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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 22, 2020 12:58:44 GMT -5
I have the same question Jason. So far I've been putting my good tumbles into cleaned out jam jars. Eat the marmalade..clean jar...fill with tumbled orange carnelians..gaze at all the shiny goodness. Recycling at its finest.  The larger or troublesome tumbles join my zen patio. It's a win win. Could you imagine if I just started on one end of the river rock we have and moved my way around the deck and down the side of the house, just grabbing one tumbler full of rocks at a time...and then just replacing them as they get done! I don't think I have enough years left in my life to accomplish that one! LOL I like the idea of using the jam jars. We got some jam, from Menard's of all places, which were in these cute little mason jars with handles. The jam was delicious, but we got them mainly for the jars. I think they'd look good with the tumbles placed in them. So, now I just have to start eating three PB&J's for lunch each day to keep a supply of those jars on hand! LOL jasoninsd - when your fingertips start to feel warm the water begins to turn red soon after. I've never forgotten that feeling...!
Good job on that last cab. That's the only way to get a feel for it - after a while it will seem easy.
Using dop sticks was one of the most difficult things for me to get used to. That tip about holding on to the stone and stick both is real handy sometimes.
Have never used a slant cabber, but on the flat lap I try to pay attention to the angle of the back of the stone relative to the surface of the lap. It's the only thing I can see without leaning forward to get my eye level with the lap. If I can keep that imaginary angle consistent I know the girdle line will at least be close.
So just keep on having fun. I used to cut all night sometimes when I was learning - without even realizing it until the sky got light. Sounds like you are at least as "persistent" as I was.
Thankfully I noticed prior to reaching any blood vessels! LOL Thanks for the comment on the last cab. I definitely felt more "in-tune" with the rock when I was holding the dop and cab at the same time. I think I have a pretty good eye for the angle at which to keep the dop/cab. Where I'm faltering is the depth at which I'm taking material off the cab which causes inconsistent girdle depth. That's funny about the all-nighter! The other day I had no idea I had spent ALL day out there. The time just flew by! LOL You've gotten a lot of feedback and great advice- as RTH is good for. I never could get the hang of the flat lap, but my son took right to it. He uses it more than I do. I don't even know where it is. But, I started with a genie. Making the transition was just too hard for me. You're doing a good job. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Oh Tela, it definitely hasn't escaped my attention that so many people have been willing to give up part of their day to help this newbie. I've said for a long time, the only thing I can't get back this life is Time! Anything else can be reacquired in one way or another...but once time has passed, you can't get that back. So I am beyond grateful for not only the information people on the forum have been willing to share, but the bit of time they have taken out of their own lives...for little ole me.  I agree about the practice. I'm just not willing to "destroy" some of the nice material I have been given by members on the forum, nor the slabs I've purchased as well. So, there will be a lot of the river rock that will become the "sacrificial lambs" for the next little while until I get a bit more confidence. To quote JFK once again, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest form of appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."  One thing I never could never under stand is how you dome on a flat lap? O… I mean… I know it can be done... but not practicality easy. Not like angling the stone off the radii of grinding wheel The difficulty of blind grinding on the flat lap never really entered my thoughts. Altho in fine grinding having proper light illuminate the surface is almost magic. One of favorite joys is seeing the reflection of the polishing surface in thin water cascading of grinding wheel. That really does me justice Wish I could be of more assistance, Jason. The JFK quote indicates you’re on right rock path. Rocky as it may be,,, keep on Ed, I really appreciate the kind words and support. I just installed two shop lights and put LED bulbs in rather than florescent bulbs. I got the "daylight" kind, and I think they really work well. I think I'm still going to get a tall positional deck lamp just to focus some more intense light onto the cabber. I loved your description of the rocks in cascading water...I got a mental picture of "Flashdance" where that gal was sitting on the chair and water was coming down like rain...I just imagined a big old Fairburn sitting in that chair rather than that gal! LOL You've gotten a lot of feedback and great advice- as RTH is good for. I never could get the hang of the flat lap, but my son took right to it. He uses it more than I do. I don't even know where it is. But, I started with a genie. Making the transition was just too hard for me. You're doing a good job. