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Post by Mel on Nov 17, 2020 18:58:52 GMT -5
So I got a bunch of Mookaite slabs on the weekend. I've never worked with Mookaite except as tumbler rough, so this is new to me. Some are incredibly gorgeous but super fractured/cracked, and I'd hate to use them for tumbler food. Is there any way to stabilize these bad boys? Or just not worth it? |
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Post by stephan on Nov 19, 2020 22:06:17 GMT -5
That odd. Most mookaite I’ve seen has only a few fractures that were easy to work around.
As for stabilizing, I’ve mostly gotten away from it, especially for fractures, since there is a pretty low success rate (in my book). It may keep the fractures from coming apart, but they stay very visible. It doesn’t really sell either.
Stabilizing porous stones like some Dino bone is a different matter. It can turn non-cabbable stones into cabbable ones.
I suspect most compounds won’t work for tumbling either. Cyanoacrylate based ones (variants on superglue and products like Paleobond) soften gradually in water, and probably wouldn’t survive even the week of a single grit stage. I haven’t used noncyanoacrylate stabilizers.
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Post by Mel on Nov 20, 2020 21:02:19 GMT -5
I was kind of thinking the same. Some slabs are pretty fractured but you could still make cabs, just that there will be lot of waste too. Bummer. That's the way it goes I guess!
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Post by stephan on Nov 20, 2020 23:12:25 GMT -5
I was kind of thinking the same. Some slabs are pretty fractured but you could still make cabs, just that there will be lot of waste too. Bummer. That's the way it goes I guess! True enough, but I’ve also gotten used to the idea that I’m not going to use 100% of any slab. Sometimes 50% is good, and worthwhile. |
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