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Post by fernwood on Jan 5, 2020 7:28:00 GMT -5
I posted a photo of this rather large piece of Turquoise a while back. Am trying to make future plans for some of my nicer rough rocks. Ideally, I would slice this in half. All I will have in Spring is the trim saw on the Lortone Combo Unit. Do not think the tile saw would work. About 2/3-3/4 of the piece is a little over 5/8" thick. What would you do? Thanks.     |
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Dr DG
fully equipped rock polisher
Gone Fishing
Member since April 2005
Posts: 1,848
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Post by Dr DG on Jan 5, 2020 9:21:09 GMT -5
cut it up, makes great cabochons
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 5, 2020 9:32:15 GMT -5
Heck ya', Cut it!
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Post by fernwood on Jan 5, 2020 10:38:30 GMT -5
I am afraid of destroying it, lol.
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 5, 2020 11:23:10 GMT -5
What I learned here is to take a rock as far as you are able; slab it, cab it, make jewelry. The decision I make about slabbing is whether I want to cab it or not. Just because I have some rough doesn't mean I want to bother slabbing it. Fear may slow me down but not stop me from trying with better material.
I don't know much about turquoise. Does you material need to be stabilized before cutting? Looking at the piece, to slab it would require a bigger saw than you have. With a larger piece, I cut into smaller pieces and then split them which I can usually do with a trim saw.
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Post by pauls on Jan 5, 2020 16:07:44 GMT -5
Slice a piece off the end and have a play with it before tackling the whole piece, that will tell you if it's worth the trouble and give an indication of what trouble you might have.
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 5, 2020 19:50:31 GMT -5
Listen to the rock. The rock knows its destiny. It will guide you in fulfilling that.
I say cut it.
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 5, 2020 19:51:28 GMT -5
Is it stabilized, if so easy peasy
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 5, 2020 21:48:15 GMT -5
I can tell you what Vince would do with that one. I don't hand slab because I suck at it, but Vince has a good eye.
He'd study it for probably 2 days (just because) and then he'd cut that knob off the bottom. Then you have 2 pieces and get to see the inside. Then, depending on the thickness of the pieces and whether they're any good or not, he might slice them again or leave them for cutting into cabs.
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Post by victor1941 on Jan 5, 2020 22:08:30 GMT -5
Fernwood, I would grind the back side to check for pattern before cutting because I would not want to miss a great cab before splitting or cutting into smaller pieces.
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Jan 5, 2020 22:13:52 GMT -5
Yup.
Well - maybe not for TWO days. Knew what I'd do to it before I saw Robin's post.
On special or tricky pieces I like to draw lines all the way around the chunk before sawing. You can even put a rubber band around odd-shaped pieces to get your lines all started on the same plane all the way around. Might have to flatten that pointy end a bit for that.
Once you've held it up and rotated it all around and you're satisfied they're all on the same plane then score it lightly with the saw blade all the way around. Then start your cut on a "corner" so you can pull it off to check that your cut aligns with the score marks on both of those sides. You can still start from the other side at this point if you have to without really losing anything.
Have fun!
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Jan 5, 2020 22:16:44 GMT -5
Yeah - as victor1941 said, it's always a good idea to skin a piece to see what might be the best way to approach it. |
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Post by fernwood on Jan 6, 2020 4:53:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the great advice.
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