juzwuz
has rocks in the head
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Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Apr 6, 2011 0:00:44 GMT -5
I got a box of rose quartz (thanks Kap!) and was wondering if there's a good way to cut it to try and find a star pattern? Thanks! ![](http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af268/juzwuz/Lapidary/IMG_0397.jpg)
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Post by kap on Apr 6, 2011 7:10:54 GMT -5
Maybe Rodney(digsforcrystals) will jump in he know all about cutting Rose ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) . Keith
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crystalchemy
starting to shine!
Member since April 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by crystalchemy on Apr 6, 2011 7:58:17 GMT -5
toss a 2" chunk in the tumbler or polish a piece round. no way to tell if itll make a star other than to polish it. cant really search for stars, theyre more like a bonus we find after making a cab. all rose qtz is birefractive, like prehnite, so it has a different look than other star minerals. Most rose quartz has no asterism; S Dakota rose quartz often does, other star rose locales are Vietnam or Madagascar.
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Digforcrystals
spending too much on rocks
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Member since July 2008
Posts: 351
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Post by Digforcrystals on Apr 6, 2011 8:13:50 GMT -5
I operated the Hogg Mine for 5 years and while I know a whole lot about specimen mining , I know very little when it comes to cabbing. All of the transparent hogg mine rose quartz shows asterism to some degree with some pieces being better than others. There is a trick using a drop of honey or Karo syrup that is used to find the best orientation. Other people here will do a much better explanation on that method than I can. ![](http://www.dixieeuhedrals.com/images/Hogg_mine_star_sphere.jpg) One of my better hogg mine spheres. Please note this is backlit and the star shows many times better in "transmitted" light than in "reflected" light.
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rocpup
spending too much on rocks
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Pink Limb Iris
Member since March 2011
Posts: 465
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Post by rocpup on Apr 6, 2011 12:39:10 GMT -5
Years ago there was an article in a Lapidary Journal telling how to orient a star in quartz. It was complicated in that you had to orient the x and Y axis using polarized lenses from sun glasses. It was a long time ago and that is about all I remember. I am sure the info is out there. Maybe some one will help. Near Yuma there is a deposit of quartz that is said will star. I have some some day might try it out. Another solution would simple make a very high dome and see where the star is and go from there.
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juzwuz
has rocks in the head
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Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Apr 6, 2011 14:00:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips! Kap mentioned that the rose quartz was from the Hogg mine and could show a star if cut properly. I'll slice a couple of pieces to try and isolate some of the more transparent areas of the quartz and then go from there.
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Post by Toad on Apr 6, 2011 15:22:53 GMT -5
Good luck. Look forward to seeing what you get out of it
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Post by Roller on Apr 6, 2011 23:29:35 GMT -5
I never cut one or tried but advanced cabochon cutting by jack r. cox 1986 has 1/3 of the book written about orientating a star and plenty tricks listed from waht i remember reading like with using a lightbulb and so much other stuff that it takes up a third of the book and the book is only 6$ ... maybe look into that ... Greg
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Post by christopherl1234 on Apr 7, 2011 0:32:45 GMT -5
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Digforcrystals
spending too much on rocks
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Member since July 2008
Posts: 351
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Post by Digforcrystals on Apr 7, 2011 7:26:19 GMT -5
Now that's an awesome star.
I think for the honey, you use one drop that forms a bead. Supposedly you can shine a light and see a star , if you do , that is where the dome should be. But if you dont see a star you should rotate the piece of stone and re-test.
Not sure if this is exactly right and i was hoping someone that had actually used this method would chime in.
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Post by tanyafrench on Apr 7, 2011 8:30:20 GMT -5
Christopher those are some beautiful stars. Great job.
Tanya
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