turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 1, 2018 10:50:11 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I have been cabbing by hand with a dremel and sandpaper, cutting my rough with a tile cutter, and then wrapping my cabs with either silver or copper. I had finally sold enough of my art and my jewelry to buy an 8 inch Hi-Tech flat lap, and I love it! This dino bone cab was the 2nd cab I made on my new machine. I did not dome the cab, because I preferred the flat face on this piece, and I will be wrapping it in either silver or copper. Thanks for looking! Video fixed.
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Post by MsAli on Nov 1, 2018 10:52:28 GMT -5
Cannot see your video
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Post by MsAli on Nov 1, 2018 10:55:24 GMT -5
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Nov 1, 2018 10:56:18 GMT -5
Good units for cabbing.
Also no video here.
Happy Cutting!
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turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 1, 2018 11:00:19 GMT -5
alikat, looks like it has all of the necessary parts! I don't see why it wouldn't be a good buy. I don't know much about the company, but the machines themselves are fairly basic parts, so I am sure it would work well.
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turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 1, 2018 11:19:15 GMT -5
Good units for cabbing.
Also no video here.
Happy Cutting! Fixed it! Thanks for letting me know!
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 1, 2018 15:36:39 GMT -5
Looks great! I like the cut, too.
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turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 1, 2018 15:55:16 GMT -5
Thank you!!
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368
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Post by goatgrinder on Nov 1, 2018 18:22:47 GMT -5
Well you sure did good. I hope you continue to enjoy cabbing and posting your work. Best of luck.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,314
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Post by mossyrockhound on Nov 1, 2018 18:44:09 GMT -5
Good job and nice piece of bone! Should look great wrapped in copper or bronze (which I prefer over copper - and it's almost as cheap).
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Post by greig on Nov 1, 2018 19:00:14 GMT -5
sweet! thanks for sharing
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Post by beefjello on Nov 1, 2018 19:05:36 GMT -5
Very nice job man!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 1, 2018 20:29:00 GMT -5
Nice job on your second cab! Pretty dino bone.
I started cabbing with an All-U-Need and I still use it when cutting certain stones such as opal and doing the backs of cabs. It's much easier for me to see what I'm doing on a smaller stone than the Genie and I prefer the control I have over the stone when gouging the stone with another wheel by accident could cost me lots of money!
By the way, I've had my All-U-Need since 2002 and I have never had a problem with it.
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turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 2, 2018 10:54:02 GMT -5
hummingbird, that's so great to hear! I do find it difficult to dome some cabs, but I've never had the opportunity to use a genie or a vertical wheel machine, so I cannot compare, but I sure do enjoy making faceted cabs. I'm really happy to hear about how long the machine has lasted you! What about the wheels? How long did they last until you needed to order more?
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turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 2, 2018 10:57:01 GMT -5
Thanks to everyone for the positive comments!
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Nov 3, 2018 10:06:36 GMT -5
Hiya' Turtleman. If you get some foam backer pads and flexible resin diamond discs you'll be able to do smooth-domed cabs too. I like the Eastwind brand resin discs, but there are several options.
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turtleman
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2018
Posts: 23
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Post by turtleman on Nov 5, 2018 9:04:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the info, vitzitziltecpatl, I have been considering getting some of those sponge pads for that reason exactly!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 5, 2018 9:48:40 GMT -5
turtleman the foam pads under the smoothing discs are extremely helpful for smoothing out your dome.
When I cut a cab on the flat lap, I start by shaping the girdle of the stone to the shape I want on the coarse lap (I have a number of coarse metal toppers and choose the grit depending on the hardness of the stone). Then start shaping the dome by slightly increasing the angle slightly and going around the stone in an "apple peeling" motion. Once you reach the top of the stone it's time to change to the next finer disc and start smoothing out the "apple peeling" ridges. I'll go around the stone a bit and then start rocking the stone back and forth, top to bottom and side to side with a light to medium pressure (again depending on the hardness of the stone). You don't want to put too much pressure on the stone to avoid flat spots. It's imperative to always keep the stone moving to avoid those dreaded flat spots.
Make sure you have your water drip set to keep the laps wet but not so much that you flood the laps. Too much water will just make your stone hydroplane and not cut. Make sure the laps are completely dry before you put them away. I store mine in the quart ziplock bags. They fit perfect.
Go through the series of grits to polish and you should have a really nice shaped dome. Just remember to always keep that stone rockin' and rolling while you're working on it and it will become second nature to dome on a flat lap.
Vince (vitzitziltecpatl) likes those Eastwind laps, but they are pricey. I use the Hi-Tech smoothing discs usually. I like the fact that they're color coded by grit and they last a long time if you take care of them. You will wear out the coarser grits faster than the higher grits, but it will take a while. Kingsley North carries them and usually has them on sale when you do need to replace them. On occasion I will use the Eastwind laps for opal because we have them all the way up to 100K grit.
Hope that helps!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Nov 5, 2018 10:39:38 GMT -5
Inland may not have the best cabbing units but they do provide a pretty good tutorial on using a flat lap for cabbing. flat lap cabbing instructionsChuck
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Nov 5, 2018 20:04:46 GMT -5
Heh - Inland. They do have good info on their website. Do what Turtleman did - buy a Hi-Tech and download the Inland tutorial.
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