texasrockstar
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2012
Posts: 17
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Post by texasrockstar on Apr 24, 2012 7:44:27 GMT -5
So ive been interested in rock and fossil hunting for a long time. Ive recently decided to maybe make a little business out of this interest to make a little spare cash while paying my way through school. I want to make jewelery out of agates that I collect around here.
My question is will a workforce 7 inch tile saw or a similar one be capable of making straight enough cuts in the stones to make jewelery? I have an old lortone 3lb x2 barrel rock tumbler that I was planning on polishing up the agates in once cut. I live in a real hippie dippy type town so Im sure I could sell the stuff if it works...
Does this sound at all feasible?
I'm a broke college student so I cant really spend much more than $100 on the saw... so I'm hoping this will work and I can make some cash doing what I love... tell me I'm not crazy.
Thanks, Jeff
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grayfingers
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575
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Post by grayfingers on Apr 24, 2012 8:06:45 GMT -5
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 24, 2012 8:16:10 GMT -5
The lady that taught wire wrap where I used to live had a big bag of hammer broken slabs that were rotary tumbled to use for wrapping. The tile saw would cut more specific shapes. You may need to try different tile blades until you find one that works as there is a difference. If you don't wrap you would need to either drill holes and hang on leather or sinew or nylon cords or glue on bails.
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 24, 2012 9:46:35 GMT -5
you can easily make pleasing shapes to tumble form slabs using a tile saw. Starting with rock is more difficult. If the rock is more than 1.5" high, and/or has no flatish spot on bottom, the cuts could easily be uneven, show saw marks, or nubs. Some of this comes off in the tumbler but it can take a long time - some sort of used grinder would help a lot. Might be easier to get some slabs and see how business goes before trying to gear up for rocks.
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Post by frane on Apr 26, 2012 16:33:47 GMT -5
Smaller rocks are best and you can get strait slabs if you can hold the rock strait. Slabs are easier to learn with and then start on the rocks. if it is too big and you have to rotate the rock to cut all the way through, it is almost impossible to get a completely flat slab. The good part about this is that when you trim out your shapes, you can loose a bit of that uneven look and the vibe or tumble takes care of the rest. Be wary of putting mixed hardness material in the tumbler though. Some of the softer areas can undercut. Trial and error are the best teachers and you can really make some beautiful items. Look at some of bikerrandy's posts on what he does when he makes hundreds of vibe tumble cabs and then glues the bails on for quick sales at the shows. He has got a real time saving system down. Fran
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