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Post by fernwood on Jun 17, 2018 8:12:59 GMT -5
Need some guidance. I did one groove wrap on a Petoskey Stone over a year ago, that turned out pretty well. Would like to use Dremel to do more, but do not know if it would work with harder stones. I now have a better Dremel, bits, disks, etc., but do not want to destroy the cabs in the process.
Was thinking I could use a hand file to make a small, initial groove. Then continue with the Dremel until the groove was the correct depth and thickness. Would try cabs of Mohs 6 or lower first. No Jasper, Agates, etc. Dremel would be mounted in vice and I would hand guide the cab.
Doubt this method would work with glass cabs, but I might be able to do those just with the hand file.
Has anyone done something like this before? If so, any pointers appreciated. Thank you.
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Post by aDave on Jun 17, 2018 13:27:47 GMT -5
I'm having a hard time envisioning how you would clamp your Dremel in a vise without causing damage to the plastic housing. You're looking to minimize any movement of the tool, and I think it might be tough to accomplish. Sure, a vise with pipe jaws would help, but I think you'd have to be really careful to avoid ruining the Dremel. Not saying it can't be done, but maybe there's another alternative. If you had a cab machine or arbor, you might be able to set something up as found in this tutorial. Here, a thin diamond wheel was used. Drummond Island Rocks used one of these to do the grooves in his cabs. It may kill two birds for you in that it looks like it will do your glass for you as well. His tutorial is here.Good luck. |
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Post by fernwood on Jun 17, 2018 16:57:56 GMT -5
Thanks. I currently clamp the Dremel in a vice for cabbing. It is working fine for that. Part of the housing is a rubber type material. Will check out the links you provided.
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NDK
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Jun 17, 2018 19:13:28 GMT -5
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Post by fernwood on Jun 17, 2018 20:10:03 GMT -5
NDKMine is battery. Have the drip system in place and it is working well. Thanks for the link.
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Post by fernwood on Jun 17, 2018 20:11:36 GMT -5
Perfect!
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Post by gmitch067 on Jun 17, 2018 21:44:53 GMT -5
Thought I'd give you some alternative ways fernwood... although NDK had a good one. I have a Dremel Press (220-01 Workstation - for drilling cab holes). The dremel tool screws it's head into the section which controls the raising and lowering of the bit (you have to remove the dremel's front screw-on section first). Use a diamond cutting disk (example- dremel 545). I use a plastic lunch sandwich container as a dish to hold water and move the cab around in. Lower the drill press down to the correct elevation and lock in place (Adjust it so the cutting wheel is just below the water-line). I realized 2 problems using this setup... it was a bit messy. The sandwich storage container sides were not very deep and I had water spray everywhere (you could substitute a wet sponge and cut most of the spray down)... The other problem was I couldn't see the cab well under water... not good. I did not feel I had much control over the process, and the setup was involved. Sooo... I went online to Amazon and bought a Gryphon Gryphette router for $100 and a couple of jewelry cutting bits from TwoFers for $24... works much better for me. Glenn |
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Post by fernwood on Jun 18, 2018 5:45:55 GMT -5
I am looking at the Gryphon Gryphette and considering.
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Post by gmitch067 on Jun 18, 2018 8:27:19 GMT -5
It is not readily apparent in a lot of the YouTube vids, but the sponge with the Gryphette is a couple inches long. It sticks up through a hole and snakes down into the water below. The water wicks up through the sponge to keep the cutting bit wet. The plastic splash guard has 2 holes it can be positioned in. I find the one closest to the grinding bit keeps the sponge pressed up against the bit and keeps the stone reasonably wet. I have an overhead drip, but found that for the number of cabs I groove at a time 3-4, it was not really necessary.
There is a small water spray toward the user (very small)... wear an apron.
Brittle stones (glass and obsidian) chip around the groove cut easily... use very light pressure while cutting and go around a few extra times while grinding. I think it was @drummond Island Rocks recommended using a small length of 20-gauge square wire to periodically test for correct depth of the groove.
Mark the top of the cab with a piece of tape (when I first started to cut grooves, I was a little off in positioning the correct height... then I lost track of which side I was using when I started the cut... and made the groove too wide... I used 18-gauge square during the wrap to correct my mistake)
Hope this helps.
Glenn
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