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Post by HankRocks on Dec 9, 2017 23:18:52 GMT -5
Question for the Panel;
Lady at the Show today, who I had talked to about cutting Geodes at an earlier Show about geodes she had a few from her Dad, brought in 6 Choyas ranging from about 6 inch to 4 inch. I told her I would give her a fair price, and then let her look at them before she had me polish them. Any idea what a good rate to cut them for her would be? I realize I have all the leverage(and the expense), just want to nice about it as she has bought rocks from me at the two Shows. I will figure out the cost to polish later.
Thanks
Henry
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Post by Peruano on Dec 10, 2017 7:32:48 GMT -5
I believe the cigarbox lapidary site quotes $10 per for cutting normal sized geodes/thudndereggs. They also do list a $20 setup fee for exceptionally large or difficult slabbing jobs. Normal slabbing is usually charged by the diagonal inch (longest measurement) or sq. inch. Prices vary with your eagerness to please the person or to see what's inside. I suspect its difficult to make a profit cutting stones for other people so charge enough to make you happy.
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Post by HankRocks on Dec 10, 2017 8:03:25 GMT -5
I am leaning towards a lower price for each as I do not intend to do this as revenue generator. It's fun for me to see what's inside these Choyas and it's a good thing that there is still a certain level of eager anticipation when I open the Saw Hood. Simple pleasures!
Will not charge any setup fee as the Geode Holder I am using makes it possible to take one 4 inch geode out and a put in a 6 inch one in less than a minute. Besides it's already in the saw and aligned to cut a batch I had ready. If I make enough to pay for a couple gallons of the Equestrian Mineral oil I think I will be happy. If she had brought 50 Choyas, then my prices would be a lot higher or I might not be willing to do it at all.
Henry
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
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Post by Fossilman on Dec 10, 2017 10:12:04 GMT -5
Its a buck and some change, per square inch around here.....
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360 
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Post by lookatthat on Dec 10, 2017 10:53:20 GMT -5
I have a sort of related question. I have a beautiful brightly - colored (mostly orange) stripey chunk of gneiss. It's got to be wicked hard and solid, as it was on a cobbled beach but basically not water worn at all. Seems to have a lot of garnet in it. I think it would be really striking if it were cut and polished, but the people I talked to at our gem and mineral club meeting didn't have the means. It's not a big piece, not sure how heavy, probably not more than 3 or 4 pounds.
Any ideas on this?
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Post by rmf on Dec 10, 2017 11:02:00 GMT -5
A couple of years ago I went hunting for people that did slabbing to see if I was charging enough. At the time I was way too cheap. I discovered the price range for slabbing was from $0.50 -$1.25 per sqr inch. If you take a piece (of any Quartz, agate, jasper) and weigh it then slab it and do the number of Sqr inches figure the cost then devide it by the weight of the original rough. I discovered it costs around $20/lb to slab. When someone asks about slabbing I can take their piece and weigh it and tell them exactly what I will charge for slabbing. that said cutting a Geode is not slabbing. To cut a 6" diameter Geode I would charge $15. If you do the math on a 6" shpere the area (assume 1 cut through the center) is (PI*rsqr)3.14x3x3 = 28.26 at $0.75/in sqr that would be $21.20 but since you don't charge for partial sqr inches I round down to the $15 (my discression).
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Dec 10, 2017 11:49:16 GMT -5
Yeah, I've always figured 50 cents and up per square inch. Used to be 25 cents even in the old days. Cutting a six inch Las Choyas takes a bit of saw time as it has to be well shimmed and properly oriented to cut good halves. Solids can really take awhile. Almost lie hacking your way through a big Brazilian. Never could figure how you could find tables full of big 6"+ Brazilian slabs at Quartzite for a few buck each. I could never cut them for anywhere near that price.....Mel
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Post by Pat on Dec 10, 2017 12:24:34 GMT -5
Around here, friends cut rocks and get to select a slab or more from each rock. Everybody wins.
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Post by fernwood on Dec 10, 2017 13:14:05 GMT -5
Some sort of locals here told me either $20.00 per rock up to 6" or half of the cut. Seemed a little pricey to me. Had some 3-4" pieces I wanted cut in half. Potential for additional slabs after I saw the inside.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 10, 2017 16:19:53 GMT -5
I posted this in another thread a few weeks ago but it may be relevant here. Just an explanation of what is involved when justifying slabbing costs.
Here is my take on cutting 10 slabs from a 6" long rock. It sounds horrible when you see it in print but if you have a good rock then every half hour you get the treat of checking out a new unique slice.
