First cabbing attempts, group photos - July '19
Jul 6, 2019 10:58:26 GMT -5
unclesoska, Pat, and 7 more like this
Post by NevadaBill on Jul 6, 2019 10:58:26 GMT -5
Here are some of my first attempts at cabs.
I have left off most of the flawed cabs which came from end pieces and slab trimmings. I have tried to polish most of these pretty good. A couple of them not so much.
From finding rocks in the field, to rock chunk, to slab, to cab, and then finally polish, I have found that there is often a lot more to the story when looking at the end results which are posted on the RTH forums.
It is very cool to me, knowing that I ended up with a refined cabochon, almost jewelry worthy, which was once only a plain old rock found in the desert which had been formed over millions of years, that nobody else had ever seen or come across.
But it has not been without an equal amount of failures. Rocks with unexpected cracks, vugs, fractures, or holes, which only manifest themselves 75% through the lengthy process.
I started out making paperweights. Not knowing what the machine would do, or how fast each wheel could grind down a stone. I had to start with stuff that was big. This one is Lavic.
Some rocks that are softer (like a 5 on Moh's scale) shaped differently than hard Agates or Jasper. This is a Thulite (Zoestite, I believe) with another mixed in with it.
I had more, but gave them away to people before getting a picture. Some times the rock was extremely soft (like a 2 Moh's scale), like these Gypsum crystals. So soft, they almost melted on a 220 wheel.
Others were harder Agates which took a great deal more time to finish.
Much like rock tumbling, where you end up with imperfect results much of the time, I find cabbing to be the same. I end up with not perfect material and try to make the best out of it.
Even though I have budgeted a good deal of time to creating cabochons, I haven't ended up with too many finished products. Some can be created in less than an hour, and others take almost half a day.
But it has been fun. And I am learning every day.
Thank you for stopping by to have a look!
I have left off most of the flawed cabs which came from end pieces and slab trimmings. I have tried to polish most of these pretty good. A couple of them not so much.
From finding rocks in the field, to rock chunk, to slab, to cab, and then finally polish, I have found that there is often a lot more to the story when looking at the end results which are posted on the RTH forums.
It is very cool to me, knowing that I ended up with a refined cabochon, almost jewelry worthy, which was once only a plain old rock found in the desert which had been formed over millions of years, that nobody else had ever seen or come across.
But it has not been without an equal amount of failures. Rocks with unexpected cracks, vugs, fractures, or holes, which only manifest themselves 75% through the lengthy process.
I started out making paperweights. Not knowing what the machine would do, or how fast each wheel could grind down a stone. I had to start with stuff that was big. This one is Lavic.
Some rocks that are softer (like a 5 on Moh's scale) shaped differently than hard Agates or Jasper. This is a Thulite (Zoestite, I believe) with another mixed in with it.
I had more, but gave them away to people before getting a picture. Some times the rock was extremely soft (like a 2 Moh's scale), like these Gypsum crystals. So soft, they almost melted on a 220 wheel.
Others were harder Agates which took a great deal more time to finish.
Much like rock tumbling, where you end up with imperfect results much of the time, I find cabbing to be the same. I end up with not perfect material and try to make the best out of it.
Even though I have budgeted a good deal of time to creating cabochons, I haven't ended up with too many finished products. Some can be created in less than an hour, and others take almost half a day.
But it has been fun. And I am learning every day.
Thank you for stopping by to have a look!
