Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 9, 2007 13:09:23 GMT -5
Man, I know this happens now and then but I never get over hating it when it occurs! Found the jasper hunk, looks great. Slabbed it, looks great. Preformed it , looks great. Cut initial crown, still looks great. Get to final sanding and damned if I don't cut through into a couple of crappy pits and a soft area. Now I have to either try to recut another crown or pull out the Hotstuff and try to fill in the bad spots. I know this is the nature of the beast when you cut jasper, especially the semi-agate brecciated types, but damn it it still pisses me off. Here's a pic of the stone on the dop stick. One bad area along the edge but another right smack in the n middle of the stone. Drat!!!!!.....Mel  |
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Post by larrywyland3 on Nov 9, 2007 13:21:48 GMT -5
nice looking cab. I know how you feel. You get all pumped cause its looking great and your almost done; then ooops. I got a bunch that look like yours. I wait till I have a bunch then I lay out the wax paper and use the hotstuff to fill in. It usually takes a couple days as I use the thin stuff and have to layer it. Its such a hassle to clean the work area and set everything up for just one.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 9, 2007 13:55:43 GMT -5
Spirit, That's a great idea. I think I have another that has a problem too so maybe I'll just set up a tub and wait till I gather a bunch of stones that need filling and do them all at once. I have some Wingate Plume that always has this same kind of problem so I know I'll be getting more to fill soon...Mel
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Post by parfive on Nov 9, 2007 14:16:38 GMT -5
Good point about the jaspers, in general, Mel. I just finished some Morrisonite cabs and had to re-do several, one of 'em three times! I hate using glue on the face of a cab.
Same idea, but different - that's why MHPJ ain't very high on my list. I know you and Ed are big fans, but all them fractures just show up out of nowhere.
Rich
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fossilbrain
spending too much on rocks
Cookie Monster agate
Member since October 2007
Posts: 360
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Post by fossilbrain on Nov 9, 2007 14:40:11 GMT -5
I know it's not considered ideal, but I'm still fairly new at this and I can tell you to the nigh virgin, virtually untrained eye, those marks look very natural on that stone, like those areas are par for the course.
Lovely piece.
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luv2hound
freely admits to licking rocks
I try & I try, but dang it! Those rocks just keep ending up in my pockets
Member since June 2007
Posts: 890
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Post by luv2hound on Nov 9, 2007 15:12:21 GMT -5
I havent been cabbing very long and keep seeing you guys talking about hot stuff. Tell me what it does. How do you use it? Cost? Where to get it.
I have a few cabs that have undercut too and would like to make them usable. Thanks for the info.
~~Mitzi~~
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Post by LCARS on Nov 9, 2007 16:31:33 GMT -5
That's not too bad since it wasn't your "fault" the stone had hidden cavies you didn't know about. The tough part is going to be deciding wether you think it gets better or worse just below the current dome. That's just part of the mystery and intrigue of working with natural stone I guess, like with anything in life you don't always win.  I'm in the final stages of grinding a very important custom amethyst pendant right now and i've been really lucky with it so far, not having it do any of the evil tricks often associated with the " Devil Rock".  I almost perfected it on the last cutting session using my worn out 1.5" Dremel wheel to smooth and tweak all the facet-like cuts I had to make.  I try not to think of what would happen if it slipped while I was working on it but I have had a few pretty tense moments with it so far when I either had to step back and regather my composure or put it down for the day.  I don't want to jinx it too bad so I will post pictures if and only when it reaches the point where I can't do any more real damage to it. ;D |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 9, 2007 16:47:51 GMT -5
Lcars: *L* I know exactly what you mean. I always get so nervous when I get down to the last cutting stages on a cab. Keep on telling myself " Wow, just a little more on the sanding wheel and I've got it made!" So many slab patterns are one of a kind too so ya hate to mess one up.
Mitzi: Hotstuff is a Superglue like substance that drys hard and polishes pretty well. Comes in thin and thick formulas with the thick being better for larger cracks and pits. Works pretty well but sometimes it's hard to use it on areas that are not deeply indented like soft spots. Diamond wheels tend to strip a thin layer of glue right off the stone. Opticon, a more flowable material seems better for the soft spots but is complicated to use. Both are available through Kingsley-North and l other lapidary dealers. Opticon runs about $20 for a big container. Hotstuff comes in small bottles for only a few bucks....Mel
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Post by texaswoodie on Nov 9, 2007 18:58:49 GMT -5
Not wanting to hurt any feelings, but the western stuff I have bought all has pits, vugs, cracks and canyons in it. That goes for WWR stuff too. A lot of it falls apart when your cutting it and if it doesn't then, it will when you grind it. I agree with Rich about the MHPJ. If you can get a cab out of it, it looks great, but getting a cab is the devil.
