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Post by miket on Aug 21, 2018 14:30:43 GMT -5
So this might not be a very intelligent question- hopefully it makes sense. I was cutting a few rocks over my lunch (In a shirt and tie, dirty water all over my shoes, haha  ) and was wondering something. How do you decide which way to cut a rock? Seriously, is there a way to tell which way would be the best so you don't slice right through something nice inside or is it all just by chance? I have a bunch of agates that I would like to learn on and I'm hoping some of them produce good results. |
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Post by stardiamond on Aug 21, 2018 16:17:34 GMT -5
1. What can you see before making the cut. 2. When you can't see anything, make a test cut on the outside. 3. When you like what you see continue in that direction, otherwise change direction. For Montana agates, direction and depth is very important. northidahomineralclub.com/articles/cutting_montana_agate.html |
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Post by miket on Aug 21, 2018 16:28:09 GMT -5
Hmmm, I never thought about candling an agate. That's interesting I may have to try it. I was just slicing right down the middle for the most part! I did learn that I need practice, I'm cutting them with a tile saw and have to flip over the larger rocks then shave part of it off when I didn't make an even cut. At least you didn't say cut with the grain  |
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Post by stardiamond on Aug 21, 2018 16:43:01 GMT -5
Hmmm, I never thought about candling an agate. That's interesting I may have to try it. I was just slicing right down the middle for the most part! I did learn that I need practice, I'm cutting them with a tile saw and have to flip over the larger rocks then shave part of it off when I didn't make an even cut. At least you didn't say cut with the grain There definitely is a grain with jaspers and they can be cut with and against the grain. |
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Post by miket on Aug 21, 2018 16:48:36 GMT -5
Hmmm, I never thought about candling an agate. That's interesting I may have to try it. I was just slicing right down the middle for the most part! I did learn that I need practice, I'm cutting them with a tile saw and have to flip over the larger rocks then shave part of it off when I didn't make an even cut. At least you didn't say cut with the grain There definitely is a grain with jaspers and they can be cut with and against the grain. Really? I'll have to look closer I had no clue. So much to learn. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2018 18:29:41 GMT -5
It depends on what pattern you are looking to uncover in the stone. In some cases, where you don't know what may lurk inside, you can cut 6 small windows (one on each side/face of the stone) to get a better idea of what's inside. You can get wildly different patterns out of some materials (jaspers like Owyhee and agates such as Graveyard Pt. for instance), depending on how you orient your cuts. Matter of taste.
There are some general guidelines that are followed (e.g., cut top-to-bottom on seam agates and thundereggs), but there can be more interesting patterns even on those. The only stones in which you really do need to stick to the established slicing methods are for those that have optical phenomena (cat's eye, asterism, sheen, iris, etc.).
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Question
Aug 21, 2018 21:26:59 GMT -5
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Post by miket on Aug 21, 2018 21:26:59 GMT -5
Hmmm, thanks. It sounds like there's going to be a lot of trial and error.
It will take some learning and practice like anything else I suppose.
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Post by Pat on Aug 21, 2018 21:39:31 GMT -5
Hmmm, bad idea to saw while wearing a tie!🤔
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Post by miket on Aug 22, 2018 9:26:17 GMT -5
Hmmm, bad idea to saw while wearing a tie!🤔 Haha, perhaps... But it's worth the risk!  My time to do anything rock related is limited, so I have to take every opportunity I can get. |
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Post by grumpybill on Aug 22, 2018 12:29:15 GMT -5
I use a tile saw and always cut at least two flat spots on the outside edge of a stone.
In addition to seeing what direction has the best pattern, it gives a flat surface against the table and fence.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 22, 2018 12:39:07 GMT -5
I have rocks I can't decide yet how to slab.
Some of these I've had for years. Still not decided on how to cut them.
Some have so many patterns showing on the outside.
I'm afraid I might sacrifice one awesome pattern while pursuing another one.
One thing I don't do is cut the stone the easiest way it fits in the vise.
I'll cut off protrusions to make it fit the vise better.
I use water glass to glue the rock to a scrap of granite countertop so I can chuck it at the orientation I want.
