llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Mar 12, 2005 21:27:13 GMT -5
I did some serious rock cuttin' today! Love the new Smart Cut blade - cuts rocks as if they were wood! I cut some rocks with it that I thought I was going to have to either bust up with the hammer or take to someone else to cut. This blade just whipped right through them. If I would have known how great it cuts, I would have ordered all that Graves had in their dent and ding sale! Oh well! Here's what I got cut today. This first pic are mystery rocks - to me anyway. Don't know where or when I got them or what they are! Except neat looking!  These are some cuts off some Lake Superior rocks Cher send me. All of them were so rounded and smooth, I hated to cut them up, but they were way too big for the tumbler!  These are really pretty! I can't wait to see them polished! Thanks Cher!  This is some Mex Lace (bottom) and Laguna agate on top. Sure wish I could have kept the Laguna more intact, but this particular rocks had nodules and fractures all thru it. Wanted to cut some slabs but that was a no deal on this rock. The Mex Lace is a small chunk that was also a booger bear to cut, no good slabs off this one. But have 5 more chunks of it so just cut some tumbling pieces.  Flint Ridge flint I got off ebay. I love this stuff!  This is Bagdad agate I got from Banjo. It's really neat. Have a couple more chunks I will cut some slabs off of.  This is green quartz I got from Banjo. They don't look green in the pic, but they are. The three on the top are from the batch I got from Banjo last summer, those on the bottom I got a couple weeks ago. Interesting how they are so different.  I'm gonna have something in the tumblers other than do-overs for a change! Guess I will use the do-overs for fill when I need it! llana |
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Post by docone31 on Mar 12, 2005 21:37:00 GMT -5
You been busy Llana. Cannot wait untill you show more.
I like Graves stuff.
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Post by Condor on Mar 12, 2005 23:14:25 GMT -5
They all look good. Especially the colors.
Condor
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Mar 13, 2005 0:34:14 GMT -5
Hi Llana,
You definitely need to keep us up to date on this batch ... looks like it is going to be a doosie!
John
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Blue Tigereye
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2005
Posts: 118
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Post by Blue Tigereye on Mar 13, 2005 2:53:12 GMT -5
They look like they will be great! I really need to think about getting a saw.  |
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Post by Cher on Mar 13, 2005 8:25:17 GMT -5
WOW Llana you sure were busy yesterday weren't you. Amazing what some sunshine and warm air does for you. You're very welcome for the rocks and I hope they tumble up really nice for you. That stuff on the left, kind of pink-red with green lines in it, I have some of that in the tumbler now, seems to be polishing up nicely. Don't know what it is but I love the color combination. Sure hope I find more of that next summer. Keep us posted, this is going to be one awesome colored batch when it comes out.
Cher
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Post by krazydiamond on Mar 13, 2005 8:38:13 GMT -5
you sure were a busy lady, llana! that's a lot of rock! got some nice cuts there!
what kind of blade did you get? Smart Cut? you using oil or water? i need some warm weather to entice me to crank my little saw.
KD
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Post by creativeminded on Mar 13, 2005 10:15:55 GMT -5
Looks like you are having fun. Those cuts look great, I can't wait to get my saw/grinder/buffer up and going.
Tami
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Mar 13, 2005 10:53:47 GMT -5
This is a nice colorful batch. I can't wait to see it finished, but that will be a few weeks down the road! Patience, patience, patience! Gonna be hard waiting for these to finish! KD, I got this blade from Graves for $30 in their dent and ding sale. Guess they don't have anymore - heck, they don't have the dent and ding webpage up now. I did some searching and found this page that has them for $69 bucks It's the Smart Cut Sintered blade - 10X10X5/8. I just can't believe how this blade cuts. Very aggressive. I barely had to touch the rock to push it through. That blade would bite into the rock and zip, it was cut! Definitely worth $69 if ya' can't get one on sale! BTW, I use water with about a teaspoon of Borax per gallon, then when I am finished, I unplug the pump, let the blade spin til dry, then spray it with WD40. www.cabbingmachines.com/saw_blades.shtmlCher, those Lake Superior rocks are really nice. The pics don't do them justice. I just cut the ends of them, so have lots of them left! There are two I didn't cut yet. I was like a kid in the candy store. Had so many rocks to choose from, I couldn't decide what to cut. So, I'd cut a bit of one, then grab another and cut a couple slices of it. llana |
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Post by Cher on Mar 13, 2005 11:12:29 GMT -5
I was totally amazed at the variety of rocks when I was there. I could have filled up two 5 gallon buckets and not had two of the same kind of rocks in there. There's lots of neat colors too, I'm looking forward to going back. Trouble is, most of it is a size that needs a saw.  Cher |
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Mar 13, 2005 11:23:27 GMT -5
I have a saw! ;D Seriously, when it gets warm and you go collecting, fill those buckets up. You can send some to me and I will cut them for you in exchange for a few of my own or more flint! Those are some NICE rocks!
llana
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Post by Cher on Mar 13, 2005 12:48:16 GMT -5
Oooo I'm going to remember that Llana. I hope I can find more like that one I sent (with the green lines), I'd love to have a couple pieces of that slabbed. Wish I could go today but there's a bit of an ice build up around the lake, ;D maybe by May if we're lucky.
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Post by sandsman1 on Mar 13, 2005 17:29:12 GMT -5
nice days work llana looks like you got your next few batches ready to go some real nice rock you got there
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Mar 14, 2005 11:01:52 GMT -5
WOW that saw was hungry huh? Nice looking stuff!
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Post by rockyraccoon on Mar 15, 2005 11:05:00 GMT -5
wow llana - i can't wait to see that crazy lace all polished up. who else has some of that tumbling?
kim
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Mar 15, 2005 14:51:22 GMT -5
Lllana,
Excellent work...I'm gonna get one of those blades. I only have a 6" but I wear out cheap blades every time I use the saw.
csroc
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Mar 16, 2005 10:28:48 GMT -5
Cher, I am serious about the offer to cut some for you. So, when you get some more collected, just let me know.
Kim, I just took some MexLace slabs out of the vibe and they had NO shine of them. Can't figure out why. I worked them on the grinder at 100, then into the vibe for an additional day at 100, 3 days in 220, 3 in 500, 5 in 1000 and 3 in polish, with a 24 hr. wash between stages, rinsing and starting again at least twice during the wash stage. I was really disappointed. Am going to sit down at the grinder and polish them on it. Hopefully, that will put a shine on them.
Chas, BE and I killed a blade a month or less often when we first started cutting. cheap blades and us not really knowing how to cut properly. We did find that if we let our blades spin dry and then sprayed them with WD40, it helped preserve them. The WD40 keeps the blade from rusting. Before I got this one I was using a DeWalt diamond blade and although NOT the ideal blade for cutting rock - especially expensive ones, it did do the job and probably has alot of life left. We started spraying that blade with WD40 the first time we used it. It stayed on the saw, outdoors under a tarp all winter and the last time I used it, it still cut good. Not like this one though! Of course, it is not a lapidary blade either.
llana
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These are really pretty! I can't wait to see them polished! Thanks Cher!