10:00 clamp rock in saw and start first cut
10:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put end cut in oil-dri. Restart saw.
11:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
11:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
12:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
12:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
1:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri.
Unclamp rock. Put remaining rock from the vise in oil-dri to soak up excess oil. Transfer all the slabs and remaining rock to bucket of hot water and dawn dish soap. Hand scrub each piece. After completely dry use wood glue to attached remaining rock to a section of 2x4. Let that cure for 5 days.
5 days later ……
10:00 clamp 2x4 with glued rock in saw and start first cut
10:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put end cut in oil-dri. Restart saw.
11:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
11:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
12:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
12:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw.
1:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri.
Transfer all the slabs to a bucket of hot water and dawn dish soap. Hand scrub each piece.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 10, 2017 19:43:31 GMT -5
I posted this in another thread a few weeks ago but it may be relevant here. Just an explanation of what is involved when justifying slabbing costs. Here is my take on cutting 10 slabs from a 6" long rock. It sounds horrible when you see it in print but if you have a good rock then every half hour you get the treat of checking out a new unique slice. 10:00 clamp rock in saw and start first cut 10:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put end cut in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 1:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Unclamp rock. Put remaining rock from the vise in oil-dri to soak up excess oil. Transfer all the slabs and remaining rock to bucket of hot water and dawn dish soap. Hand scrub each piece. After completely dry use wood glue to attached remaining rock to a section of 2x4. Let that cure for 5 days. 5 days later …… 10:00 clamp 2x4 with glued rock in saw and start first cut 10:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put end cut in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 1:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Transfer all the slabs to a bucket of hot water and dawn dish soap. Hand scrub each piece. You forgot the most annoying part: wash your hands twice between each step. |
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2017 22:37:20 GMT -5
I posted this in another thread a few weeks ago but it may be relevant here. Just an explanation of what is involved when justifying slabbing costs. Here is my take on cutting 10 slabs from a 6" long rock. It sounds horrible when you see it in print but if you have a good rock then every half hour you get the treat of checking out a new unique slice. 10:00 clamp rock in saw and start first cut 10:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put end cut in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 1:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Unclamp rock. Put remaining rock from the vise in oil-dri to soak up excess oil. Transfer all the slabs and remaining rock to bucket of hot water and dawn dish soap. Hand scrub each piece. After completely dry use wood glue to attached remaining rock to a section of 2x4. Let that cure for 5 days. 5 days later …… 10:00 clamp 2x4 with glued rock in saw and start first cut 10:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put end cut in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 11:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 12:30 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Restart saw. 1:00 Open saw, pull vise back, crank handle ¼”, Put the slab in oil-dri. Transfer all the slabs to a bucket of hot water and dawn dish soap. Hand scrub each piece. You forgot the most annoying part: wash your hands twice between each step. Twice? |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 10, 2017 22:42:23 GMT -5
Sure, once under the outside faucet to get most of the oil off, then once inside to finish getting the rest off. Oil is hard to wash off.
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2017 22:48:48 GMT -5
Sure, once under the outside faucet to get most of the oil off, then once inside to finish getting the rest off. Oil is hard to wash off. I use a rag to get 98% clean and wash inside if I'm doing clean work. Nothing more needed if I'm gardening or whatever. I do try to do dirty work when I'm cutting. Never thought to use a hose outside. 'swhy I asked. |
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Post by roy on Dec 11, 2017 12:24:42 GMT -5
lol you guys crack me up!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2017 19:35:34 GMT -5
I have learned to never cut for friends. Plus, I'm learning oil is expensive. It's not the blades,.it's the oil. I get about 200 cuts between cleaning and then need to spend $100+ on replacement oil (even after filtering), and 4-5 hours labor each time, I want to save my oil for me. It's all mine.
The only exception is if a friend visits and we can hang out and have a meal and shoot the breeze too. THAT is worth it! Ha!
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Post by roy on Dec 12, 2017 12:33:03 GMT -5
I have learned to never cut for friends. Plus, I'm learning oil is expensive. It's not the blades,.it's the oil. I get about 200 cuts between cleaning and then need to spend $100+ on replacement oil (even after filtering), and 4-5 hours labor each time, I want to save my oil for me. It's all mine. The only exception is if a friend visits and we can hang out and have a meal and shoot the breeze too. THAT is worth it! Ha! I would have to disagree cutting for friends is what this hobby is all about! some of the best stuff i have in my collection came from cutting for friends and im sure they can say the same about me |
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