Lynn
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Post by miket on Aug 22, 2018 14:31:49 GMT -5
I use a tile saw and always cut at least two flat spots on the outside edge of a stone. In addition to seeing what direction has the best pattern, it gives a flat surface against the table and fence. Funny, that's exactly what I did at lunch! I also use my tile saw- but usually just have my fingers on both sides of the blade... |
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Post by miket on Aug 22, 2018 14:48:47 GMT -5
I have rocks I can't decide yet how to slab. Some of these I've had for years. Still not decided on how to cut them. Some have so many patterns showing on the outside. I'm afraid I might sacrifice one awesome pattern while pursuing another one. One thing I don't do is cut the stone the easiest way it fits in the vise. I'll cut off protrusions to make it fit the vise better. I use water glass to glue the rock to a scrap of granite countertop so I can chuck it at the orientation I want. Lynn Exactly! That's why I asked...I'm afraid I'll cut a super-nice fairburn pattern right in two. I guess you just roll the dice and hope everything turns out the way it is supposed to. |
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Question
Aug 24, 2018 8:52:56 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by arghvark on Aug 24, 2018 8:52:56 GMT -5
Only thing I'd add to all the great advice here: when you have a lot of similar material you learn that you can sometimes recognize "tells" on the exterior.
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Post by miket on Aug 24, 2018 9:13:44 GMT -5
Only thing I'd add to all the great advice here: when you have a lot of similar material you learn that you can sometimes recognize "tells" on the exterior. Good advice, I'm sure it comes with experience Since I'm just starting out- and since I'm old - I should probably take some before pictures to kind of study them before I start hacking away! |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
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Post by Fossilman on Aug 24, 2018 9:20:35 GMT -5
All great advice... I sometimes will take a rock into the house with me and study it for a few days, before I make any cut!
I always window most cuts, sometimes in both directions..
Now with Obsidian, that's a horse of a different color all together...It will throw you for a loop and can be cut any direction and degree,,Hahahahaha, all depends what your looking for and what you think is the right pattern..
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Post by miket on Aug 24, 2018 9:24:03 GMT -5
All great advice... I sometimes will take a rock into the house with me and study it for a few days, before I make any cut! I always window most cuts, sometimes in both directions.. Now with Obsidian, that's a horse of a different color all together...It will throw you for a loop and can be cut any direction and degree,,Hahahahaha, all depends what your looking for and what you think is the right pattern.. That's the key Figuring out what I'm looking for Again, experience I suppose |
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
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Post by Tommy on Aug 24, 2018 10:52:45 GMT -5
Regarding rocks having a pattern as the others mentioned already, many rocks have a specific banding/layering orientation that you can choose to cut with or against and the appearance of the slab can be wildly different. Only because I'm in the middle of cutting Gary Green jasper I'll show this example but there are many others like rainbow obsidian that will preduce a desired result if you cut 'with' the layers and at a 15% angle. This is an example of the same layered material cut two ways - the first is cut perpendicular to (across) the banding in the first photo, and cut parallel to (with) the layers in the second photo. Basically when you cut with the layers on a material that has wavy layers, you can get unexpected results like squiggley lines and even orbs! Cut across the layers producing slabs with layers matching the outside of the rock.  Cut parallel to the layers at a slight angle (which can't usually be helped unless you had a perfectly square cube).  |
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Post by rockjunquie on Aug 24, 2018 11:29:58 GMT -5
Regarding rocks having a pattern as they other's mentioned already, many rocks have a specific banding/layering orientation that you can choose to cut with or against and the appearance of the slab can be wildly different. Only because I'm in the middle of cutting Gary Green jasper I'll show this example but there are many others like rainbow obsidian that will preduce a desired result if you cut 'with' the layers and at a 15% angle. This is an example of the same layered material cut two ways - the first is cut perpendicular to (across) the banding in the first photo, and cut parallel to (with) the layers in the second photos Basically when you cut with the layers on a material that has wavy layers, you can get unexpected results like squiggley lines and even orbs! Cut across the layers producing slabs with layers matching the outside of the rock. Cut parallel to the layers at a slight angle (which can't usually be helped unless you had a perfectly square cube). Great example! Love that second one! |
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Post by miket on Aug 24, 2018 12:06:22 GMT -5
Regarding rocks having a pattern as the others mentioned already, many rocks have a specific banding/layering orientation that you can choose to cut with or against and the appearance of the slab can be wildly different. Only because I'm in the middle of cutting Gary Green jasper I'll show this example but there are many others like rainbow obsidian that will preduce a desired result if you cut 'with' the layers and at a 15% angle. This is an example of the same layered material cut two ways - the first is cut perpendicular to (across) the banding in the first photo, and cut parallel to (with) the layers in the second photo. Basically when you cut with the layers on a material that has wavy layers, you can get unexpected results like squiggley lines and even orbs! Cut across the layers producing slabs with layers matching the outside of the rock. Cut parallel to the layers at a slight angle (which can't usually be helped unless you had a perfectly square cube). Thanks for the advice That's kind of what I did with the prairie agate yesterday I'm learning Slowly |
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) and was wondering something.
