Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on Dec 22, 2013 1:06:34 GMT -5
I made this little purple agate groove-wrap today for my granddaughter. It was fun to spend the day with her - circumstances are far beyond my control and I only get to see her one or two days a year so it's fun when it happens. She hung out in the garage and watched this piece get created from start to finish - from picking a piece of rough out of the bucket, cutting a chip off, shaping, polishing, etc. all the way to proudly hanging it around her neck. This is a piece of some purple seam-agate that we collected in the area of Pepto Bismo hill on the last day of the Cady's trip. The rough was very matrixie but it stayed together and the matrix areas actually took a shine and I'm really happy how the front turned out. The groove depth is uneven and the back edge got a little chipped but it was a good learning experience for me and its a beautiful pendant in person. The first two photos make it look a little too blue - the closest to the real color is the third photo - I tried to take pictures in a light box but they washed out with white and looked like crap.    |
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Dec 22, 2013 1:10:01 GMT -5
pretty material!
|
|
|
|
Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Dec 22, 2013 7:26:41 GMT -5
Sounds like you had a really awesome day with your granddaughter! That is a very nice pendant, you did a great job on it!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2013 7:55:01 GMT -5
Way to go Tommy. That is a beautiful pendant and I am sure she will love wearing it as a reminder of her grandpa. Sometimes things in life suck but it looks like you had some time well spent when you got the opportunity.
Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Dec 22, 2013 8:39:41 GMT -5
Hey Tommy. I think your pendant came out great. I'm sure you'll cherish the day and your granddaughter will cherish the memory , as well. I remember when I only got to see my grandkids a few days a year. It was misery on my part. Now they live with me and it is still misery. LOL! JK!!!! Grandkids are very special. It's hard to explain, unless you have them. My daughter told me the other day.... "Mom, you never had so much patience when we were little." It's true. After raising 3 kids, nothing the grandkids do really gets to me.  |
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on Dec 22, 2013 11:45:43 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Haha Tela I'm sure there's never a dull moment in the Tela household. After she was born and my son and her mom were together and close by and not fighting. it took me about five years to come to grips with becoming a grandfather before I turned 40 hahaha. It's different now of course on every level.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2013 12:22:42 GMT -5
Grampa!
Perfect gift for the grand-kidlet. Nice work. It's hard to believe nice stuff of so many types comes out of there.
|
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 22, 2013 18:07:52 GMT -5
Nice looking piece and great story to go with it.
Chuck
|
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 22, 2013 19:44:14 GMT -5
I very much like that, Tommy! I'll bet your grand daughter will never forget this.
|
|
|
|
Post by pghram on Dec 22, 2013 22:05:09 GMT -5
Very nice indeed.
Rich
|
|
|
|
Post by drocknut on Dec 23, 2013 12:29:56 GMT -5
Very nice indeed. I'll bet your granddaughter will wear that proudly for years to come.
|
|
|
|
Post by wireholic on Dec 23, 2013 13:38:33 GMT -5
I'm sure she will treasure it forever. I still have a rag doll that my grandmother made me when I was little. I even let my grandkids play with it sometimes LOL. Mostly she just sits on my dresser.
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Dec 23, 2013 15:51:40 GMT -5
Groove wrapping is fun, ain't it?
Looking very good. Try to make the groove a bit smaller, such as the wire would fill it and even exceed it. Then, grinding the excess wire would make the pendant look even better.
Adrian
|
|
|
|
Post by beefjello on Dec 23, 2013 18:10:33 GMT -5
That came out great Tom! I'm sure it was a day she will never forget  |
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on Dec 23, 2013 19:11:30 GMT -5
Groove wrapping is fun, ain't it? Looking very good. Try to make the groove a bit smaller, such as the wire would fill it and even exceed it. Then, grinding the excess wire would make the pendant look even better. Adrian Thanks Adrian – I’m still trying to figure out how to cut the groove. I was going to post a separate post later too and probably still will but how to people cut them? The excellent tutorial stickied on this forum doesn’t mention how to cut the groove – unless I’m just being thick-headed and missing it. The only way I could find to do it with any consistency was to build a jig beside my push-thru saw blade – I clamped a piece of wood to the saw so that the flat back of the cab goes up against the wood and controls the location of the cut to the center of the girdle. That worked out pretty good after some practice but the depth was uneven so tonight I was going to try again and clamp another piece of wood on the other side of the blade to control the depth of the cut. Am I on track here or is there an easier way? |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2013 19:22:49 GMT -5
My guess is the same bit chucked in a drill press would do the same thing.
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on Dec 23, 2013 21:56:04 GMT -5
Hmmm... thanks Scott. Its interesting to see how it's done but I don't think I want it bad enough to go buy a special router table or whatever that thing is.
I've got a spare 7" wet tile saw sitting in the shed I think I'll get one of those super-thin blades for it and try building the double jigs on it. One problem with my current setup is the blade is too thick and so the girdle of the cab has to be very thick or the back wall of the cab starts chipping.
|
|
Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
|
Post by Tom on Dec 23, 2013 23:00:23 GMT -5
Great pendant and better yet a great day with your grand daughter. Woot!
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
|
Post by adrian65 on Dec 24, 2013 0:02:48 GMT -5
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on Dec 24, 2013 1:08:46 GMT -5
That's great, thanks Adrian :-)
|
|
