khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 3, 2023 20:09:54 GMT -5
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 3, 2023 21:24:01 GMT -5
No clue on the material...but that's a very interesting triplet. I'm not sure the reasoning behind using the center material...other than aesthetics.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 3, 2023 21:47:32 GMT -5
No clue on the material...but that's a very interesting triplet. I'm not sure the reasoning behind using the center material...other than aesthetics. Right. Or they only had two very thin backing materials? Regardless it's interesting. Completely flat. Very high polish and very smooth and soft. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 3, 2023 21:50:32 GMT -5
I thought that backing may have been an obsidian...but I'm totally perplexed on the overall construction reasoning. I know you joked about it...but I really could see this as a backgammon game piece!
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Post by opalpyrexia on Feb 3, 2023 21:58:45 GMT -5
Strange. I can understand backing for strength and/or appearance for fragile/transparent/translucent tops, as well as adding a transparent cap for precious or fragile material. Maybe it was a practice piece.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Feb 3, 2023 22:01:16 GMT -5
Multigrain Oreo
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 3, 2023 22:04:59 GMT -5
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 3, 2023 22:05:55 GMT -5
OK Son Of Beach wins! That's taking rock-licking to a whole new level. |
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Post by opalpyrexia on Feb 3, 2023 22:09:25 GMT -5
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 3, 2023 22:54:40 GMT -5
Not sure what the backing is, but I'm guessing they used a black epoxy to join the slabs.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 3, 2023 23:33:19 GMT -5
Rockoonz Hmm, black epoxy. Hadn’t thought of that. It looks kind of thick but I guess you can leave epoxy that thick?
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 4, 2023 1:32:24 GMT -5
Rockoonz Hmm, black epoxy. Hadn’t thought of that. It looks kind of thick but I guess you can leave epoxy that thick? A lot of Turquoise cutters back their stones with JB Weld and nothing else. It is assumed it will be hidden by a bezel and it's lightweight. |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 4, 2023 12:07:16 GMT -5
Rockoonz Interesting…🤔 and good to know. I’ll try and remember that. Don’t have any turquoise that I’m aware of stashed around here. But maybe it could be used for other stones. I can see how JB kind of goes well with turquoise, the gray color, turquoise being soft and JB weld is matte not glossy and it can just be kind of spread on, it’s stiffer while wet than epoxy. Maybe could be good for trying to salvage other small chunks that are otherwise too small to work.
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 4, 2023 15:12:57 GMT -5
Rockoonz Hmm, black epoxy. Hadn’t thought of that. It looks kind of thick but I guess you can leave epoxy that thick? A lot of Turquoise cutters back their stones with JB Weld and nothing else. It is assumed it will be hidden by a bezel and it's lightweight. Am I thinking correctly...the reason for backing turquoise with JB Weld is because it "conforms" to the back of the rough, that way the back doesn't have to be worked which could cause the turquoise to break apart? *I figure it's either that, or it's to add weight to the overall "carats" of the piece! LOL |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 4, 2023 16:36:02 GMT -5
jasoninsd That’s kind of what I was visualizing although I didn’t articulate it so well. Epoxy settles and levels flat, JB weld can be gooped on. It does sound good for the little pieces of primo material that you want to save but it’s not a workable size.
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 5, 2023 13:09:42 GMT -5
jasoninsd exactly, turns a polished nugget into a flat backed cab to fit the bezel. It is also relatively light weight compared to other things you could back with. I found a fairly good video on the process I prefer, you can skip to about 10 min to hear her describe a method for doing a bunch of smaller stones all at once or 13 minutes to see the way I would do it. The first part is what she does to mostly finish the cab before backing, stuff we already do.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,980
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Post by khara on Feb 5, 2023 13:39:34 GMT -5
Rockoonz Thank you for the video. This is what I was visualizing. However, I was thinking it’d be done on very small pieces that can’t be easily worked. Instead she is backing after she has a polished cab. She does say at one point the JB weld can be used before working the stone though and that’s what I was thinking. I guess this method could be used for any stone. I’m thinking any material I want to salvage that may just be too small to work. I wonder how easily the JB could come detached from the stone while working it on a dop. Guess I’ll just have to try it.
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Post by fernwood on Feb 5, 2023 14:29:46 GMT -5
IN the 1980's I was making Turquoise cabs.
I can't remember exactly what I used to back them.
Sometimes the backing was thicker than the cab was.
I will try to find some of the cabs I made.
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