Yup, the stuff around here does too, but at least it doesn't disintegrate when you try to cab it.
Curt
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 9, 2007 19:26:50 GMT -5
I've cut a lot of MHPJ without a lot of problems. MHPJ is all about fractures and healed fractures. You really have to take a good look at a slab and plan your cab around all the areas of concern. The slabs I bought on ebay varied a lot in quality, some were very solid and some were dodgy. I have had fracturing issues with montana, stefoinite, morrisonite and tehoma/Mt. Tahoma. A frustrating thing is when there is a conflict between the design and problems. Stay safely away from the problems and the cab is boring. Take a chance and you sometimes end up with pieces.
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Post by Jurrasic Jonje on Nov 9, 2007 19:36:33 GMT -5
Haven't run into any pitting problems yet. Have had a few snap on me though. Its still a pretty cab!!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 9, 2007 20:03:54 GMT -5
Curt: You are right, most this material out here in the west has been through a lot. Aside from being seismic as all get out we've had great gobs of volcanic eruptions, floods, glaciers etc. And then on the deserts, there's always the issue of extreme heat/cold when rock is surface material. Nice material colorwise but you do have to pick your cutting material very carefully. Interesting though, Old Mexico has most the same problems but much material from there is in large unfractured hunks. Fancy that!...Mel
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free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
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Post by free4rms on Nov 9, 2007 20:05:22 GMT -5
Gotta sympathize with you, Mel. It really irks me to death to find a fracture at the last stage of polishing, and one that can only be seen when you turn it in the light just so. If you tend to be a perfectionist to some degree, that is really a bummer. That and having a chunk break off of a stone with a killer pattern when you are half way through the grinding steps.
Vance
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Post by Tonyterner on Nov 10, 2007 7:51:48 GMT -5
Mel, that is a beautiful stone, shame about the pits but that has to be a pretty common problem. I haven't tried the CA glue trick yet. How do you go about doing it?
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Nov 13, 2007 11:36:30 GMT -5
That is part of the cabbing game- Probably the reason I don't cab as much as I should.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 13, 2007 13:30:37 GMT -5
Tony: First the cab has to be clean and dry of all oil etc. I usually wash in soap and then soak in alcohol. Then I dry the stone real well and set it in the sun to heat up. Then apply the Hot Stuff which usually sucks into the deeper holes and cracks so sometimes I apply several coats letting it dry between each one. On deeper pits etc, it works real well and takes a good polish so doesn't detract from the finish at all.
Stefan: Man, you hit the nail on the head there. I actually don't find cabbing very enjoyable. I get frustrated pretty easily and enjoy hunting rocks, tumbling and slabbing them much more....Mel
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 13, 2007 14:05:05 GMT -5
Rock hunting, slabbing, and tumbling are associated with the joy of discovery. My other hobby is photography and I consider cabbing to be similar. With a camera you have a lot of visual input that you try to frame to make it interesting. When I cab, I try to find an interesting scene in a slab and design around it. I don't take a picture of something unless I see potential for an interesting photograph and I have hundreds of pounds of slabs that I wouldn't cab because the end product wouldn't mean anything.
I consider my cutting ability C+ and feel embarassed comparing some of my work against what I have seen here. I do an excellent job most of the time with the design and can accept my lack of skill. If you look at a cab has jewery it can be frustrating because of the flaws and the material. You expect a jewel to be perfect. If you look at cabs as mini sculptures and are willing to look at the overall appearance and accept the flaws, cabbing can be fun and satisfying. I cut medium size cabs and they take me about 30 minutes, from design to finish. I could spend a lot longer and slightly improve the quality, but I would rather produce more images give the time I have.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 13, 2007 15:03:38 GMT -5
Star: I totally see where you're coming from, as much of the challenge of cutting a good cab is choosing the best colors and pattern. I guess I am too much of a perfectionist and that's why my lack of cabbing skills causes me so much frustration. Also like you, I find many slabs just too beautiful to chop up for cabs....Mel
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 13, 2007 15:16:22 GMT -5
 Here's some Owyhee cabs I cut. They far from perfect, but the scenes make it worth while. |
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Post by rockds on Nov 14, 2007 15:24:08 GMT -5
Anyone that has ever cabbed has gone thru that my friend and it's never fun. It's a good looking cab so I would probably hotstuff it up and go with it. Otherwise, if it was mine, it would go to the tumbler - the home of the misfit cab.
Nice cabs Star, that is one of my top 5 stones
Robert
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