Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,487
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Post by Roger on Nov 17, 2018 20:57:29 GMT -5
Work, weather, and health have kept me out of my shop for a while. I am finally finishing up a few spheres I started a while back. These are a few I finished recently.
Petrified Wood
Owyhee Jasper
Kentucky Agate
Lake Superior Laker Agate
Lake Superior Laker Agate
Green Moss Agate
Green Moss Agate
Red Moss Agate
Condor Agate
Condor Agate
Roger
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fishnpinball
Cave Dweller 
So much to learn, so little time
Member since March 2017
Posts: 1,491 
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Post by fishnpinball on Nov 17, 2018 21:20:07 GMT -5
Nice set of spheres. Fantastic example of Kentucky agate.
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Post by woodman on Nov 17, 2018 21:22:32 GMT -5
All of them are real nice!
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 17, 2018 23:19:37 GMT -5
Those are all AWESOME! My favorite is the red moss.
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Post by MsAli on Nov 17, 2018 23:24:30 GMT -5
Those are amazing Roger. Love the lakers
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minerken
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2013
Posts: 466
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Post by minerken on Nov 17, 2018 23:43:04 GMT -5
Great work I really like the vuggy ones
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Post by fernwood on Nov 18, 2018 5:59:54 GMT -5
I love spheres. These are all great ones.
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Post by HankRocks on Nov 18, 2018 6:32:11 GMT -5
Roger Nice Spheres. How do you create the blanks? core drilling or rock saw to make all of the cuts. A couple of hand made sphere machines have been offered to me but I have hesitated taking them as I cannot see my self getting past the task of making the blanks using a rock saw. Considered using a core drilling method but have not moved past the planning stage. Thanks Henry
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Post by Garage Rocker on Nov 18, 2018 9:54:31 GMT -5
Wow, nice work! Never seen a KY agate sphere on here, that's special. Really like the way that Owyhee looks. Thanks for posting.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 18, 2018 10:10:31 GMT -5
All of those spheres are beautiful, but my favorites are the Lakers. Just beautiful.
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Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,487
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Post by Roger on Nov 18, 2018 10:17:47 GMT -5
...How do you create the blanks? core drilling or rock saw... This is going to sound more smartass than intended; please bear with me. Yes, I core drill. Yes, I saw cut. Yes, sometimes I wing the the whole preform with an angle grinder. For myself, it really comes down to size of the sphere I am after, MOHS of the material, properties of the material, and value of the rough. Anything larger than I can core, expensive, high propensity to fracture, or really hard; I saw cut. For myself, I find saw cutting is safest. It isn't as tedious as you would think because you can always be doing something else when the saw is running. All my vuggy spheres are saw cut + angle grinder. Core drilling is faster'ish but it's LOUD, messy, requires constant watching and, for me, seems to creates more wasted material. You still need to make at least 4 cuts with the drill to get a solid preform. You still need to use an angle grinder to finish the preform. Drilling is also more expensive than using a saw. One saw blade can cut "any" size sphere. You need a specific core drill bit for every size sphere. For rough that is soft and sorta close to roundish, I will angle grind them roughly to round and finish them on the coarse grind in the sphere machine. Roger |
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Post by HankRocks on Nov 18, 2018 19:53:06 GMT -5
Roger Thanks for the response. You just confirm my view of Sphere making, a considerable task to create something very special. Your Spheres make it very tempting for me to go forward with this. I am torn between two opposing paths,"keep it simple" and " everyone needs a challenge". That and my garage is reaching critical mass as far as rocks and equipment go. Thank Henry
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Nov 27, 2018 11:57:48 GMT -5
Utterly fantastic spheres, and a lovely explanation of the process. Big time commitment, but what an end product!!!
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