timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
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Post by timloco on Sept 19, 2015 15:07:19 GMT -5
Here's a pic that shows what I ran into when I tried to cab this... Every material I work with teaches me something new it seems like.  |
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
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Post by barclay on Sept 19, 2015 16:08:46 GMT -5
Looks like a nice piece of tree agate from India. Sometimes the moss is significantly softer than the host agate. If you use less pressure usually both materials will sand and polish at the same rate. I hope this helps.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 19, 2015 17:19:30 GMT -5
I hate to contradict, but that doesn't look like green tree agate. Green tree agate has an opaque white background. But, it's true that you use less pressure on the nova wheels (softer wheels) to help prevent the undercutting.
I think the cab looks great! In the picture, you really can't see the under cutting. Nice material, too.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Sept 19, 2015 17:36:17 GMT -5
^^ what they said.
I would add that with almost ANY moss agate (and most plume agates) no matter how much time and energy you expend on it you will always see surface "texture" where the moss inclusion breaks the surface. All you can really do is minimize it.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Sept 19, 2015 18:15:13 GMT -5
Good to know there's always going to be a bit of texture on these... I have a couple pounds of this rough and I'm looking forward to making some more. I also have some of the opaque white/green variety of this it looks a lot like it but not clear. I am kinda lucky I met this old rock hound who's sold me a lot of great material pretty cheap so I've got a wide diversity of stuff to play with.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
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Post by herb on Sept 20, 2015 11:22:44 GMT -5
I have some moss agates I cut that show the same problem. I always wondered if applying something like paste wax would fill in the voids? Anyone every try it? Or is it considered cheating?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 20, 2015 13:54:30 GMT -5
That is Indian Green Moss from the Deccan Plateau. According to an importer I talked to years ago in AZ, that and the Green Tree deposit actually are near to and grade into one another.
As has been mentioned, the filaments in moss agate are often softer or even cause tiny pits when you cut across them. Just the nature of the beast. I sometimes heat the cab up on my dop pot and use Hot Stuff or super glue on the pitted or undercut areas if they are deep enough. The filler will penetrate a bit and solve the problem of excess pits.....Mel
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Sept 20, 2015 14:18:12 GMT -5
I was wondering what to do with a different bit of moss agate that was giving me a hard time when I came in and saw the super glue suggestion. This one was a few wheels away from the end when a big chunk came off the top. Tricky material for sure.  |
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Sabre52
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Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 20, 2015 16:13:41 GMT -5
Yeah, moss agate in general is kind of problematic, as is some plume. The inclusions are basically tiny crystal or fibrous arrangements of iron or manganese salts. Some are dusty soft, some are tiny tubules that appear as filaments, and some are constructs of tiny plates or orbs. The best examples have the inclusions saturated with silica to the extent where they have the exact hardness as the surrounding chalcedony. In most examples the inclusions are softer than the surrounding chalcedony and only partially infused with silica. I'm a huge fan of moss agate but each cab you try to make from it usually has some kind of differential hardness issue or pits of some sort......Mel
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Kai
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2018
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Post by Kai on Apr 28, 2019 13:30:01 GMT -5
I hate to contradict, but that doesn't look like green tree agate. Green tree agate has an opaque white background. But, it's true that you use less pressure on the nova wheels (softer wheels) to help prevent the undercutting. I think the cab looks great! In the picture, you really can't see the under cutting. Nice material, too. I found this topic and I see that this question has already arisen: what precisely is the difference between green moss agate and green tree agate? One is translucent and the other one isn't? |
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 28, 2019 14:40:06 GMT -5
I hate to contradict, but that doesn't look like green tree agate. Green tree agate has an opaque white background. But, it's true that you use less pressure on the nova wheels (softer wheels) to help prevent the undercutting. I think the cab looks great! In the picture, you really can't see the under cutting. Nice material, too. I found this topic and I see that this question has already arisen: what precisely is the difference between green moss agate and green tree agate? One is translucent and the other one isn't? I think so, but I'm really note sure. I want to say that the clear moss agate is harder. |
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Post by victor1941 on Apr 28, 2019 15:04:12 GMT -5
I have cut a few chunks of this rock where I selected material that had the clear with a borderline separating the white back ground area. I had problems with oil getting into the crystalline areas and being hard to remove. The fancy Indian jasper did not have this problem.
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Post by stardiamond on Apr 28, 2019 15:14:09 GMT -5
^^ what they said. I would add that with almost ANY moss agate (and most plume agates) no matter how much time and energy you expend on it you will always see surface "texture" where the moss inclusion breaks the surface. All you can really do is minimize it. When I first started cabbing I only had two diamond wheels and the undercutting was so bad I bought a Genie and I'm all diamond through 100,000 grit.  The key statement in your remark is "where the moss inclusion breaks the surface." The Horse Canyon cab on the left has a lot of agate on top of the moss and finding any texture takes a lot of work. I was able to minimize the texture on the cab on the right. |
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julieooly
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Member since October 2018
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Post by julieooly on Apr 28, 2019 17:38:02 GMT -5
According to what I found on Google
Tree Agate vs. Moss Agate–do you confuse the two? This is Debbie Elaine, and when I first started learning about crystals, I had some difficulty telling them apart. Both have awesome green inclusions and both are, obviously, Agates. Tree Agate is green inclusions in white Quartz, and Moss Agate is green inclusions in Clear-to-slightly translucent Quartz. Tree Agate is opaque. Moss Agate is translucent. Both have lovely, supportive energy for overall health and wellness.
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 28, 2019 17:40:36 GMT -5
According to what I found on Google Tree Agate vs. Moss Agate–do you confuse the two? This is Debbie Elaine, and when I first started learning about crystals, I had some difficulty telling them apart. Both have awesome green inclusions and both are, obviously, Agates. Tree Agate is green inclusions in white Quartz, and Moss Agate is green inclusions in Clear-to-slightly translucent Quartz. Tree Agate is opaque. Moss Agate is translucent. Both have lovely, supportive energy for overall health and wellness. Do you mean agate? Moss agate is not in quartz. It's in agate. I don't know about tree agate, though, but my guess is it is also an agate. |
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Post by stephan on Apr 28, 2019 18:58:31 GMT -5
According to what I found on Google Tree Agate vs. Moss Agate–do you confuse the two? This is Debbie Elaine, and when I first started learning about crystals, I had some difficulty telling them apart. Both have awesome green inclusions and both are, obviously, Agates. Tree Agate is green inclusions in white Quartz, and Moss Agate is green inclusions in Clear-to-slightly translucent Quartz. Tree Agate is opaque. Moss Agate is translucent. Both have lovely, supportive energy for overall health and wellness. Do you mean agate? Moss agate is not in quartz. It's in agate. I don't know about tree agate, though, but my guess is it is also an agate. I worked with a bit of the green tree "agate" a number of years ago. I see little to no evidence of agate banding. I'd say it's quartz/chalcedony.
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julieooly
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Post by julieooly on Apr 28, 2019 19:10:36 GMT -5
Thanks Tela & Stephen, "Debbie Elaine" and I are mistaken!
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