Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 29, 2018 12:09:00 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on May 29, 2018 12:48:23 GMT -5
Its important that you say its soft. Mfrs always say oil for big saw blades and I presume that's because they can go fast, and generate sufficient heat that water won't do it. Hence a risk to your blade if heat builds up . . . but I doubt this will happen if you watch carefully. Ditto on rust. Rust is not instantaneous, but it can happen overnight, but you can use some rust inhibitor. Me I would not worry about some oil on your mudstone. Oil dries out eventually, often fairly quickly. Oil can add a bit of depth to the color without ruining it. I say this because I've cut some opalized wood that is very porous in oil and it resulted in no permanent color shift. So my advice is cut it either way and don't sweat the small stuff.
|
|
zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
|
Post by zarguy on May 29, 2018 12:52:32 GMT -5
I'd cut it in water. I guess it's time to fix your 10" saw so you can get to this stuff. You know the new saying: a project is the Mother of repair.  Lynn |
|
|
|
Post by parfive on May 29, 2018 14:35:41 GMT -5
Dilemma?
You got four rocks. They ain’t the crown jewels. Pick one and cut it in the good saw with the good blade and the nice dirty oil. Kitty litter & dish washing soap in hot water, the usual, then report back . . . with pics.
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 29, 2018 14:38:09 GMT -5
I'd cut it in water. I guess it's time to fix your 10" saw so you can get to this stuff. You know the new saying: a project is the Mother of repair. Lynn Haha I like your new saying and I may plagiarize it someday soon. The part I forgot to mention is I dearly need/want the 10" out of my garage, thus what seems like a straightforward repair becomes a convoluted "find a new spot for it out back near the big saw then repair it" project... but yes that's another option as soon as the temperature calms down again for a bit. |
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on May 29, 2018 17:01:41 GMT -5
Hey, the temperature in New Mexico is not going to calm down until November. Enjoy the heat.
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 29, 2018 19:13:10 GMT -5
Hey, the temperature in New Mexico is not going to calm down until November. Enjoy the heat. Haha - it hit 94 here today and I felt like I was dying just trying to get a couple of cabochons done. Heck of a lot better than the windy cold crap we've had for the past month though. |
|
Ami
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 162 
|
Post by Ami on May 29, 2018 19:20:16 GMT -5
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller 
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
|
Post by quartz on May 29, 2018 23:43:43 GMT -5
I wonder how many people have walked right by that stuff [us included], and never gave a thought to try working some up? Nice cabs all, thanks for the education.
|
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on May 30, 2018 7:05:22 GMT -5
Great material and cabs. I will be watching your progress as I was recently gifted a huge hunk of similar material.
No pain, no gain. You might need to sacrifice one piece to learn the best cutting method. Better to sacrifice a rock than a saw.
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
|
Post by Fossilman on May 30, 2018 9:04:51 GMT -5
Just don't let the water get on the bearings....Yuppers, many like that material,I give mine away...LOL I guess I never liked it... See so much of it fossil hounding,I kick it to the side..
Just don't ruin a $300.00 blade for a $2.00 material... Thumbs p
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 30, 2018 10:01:59 GMT -5
Thanks for all the responses. Yeah it's probably not for everyone but it's gritty and 'earthy' and different, and that is popular right now - and maybe increasingly so with the younger generation. My son who is in college at Sacramento State keeps telling me I need to tap into that current and sell pieces of the earth to all the "fake hippies" of his generation lol. I don't know about all that - I'm fine selling cabochons and letting other more talented jewelry artists do their thing - but I do know that when I put up pieces that are rough and raw they seem to get more attention than highly polished and refined gemmy materials. Regarding value vs. saw blade, I wouldn't quite agree with the $2 material analogy - the cabs above all sold easily in the low to mid $30 range so there IS a specific method and motivation to my madness. If one of these 4 to 6# rocks has potential to yield (conservatively) 20 cabs simple math says it's a $600 rock and worth taking my time and getting it right. It also represents a practical lifetime supply of soft, easy cabbing rock for my slow ass and sore hands  . All that being said, it's a porous material I am not going to cut any of it in oil - I'd rather wait and get it right. In those pictures I posted above, the rough rock had been removed from water probably a half hour before the photo and they still looked like I had just soaked them. When a cabochon is domed and polished on all sides it already takes on the darker 'wet' appearance so I don't need or want oil to influence that in any way. |
|
Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,818
|
Post by Mark K on May 30, 2018 10:10:28 GMT -5
So go to Home Depot or Lowes or whatever and get a tile saw.
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 30, 2018 10:40:48 GMT -5
So go to Home Depot or Lowes or whatever and get a tile saw. I have one thanks - a 7" Rigid from HD. These rocks are a bit too large for that and I don't have $700 laying around to go get the 10" If I had money to spend on a new 10" tile saw I'd probably go to Harbor Freight even though I'm not a big fan of Chicago Electic.  |
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723
|
Post by Fossilman on May 30, 2018 13:19:10 GMT -5
Thanks for all the responses. Yeah it's probably not for everyone but it's gritty and 'earthy' and different, and that is popular right now - and maybe increasingly so with the younger generation. My son who is in college at Sacramento State keeps telling me I need to tap into that current and sell pieces of the earth to all the "fake hippies" of his generation lol. I don't know about all that - I'm fine selling cabochons and letting other more talented jewelry artists do their thing - but I do know that when I put up pieces that are rough and raw they seem to get more attention than highly polished and refined gemmy materials. Regarding value vs. saw blade, I wouldn't quite agree with the $2 material analogy - the cabs above all sold easily in the low to mid $30 range so there IS a specific method and motivation to my madness. If one of these 4 to 6# rocks has potential to yield (conservatively) 20 cabs simple math says it's a $600 rock and worth taking my time and getting it right. It also represents a practical lifetime supply of soft, easy cabbing rock for my slow ass and sore hands . All that being said, it's a porous material I am not going to cut any of it in oil - I'd rather wait and get it right. In those pictures I posted above, the rough rock had been removed from water probably a half hour before the photo and they still looked like I had just soaked them. When a cabochon is domed and polished on all sides it already takes on the darker 'wet' appearance so I don't need or want oil to influence that in any way. Tommy, I hope you didn't take it the wrong way, if so I am sorry... I guess we all have our likes and dislikes... That's why I love rockhounding, there is enough material for all tastes! |
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 30, 2018 15:18:02 GMT -5
Tommy, I hope you didn't take it the wrong way, if so I am sorry... I guess we all have our likes and dislikes... That's why I love rockhounding, there is enough material for all tastes! OH no way sir! Everyone has a right to their opinions and I am here to change hearts and minds I too shared the initial impression that it was a junky rock which is why I did nothing with it for several years. In fact when I first started trying to sell the cabs on Etsy I was calling it "mud with shells." It was only after I realized the negative connotation of that name I changed it to "fossil sea shell, petrified ocean floor" and they started selling like crazy. It's all about perception of value in the minds of people and my own went from negative to positive almost overnight. |
|
|
|
Post by parfive on May 30, 2018 16:29:46 GMT -5
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 30, 2018 17:07:33 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by parfive on May 30, 2018 17:29:11 GMT -5
Looks like there was a generally accepted name for this stuff, previously.
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
|
Post by Tommy on May 30, 2018 19:07:13 GMT -5
Looks like there was a generally accepted name for this stuff, previously. Ah, okey gotcha. Devil's toenails is a much different material from this stuff. Like comparing hard agate/jasper to ... well ... dare I say mud with shells in it |
|
.