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Practice makes perfect, and perfect? Yeah, perfect is good enough. I like having a single tube fluorescent light over my workplace. Watch its reflection on the stone face for lumps and bumps. When all is smooth all is SWELL! Perfection! Right?!?! When I think of perfection in my life, I get the picture of that carrot dangling in front of the carthorse...right there, but just beyond reach! (With the exception of mathematics, which is the only definition of perfection that is...well...perfect!) I probably need to pay a bit more attention to the reflection. Good tip! If it's really a learning curve, then I'm on the bottom section of that bell curve! LOL The prairie agate I was working on slipped from my hands...probably because I'd lost all my fingernails by that point and had no extra "grip"...it got caught between the splash guard and the edge of the wheel. Put a massive (it was to me!) gauge in the top of the dome. I didn't add that to the story of my woes from yesterday! In retrospect, it truly was a comedy of errors all day long! Hmmm...lost opal you say...sounds like the beginning of a treasure hunt story to me! (I was imagining I was hearing that cartoon bullet ricochet sound when I was reading that!) I'm going to take you up on your offer to ask questions: - Where on the wheel are you working the cab? 12:00, 3:00, or 6:00? I'm assuming not 9:00 as that's where the drip line goes... I know to "move" it around the radius of the wheel to keep the "heat" down and even out the wear on the disk... - How are you "seeing" what you're working on? Do you do it blindly by "feel" or are you able to get a good angle to see the cab on the wheel? Thanks for any kind of a life-preserver you can toss at me! Work the bottom of the wheel. You're not going to go above 3 and 9. I position my drip line above 3. Once you get a good flow you shouldn't need to move it around at all You can't really see what you're doing so it's more by feel. Using dop stick helps a lot! Also I don't recommend large cabs. I'll try to do a video later if you'd like. Ali, if you have some time to do a video, I would be massively indebted to you! If it becomes a pain though, I totally understand. I tried to search out as many vids I could find on people using this slant cabber, but there really don't seem to be that many available. I'm pretty good at being able to emulate the visual input, so a video would be immensely helpful. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 10:09:52 GMT -5
I had a bunch of stuff going on yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to work with the cabber until about 9:30 last night. I set-up the cabber as pictured and stood behind it while shaping the cab. I was better able to see the contact point of the cab on the grinding disk when I was shaping it closest to me (the highest point on the slanted wheel - so 6:00 on the cabber as pictured). The actual shaping of the dome went very well. I'm still struggling with the girdle, but it dawned on me if I use a larger diameter dop stick, I'll gain more control of the cab while grinding. (Another "duh" moment for me!) I'm finding the 80d nail has a small enough diameter that small rotation of the nail equates to too much rotation of the cab. I also noticed I'm not "raising" the cab as I rotate it to the high and low end of the oval. I was keeping the cab's center point fixed, which caused a greater angle to be cut in the "ends" of the oval. In terms of aircraft, I was straight line flying versus map of the earth flying...if that makes sense to anyone. I'm going to get one of those long swing-arm desk lamps so I can position the light better... although the halogen work lights lit things up pretty well! LOL This isn't polished, but I just wanted to show the shape...again, I know the girdle needs to be fixed...if I can.     |
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Post by miket on Nov 23, 2020 10:39:15 GMT -5
Nice. I'm glad to see you're doing this- now if I ever get one of those you can give me tips! |
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Post by mohs on Nov 23, 2020 11:35:15 GMT -5
I find that be a fine grind jase
Well on your way
Good dome overall
One thing I found concerning the girdle/edge
is that they are only as perfect as
the calibrated pre form is
done very little templated cabs
and haeartly any free forms
although building a heart involves a little of both
Only thing I know is that the shape
needs to be as exact as possible
Before doming
To achieve those calibrated uniform edges
Something I really struggle with in the heart department
Your well on your way dude
Look forward
Ed
Also there is a relationship between
the surface area of the cab
& the thickness of the slab
That plays a big roll
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Post by MsAli on Nov 23, 2020 11:58:33 GMT -5
Not bad at all- a little trick I learned is to have it waist level. Easier to see and work the cab
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 14:44:18 GMT -5
Nice. I'm glad to see you're doing this- now if I ever get one of those you can give me tips! Thanks Mike. Maybe in the "what not to do" department! I'll get most of the mistakes out of the way for you! LOL I find that be a fine grind jase Well on your way Good dome overall One thing I found concerning the girdle/edge is that they are only as perfect as the calibrated pre form is done very little templated cabs and haeartly any free forms although building a heart involves a little of both Only thing I know is that the shape needs to be as exact as possible Before doming To achieve those calibrated uniform edges Something I really struggle with in the heart department Your well on your way dude Look forward Ed Also there is a relationship between the surface area of the cab & the thickness of the slab That plays a big roll Thanks Ed! I did find where I think the girdle is supposed to be 1/3 the overall height...but I may have factored that wrong... Not bad at all- a little trick I learned is to have it waist level. Easier to see and work the cab Thanks Ali...great tip on the waist level! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 14:48:59 GMT -5
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EricD
Cave Dweller 
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Nov 23, 2020 14:51:59 GMT -5
That's awesome. I like seeing each one get vastly better as you gain experience!
