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Post by deb193redux on Nov 30, 2012 17:56:09 GMT -5
A friend of mine made this pendant a few years ago with the lizard's tail and legs helping to hold the cab in the wire frame. There was some glue too. But the stone poped out and broke into several pieces when it hit the floor. Evan after gluing it together there was one corner never found. She had a small flatish nugget of pretty blue turquoise, that was unfortunately pocked with bits of matrix. Still, she wanted to try shaping the stone to fit with the top natural. The idea was the lizard was crawling over a natural rock. Making a flat back was no problem. Unfortunately it was about 1/16 to 1/8 too small no matter how I oriented the cut. So I made it about 1/8 shy all around and cut a very thin slab of jet, that I fit to the wire bezel. I tinted some 330 epoxy black and glued the new cab onto the jet. I have a tiny bit of stray glue to clean up on the side with my dremel, and I will also use a burr to rough up the top a bit more and clean out a little of the matrix. No waw to remove it all though. Been drying for an hour, and needs another hour. I think I will let it cure for a few days before I try to clean up tiny bits of glue. But I plan to bring it to the Kansas City Stering Guild meeting tonight to show my friend the progress, and what I did with the jet.  She had a larger piece of rough that is a more blue-green tone. I can make a cab from that one if she does not like the black outline. But there is no easy way to cut it without a lot of waste. Anyway, I think the black looks good. |
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jason12x12
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2011
Posts: 798
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Post by jason12x12 on Nov 30, 2012 18:12:11 GMT -5
i like the outline too. plus the turquoise is better quality
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 30, 2012 18:55:19 GMT -5
Well I will need to bring printouts. The epoxy is not cured. It has been over 2 hours, so I am nervous. But, the tint may have changed things. No problem giving it lots of time. I did carefully pop it in to take a pic. The feet and tail are still lifted, and these will get bend down to press on the stone.  |
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller 
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on Nov 30, 2012 18:59:38 GMT -5
I would agree that it looks better with the new stone ..The turquoise really pops on the black and stands out with the silver...Good fix....John
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 30, 2012 23:28:06 GMT -5
Well, my friend decided against the black. It may have been because the rear view (which is cut out of a turtle) would not show blue. Anyway, I have agreed to try and get a full size cab out of th elarger piece of rough she had.     The problem is that it is overall cup-shaped and I am not sure how I would get the largest/thickest slab. I will need to cut carefully when I begin tomorrow. My thought would be to make several slices across the thick end and make an intarsia with some narrow black bars between wider blue panels, but I am now skittish of doing anything with black. I will try to grind a flat face in the plane I think the slab has got to go through, and then clamp that face into my slab grabber to make a cut parallel to the face. I will also grind off the black edge from the smaller/lighter cab and give her the doublet to use in something else. I will post an update. |
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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 Nov 30, 2012 23:36:47 GMT -5
Looks better than the original stone. Great work, Daniel.
Adrian
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 30, 2012 23:48:18 GMT -5
I liked the black border too Adrian. But, as long as it is just another day of fussing, I don't mind making a 2nd stab at it to see if I can get the look my friend wants.
I guess I will also grind the broken corner on the stone she glued back together. This will be three finished stones she will have. After that I will turn back to my own projects.
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Post by deb193redux on Dec 1, 2012 19:44:19 GMT -5
Well I selected the area. It turns out this is a reconstituted/stabilized stone. There was a slight melting plastic smell when I cut it, and a little slurry that I could tell was ground resin. The smooth cut does not look as nice, so I took a diamond burr and carved relief back into the top by drilling down in the darker areas. Then I used an 80g buff. It worked pretty good. This face was 50% flat. I will need to do it again when I have the final shape and thickness, but I wanted to make sure I could realistically carve the surface. Currently it is a little too thick, and I will grind on the back. Unfortunately I do not think I can get the back smooth without getting too thin. This is only a problem because of the turtle cutout on the back With a little luck, the pitt will not be seen.     |
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Post by deb193redux on Dec 2, 2012 17:47:54 GMT -5
OK, I think it is done. The 2nd attempt turned out better I think. The black border with the lighter stone was striking, but almost too striking. This looks better. IMO.      I polished it up to see how much shine I could get. After I consult with my friend, it may get buffed with 220g to bring it down to a satin shine. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 2, 2012 19:06:52 GMT -5
I like this stone better, too. Great trouble shooting/problem solving.  |
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Post by deb193redux on Dec 2, 2012 19:10:42 GMT -5
I think the beads should be changed. The two blues clash. It was designed so that those wires have one loos end held in place with tension in the wire, so they can be changed. But, that will be up to the owner.
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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 Dec 2, 2012 22:41:41 GMT -5
Looking fantastic! Yep, the beads need to be changed, but for a very good reason: that new color is much more vibrant.
Very good match of the stone in the existing setting. Not easy to do it.
Adrian
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Dec 2, 2012 22:47:04 GMT -5
I like it too!!!
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
Posts: 929
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Post by jspencer on Dec 2, 2012 23:11:10 GMT -5
Blue turquoise is worn by men. Green by women. Native tradition of Father Sky and Mother Earth. Just FYI
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rockfarmer
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since July 2011
Posts: 93
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Post by rockfarmer on Dec 3, 2012 0:46:59 GMT -5
Excellent work, looks like the turquoise is original.
Interesting information about the blue vs green turquoise.
My husband and I, along with my in-laws love turquoise. My mother-in-law and I always prefer the green, my father-in-law and husband the blue.
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 3, 2012 8:16:32 GMT -5
Looks real good, Daniel! Definitely need to change the beads though.
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hand2mouthmining
spending too much on rocks
Purveyors of California Gem Rock
Member since September 2011
Posts: 495
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Post by hand2mouthmining on Dec 15, 2012 22:08:24 GMT -5
Great work on both stones, Daniel!  The second one's lovely, but the first is my fave ... I love a (well) constructed cab. Kris |
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hubrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2011
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Post by hubrocks on Dec 16, 2012 12:39:19 GMT -5
Wow! that was a nice save!!!!! looks great!..........................Hub
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