Mattatya
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2012
Posts: 452
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Post by Mattatya on Mar 10, 2014 19:32:04 GMT -5
Looking for Fordite alternatives I started hitting the net and saw folks were using acrylic and bowling balls (Bowlerite) lol. These are no alternatives to Fordite but found this site where they were selling end cuts acrylic used for making pens. www.Beartoothwoods.comI picked some up and thought I'd share what they delivered. The photo of the larger pieces are full sized the rest are cut offs. Also here is a bowling ball I surprisingly was able to split in half with a sledge hammer. I don't know how I didn't shatter it to pieces. I also tried to imitate making Fordite to no avail. Originally I was baking layers of modeling paint on a oven safe dish at 320f for 20 mins outside in a toaster oven, than let cool and repeat. I used hobby model paint. Then my partner asked how was I going to get the paint off the dish when I'm basking directly on it. Good point... I had 3 successful layers baked on. So I scraped off the baked on paint which destroyed the paint layers. I wrapped the oven dish in foil and started again. BIG MISTAKE! By adding fool it allowed air between the foil and baking dish causing to much heat all at once under the foil and catching on fire. Boy did it stink! Btw this was done outdoors and fat away from house and open window. I would love to have a chance to polish true Detroit Fordite one day and I think I'll just let go of the idea of creating fake Faux stuff for a while. I have heard of folks basking layers of colorful baking Claus like they do with beads. Might try that. It was fun experimenting though. Here's some pix of successes and falls lol Thanks for looking Matt
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miander
spending too much on rocks
Searching for the shop of my dreams...
Member since November 2013
Posts: 407
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Post by miander on Mar 10, 2014 23:35:08 GMT -5
Trippy!!! I was watching some of that Fordite on EBay and it was around 600$ when I stopped looking, I wonder how much it went for. I hate to sound so naive, but why is it so special? I love the materials that you have, even though they're man made, they are are still pretty. The picture of the bowling ball is so cool, I' ve never seen that before, thanks for sharing!
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Mattatya
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2012
Posts: 452
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Post by Mattatya on Mar 11, 2014 1:33:30 GMT -5
I like the story and history of how Fordite came to be. I also love how people make cabs out of it. I also love the idea of repurposing material and gifting someone a shiny piece of jewelry and having a laugh together when you tell them it's a chunk of bowling ball or paint.
Rocks are my first love though.
Matt
Sent from my SPH-D710 using proboards
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Mattatya
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2012
Posts: 452
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Post by Mattatya on Mar 11, 2014 1:46:59 GMT -5
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Rock Guy 275
having dreams about rocks
Member since October 2011
Posts: 66
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Post by Rock Guy 275 on Mar 11, 2014 13:15:20 GMT -5
I love the story of Fordite, but I've never been able to get a piece. I've always wondered, does it cut like a normal stone, I'd be afraid it would gum up my diamond wheels. Same with acrylic.
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Mattatya
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2012
Posts: 452
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Post by Mattatya on Mar 11, 2014 14:14:10 GMT -5
I've never worked real Fordite but plan to a old wheel to rough the acrylic in shape then do the rest by hand with sandpaper. A coupe members have made Fordide cabs, maybe they will come on on its hardness and wear on wheels.
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blackout5783
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 248
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Post by blackout5783 on Mar 11, 2014 15:39:45 GMT -5
You might be able to get the faux fordite to work if you used a silicone cake or muffin pan (the flexible kind). They're good up to 500F (I think), I just don't know if the paint would somehow react or dissolve it.
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Post by gingerkid on Mar 11, 2014 18:33:13 GMT -5
Awesome, Matt! Enjoyed reading about your experiments. I think the pieces look great that you created. Very nice patterns and colors.
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Mattatya
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2012
Posts: 452
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Post by Mattatya on Mar 11, 2014 19:14:22 GMT -5
@blackout
I thought about using a rubber style oven ware but I think the stone/ceramic style oven dish allowed for it to heat up slower. When I used foil over the stone ware the foil hearted up so fast under the paint it caught on fire.
Ours worth giving it a go though. Thanks for the input and ideas everyone.
Matt
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,562
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Post by jamesp on Mar 11, 2014 19:29:27 GMT -5
The bowling ball material is a great thing.They have great color mixes. Black and Decker makes a paint stripper. It is just a hot air gun. Mine will melt lead.
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Post by Pat on Mar 11, 2014 19:51:41 GMT -5
Matt, if you bury the piece in sand in a baking pan, that should even out the heat all over. I use a small old metal pan, and ordinary sand, all in an old slow cooker. I think I got that idea from jamesp for heating coral for color change. Thanks for posting this.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,562
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Post by jamesp on Mar 11, 2014 19:57:06 GMT -5
Great idea Pat. I wrap some things in aluminum foil too. For segregation reasons.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,023
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 11, 2014 20:29:48 GMT -5
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Post by radio on Mar 11, 2014 21:13:51 GMT -5
The old stuff was the best. I got my mitts on some recently from a friend who works at an auto plant and the layers are much thinner than they were back in the day. Still some pretty cool stuff though! I'll cab some and post a pic here when I get a chance
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 22:40:14 GMT -5
I was told by an ebay seller (rockmanken69) who claims to have been to the mill that produces it. The story was "rainbow cal-silica' is actually colored ceramics used in tile making. The runoff pond at the tile plant grows a sedimentary layer of crazy colors and then is "mined" for lapidary use. The color seems very consistent for this to be true. By comparison, every fordite has a different look. BUTW on ebay claims it is verified as natural www.ebay.com/itm/BUTW-Rainbow-calsilica-lapidary-slab-54-5-grams-for-cabochons-0734E-/271272079023?_trksid=p2054897.l4276lastly here is my final submission for conclusion 1:35 is very definitive.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,023
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 11, 2014 22:55:39 GMT -5
Scott,
The SSEF's analysis in G & G was enough for me: A report was issued concluding that the samples contained pulverized carbonate rock mixed with pigments and stabilized with a polymer (Winter 2002, Vol. 8, Gems & Gemology)
Plus the fact that Colbaugh Processing has a long, long history of treating gems, especially turquoise.
A skeptic I am. And that's saved me a lot of money and grief over the years.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 22:59:46 GMT -5
if ya wanna make synthetic cabs of crazy colors and patterns - look into knife handle materials. You can make anything you want with epoxy. Think of old denim jeans soaked in clear epoxy and then smashed flat with a press. Then cab THAT. Here is a funky little knife with such a handle
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2014 23:02:07 GMT -5
Actually the 'rough' seems to come from Gem center in Texas. Colbaugh seems to offer only beads and other junk.
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Mattatya
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2012
Posts: 452
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Post by Mattatya on Mar 11, 2014 23:17:40 GMT -5
I've never heard about Rainbow Calsilica, I'm learning every day. I did find the rough Rough Material Traditional Rainbow Calsilica (right). Blue Rainbow Calsilica which is a new color. Strands available in both colors for most strands. Sold at $45.00/lb. www.colbaugh.net/ourproducts/rainbowcalsilica.htmlSeems a lot cheaper then BUTW ebay page.
Anyone want to go in on a 1/2 pound each.
If I was to try and make something similar, it would cost me more then that in paint lol.
I can order it and ship half. Worth a shot.
It looks awfully thin though.
Matt
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Post by NM Stone Supply on Mar 11, 2014 23:32:57 GMT -5
This was made with acrylic for knife handles or pen turning. It is tricky to get the small scratches out but it does polish up nice. Jason
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