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 23, 2020 15:20:41 GMT -5
Well done! Thanks for walking us through your process. |
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Post by MsAli on Nov 23, 2020 15:24:19 GMT -5
Way better than my 1st one on that machine!
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 15:54:31 GMT -5
That's awesome. I like seeing each one get vastly better as you gain experience! Thanks Eric! It was you who kick-started my brain on this one! Well done! Thanks for walking us through your process. Thanks Tela! I know it's probably "old news" to a lot of cabbers...but it's new to me! Thanks for letting me share my "enthusiasm"! LOL Way better than my 1st one on that machine! Yeah, well...this is my fifth one...and three of the five were disastrous! LOL Very seriously, again thank you for all your input and suggestions on this machine. I really foresee myself having a blast with it. |
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Post by miket on Nov 23, 2020 16:01:28 GMT -5
Very nice, my friend!
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Post by mohs on Nov 23, 2020 16:03:11 GMT -5
really coming into view Jase we'll designate that the RTH Thanksgiving Cab I'm trying motivate and figure out some autumn type rock to craft For 'Giving's Day ya nailed it! literally, even as we use to say in the grind shop ya got the angle of the dangle which is in direct proportions to,,, I let other old rockers finish it High Roll Polish ON!  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 16:15:04 GMT -5
Thanks Mike! I did forget to say I did all the sanding and polishing with the dremel. I spent quite a bit of time with 60 grit disks to get the scratches out. really coming into view Jase we'll designate that the RTH Thanksgiving Cab I'm trying motivate and figure out some autumn type rock to craft For 'Giving's Day ya nailed it! literally, even as we use to say in the grind shop ya got the angle of the dangle which is in direct proportions to,,, I let other old rockers finish it High Roll Polish ON! Thanks Ed! I will have to say this cab made me VERY thankful! I was glad it didn't turn out to be a turkey! I haven't heard the "angle of the dangle" for quite a few years! LOL |
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Nov 24, 2020 20:42:20 GMT -5
Yep, you've got it going your way now. Cleaning up a girdle line before the final polish is common enough due to the way some rocks change their minds about what they want to be during cutting. You'll be a pro at it.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 24, 2020 20:51:21 GMT -5
Yep, you've got it going your way now. Cleaning up a girdle line before the final polish is common enough due to the way some rocks change their minds about what they want to be during cutting. You'll be a pro at it. Thanks so much Vince! I swear some of these rocks change their mind more than my wife deciding on what "exactly" to wear to work some days! LOL |
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Post by stephan on Nov 24, 2020 22:40:17 GMT -5
Wow! You are progressing really well. I think I said before that you’re a natural, I still think that’s true. With a little more practice, you’ll be scary good.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 24, 2020 22:53:30 GMT -5
Wow! You are progressing really well. I think I said before that you’re a natural, I still think that’s true. With a little more practice, you’ll be scary good. Thank you so very much Stephan! I'm not going to lie, I'm really pleased with how that last one turned out...but as they say "Pride goeth before the fall!" LOL I had an offer I couldn't refuse from an awesome member of the forum and I've got a good supply of slabs headed my way. So, I'm a bit stoked to get some more practice cabs going! (They're all going to be classified as "practice" cabs for quite awhile! ) |
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rocket
spending too much on rocks
Quality slabs for quality cabs in 2022
Member since September 2020
Posts: 292
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Post by rocket on Nov 25, 2020 8:46:25 GMT -5
“Practice” cabs...I like that terminology...maybe I will use it for my first 100...or maybe all of 2021. Anyway, I finished my first batch of cabs off the renovated Covington. Now I am facing the challenge of how to take a halfway decent photo...will try again today to document these “practice” cabs. Nothing very special...was working on shapes, girdles and domes.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 25, 2020 9:57:07 GMT -5
You're doing great, jasoninsd! Once you get the pads for the other smoothing discs you'll be In Like Flint.
Muscle memory plays a big part in using any type of machine, and once you have that established the finished cabs will be flying off the dops. Flat laps in particular take more muscle memory than wheels, I think. One little tip that might help with the girdles is once you've rough ground your cab to shape, put it on a table near the edge and then take a Sharpie and position the tip where you want the girdle to end. Then just turn the cab against the felt tip on the table for a visual aid to keep the girdle line in sight while you're cutting the dome.
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The larger or troublesome tumbles join my zen patio. It's a win win.
