ellen Jasper that is a really deep dark red which I'd like to try using as a backing. I should take some before and after pics to compare the color...see if it puts a purple tint to it. Yellow might be an easier one to see any differentiation... Just thinking about it briefly I’m wondering if the backing might need to be translucent, and that the color change might only appear when backlit. It will be an interesting experiment. I'm going to see if I can get my hands on a fixed mirror...which I think would be the way to show the "actual" color of the agate... I seriously love these kind of discussions... For me it's that little bump that makes it different than this other shape on the doublet...which I also like very much: I've been passing by this shape in my templates. (the one on the right) Now I'm going to pull it out because I really like it with the bottom bump gone. I had looked at that shape you used for your number 2 cab and passed it by. Of course, I haven't had the templates for that long. I think it might look slightly better with the corners rounded quite a bit, but only slightly. I like both bumpless and bumped versions of that shape. I'm going to sit down one of these evenings and redraw that 2nd cab trying to make it a little fatter and a tad shorter since I just don't like it the way it is. I'll be curious to see how you're talking about it comes out. I may just wait to mess with it until after you alter it and just copy yours! LOL |
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Post by susand24224 on Jan 14, 2023 20:09:35 GMT -5
I like them all! And being the contrarian that I am, I think my favorite one is #2. I've always wanted to wrap something in (miniature) barbed wire, and that may just be the perfect victim. I've even played with making barbed wire. I'm curious to see how your Mary Ellen backing turns out, and also curious to hear your new set of curse words when you work it. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 14, 2023 20:29:59 GMT -5
I like them all! And being the contrarian that I am, I think my favorite one is #2. I've always wanted to wrap something in (miniature) barbed wire, and that may just be the perfect victim. I've even played with making barbed wire. I'm curious to see how your Mary Ellen backing turns out, and also curious to hear your new set of curse words when you work it. I may have to set that piece of #2 (pun intended! LOL) aside for you! I've seen some bared wire wraps going through the old wire-wrapping threads. Some look pretty cool actually. Crap! Are you saying working Mary Ellen is a sonofagun?? |
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Post by liveoak on Jan 14, 2023 20:40:17 GMT -5
, I think my favorite one is #2. I've always wanted to wrap something in (miniature) barbed wire, and that may just be the perfect victim. I've even played with making barbed wire. Sounds to me like a cab swap is in the making here, here you go Susan, although I think you might need to soften the barbs
Look forward to seeing what you come up with .
Patty
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 14, 2023 20:43:57 GMT -5
, I think my favorite one is #2. I've always wanted to wrap something in (miniature) barbed wire, and that may just be the perfect victim. I've even played with making barbed wire. Sounds to me like a cab swap is in the making here, here you go Susan, although I think you might need to soften the barbs
Look forward to seeing what you come up with .
Patty
That barbed wire looks easy enough to make... |
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Post by susand24224 on Jan 15, 2023 0:05:33 GMT -5
Crap! Are you saying working Mary Ellen is a sonofagun?? Well, Jason, it's hematite and a fossil jasper. How solid it is you won't determine until you have a near-perfect backing and it splits in two. Then when you try to rescue it, it splits in two again. It's kind of like Gary Green--some of it does just fine, and then there's the piece you're working. . .&)*&^&! I've been told when the greenish stuff migrates in it is more difficult, and I think that is what I was working. It's been awhile. Check this out: photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/detail/mary-ellen-jasper-stromatolite/The barbed wire is fairly easy to make--it's pretty much in the proportions so I made some messes when I started experimenting with it but I have conquered it now! And if you really want to part with the poop cab I will find another slab. It has warmed up, and I now can actually jump over the avalanche in front of the door to my shop. Patty, I couldn't get to what you sent--the link just took me to Etsy.  |
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