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Post by stardiamond on Sept 4, 2020 14:39:25 GMT -5
I got a small piece of faced rough from Tony on a BIN at fullmoon. I liked the colors. It will produce one cab. I ground the lumpy side relatively flat and then used my 80 grit flat lap. Drew a shape and started grinding. This is the SOFTEST material I have ever worked. Soft material use to scare me. Making a lot of cabs gives confidence with control. The 280 soft wheel was too aggressive but I stayed outside the lines. I will probably start grinding the dome at 1200.  |
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Post by miket on Sept 4, 2020 14:57:26 GMT -5
I got a small piece of faced rough from Tony on a BIN at fullmoon. I liked the colors. It will produce one cab. I ground the lumpy side relatively flat and then used my 80 grit flat lap. Drew a shape and started grinding. This is the SOFTEST material I have ever worked. Soft material use to scare me. Making a lot of cabs gives confidence with control. The 280 soft wheel was too aggressive but I stayed outside the lines. I will probably start grinding the dome at 1200. Beautiful. |
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 4, 2020 15:45:19 GMT -5
Two steps forward, one step back. One step forward, two steps back. I'm done with it. Color spots blowing up, pits disappearing and reappearing. Loss of symmetry along the way. Color spots taking a nice polish I don't know about the rest. Still colorful.   |
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Post by miket on Sept 4, 2020 16:17:29 GMT -5
Poop.
Still a nice looking rock!
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Post by opalpyrexia on Sept 4, 2020 16:36:06 GMT -5
Hate when that (or something else) happens. Do you think that you'll ever try this material again, or is this the first and last?
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 4, 2020 17:04:58 GMT -5
It was expensive material. I really liked the pattern. I just listed the cab on Etsy for a ridiculously high price. I saw nothing with a pattern close to it. I won't buy more unless I see something as nice and the cab I listed gets attention. I'll take interesting with defects over not interesting and clean. The holes are the size of a finishing nail. This is the Clearasil shot.  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 4, 2020 19:28:17 GMT -5
That really sucks that it started disintegrating like that! That would have been a killer cab if it would've worked out.
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 4, 2020 19:59:16 GMT -5
The actual cab looks pretty good with minor natural defects. Large pictures and the lighting make it look worse. The person who makes the cab is probably going to be most critical, aiming for perfection.
I sold a large Koroit cab with minor defects and sold it reasonably. The person who bought it was thrilled and understood the typical issues with Koroit. Ocean jasper poppies also dislodge but generally taking the face down a little solves the problem.
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Post by Pat on Sept 4, 2020 21:11:22 GMT -5
I still like it! It’s a rock! Rocks do that.
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Post by orrum on Sept 5, 2020 8:48:40 GMT -5
Turquoise and its cousins are valued their unique to each piece deformatitys, pits, bugs, etc. Thebonly gemstone that way. Plus backing them is standard practice. It's a lovely piece!
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 5, 2020 9:03:39 GMT -5
I never learned how to stabilize or back. The only thing I did differently for this one was worked dopless. The material was so soft that I didn't want to consider getting the superglued dop off.
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Post by stephan on Sept 5, 2020 12:39:43 GMT -5
I never learned how to stabilize or back. The only thing I did differently for this one was worked dopless. The material was so soft that I didn't want to consider getting the superglued dop off. Good thinking on that. I once pulled a substantial chunk out of a piece of Dino bone while removing the superglued dip. I couldn’t soak in acetone, since the stone was stabilized with Paleobond. Btw, I hate variscite matrix (often limonite) for its fragility and tendency to pit, crumble, etc. |
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