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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 7, 2020 20:57:43 GMT -5
I said I'd post some shots of the train wrecks that happened last night. So, here's the bad and the ugly...there was no good last night! LOL Cold Mountain Thunderegg - I had worked this piece on the grinding wheel getting the cab's shape down, worked it on the grinding wheel to get the dome shaped, worked it in the 325 wheel (both top and sides), and then the cab just "fell apart" on the 500 wheel! ARGHHHH! I thought it was going to hold together, but I must've heard the rock saying something I wanted it to say and not really what it was saying! This Cold Mountain Thunderegg is wickedly temperamental. ARGHHHH again! LOL Brecciated Linda Marie Plume Agate - Next is a chunk of material I picked up off eBay. It was listed as Brecciated Linda Marie Plume Agate. I fell in love with the "busy" look to this material. I took an end cut and got a decent piece for a cab. All went well until the later 500 and 1200 wheels. It started undercutting...everywhere! I noticed it and started over on the 500. It kept happening. I don't have the skill (yet!) to handle the undercutting. I've been told to use a "stiffer" sanding disk to keep it from undercutting...so I've got to figure that part out. I probably going to have to use my dremel for this as all the sanding disks for the cabber have the padded backing on them. Also, this cab has a rounded top in the pic...it didn't start this way. There was a long thin point on it originally. In a moment of slight distraction, I was rotating the cab on the 1200 grit and the point "dug" into the wheel and snapped the thin point right off. Scared the crap out of me when it happened. Thankfully no apparent damage to the disk. Just one fiasco of heartbreaks after another last night! LOL Anyway, here are the crime scene photos:      |
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 7, 2020 21:15:02 GMT -5
The first one can be recut. Plan a for me is symmetrical, plan b preform. Check that what is left is solid and then redesign. It still looks like a nice cab.
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Post by manofglass on Dec 7, 2020 21:28:48 GMT -5
You killed it Jason poor cab
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 7, 2020 21:42:00 GMT -5
The first one can be recut. Plan a for me is symmetrical, plan b preform. Check that what is left is solid and then redesign. It still looks like a nice cab. Yep...I knew this one wasn't ready for the sledge hammer or hearse...but the ambulance driver did say an amputation was going to be needed!  It was just frustrating to lose the original shape after being so careful through the two stages I thought were going to blow this thing apart. You killed it Jason poor cab I know right!?!? Funeral services will be on hold, as there might still be a chance at resuscitation... LOL I've got to start thinking of "holding a baby bird" type of pressure, rather than "choking the everlasting crap out of a noisy rooster" type of pressure! LOL |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2020 22:07:04 GMT -5
Oh that poor Cold Mountain cab. You decapitated it!
Actually that will cut into a very nice shield shape. Just lop his head all the way off and make a slight, pleasant curve to connect the two sides. Be a shame to waste that perfect girdle!
I hope you're kidding about the pressure. If you aren't, then you really need to lighten it up. Part of the Linda Marie problem may be if you're pressing that hard on the cab, the softer material in the stone is getting gouged out by the diamonds. Hold the cab to the lap just enough so it doesn't bounce around and grinds smoothly. Let the diamonds do the work, Grasshopper. It may take a few minutes longer, but you'll be much happier with your results.
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 7, 2020 22:17:08 GMT -5
Oh that poor Cold Mountain cab. You decapitated it!
Actually that will cut into a very nice shield shape. Just lop his head all the way off and make a slight, pleasant curve to connect the two sides. Be a shame to waste that perfect girdle!
I hope you're kidding about the pressure. If you aren't, then you really need to lighten it up. Part of the Linda Marie problem may be if you're pressing that hard on the cab, the softer material in the stone is getting gouged out by the diamonds. Hold the cab to the lap just enough so it doesn't bounce around and grinds smoothly. Let the diamonds do the work, Grasshopper. It may take a few minutes longer, but you'll be much happier with your results.
Umm no, I wasn't kidding! LOL I "thought" I was being light enough with the pressure, but I know I could be a lot lighter! It's a mental block up to this point. MUST GRIND STONE, UGGG (have that sound like a caveman would sound! LOL) I've got to remember to let the equipment do the work and not me!   |
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 7, 2020 22:35:24 GMT -5
The first one can be recut. Plan a for me is symmetrical, plan b preform. Check that what is left is solid and then redesign. It still looks like a nice cab. Yep...I knew this one wasn't ready for the sledge hammer or hearse...but the ambulance driver did say an amputation was going to be needed! It was just frustrating to lose the original shape after being so careful through the two stages I thought were going to blow this thing apart. You killed it Jason poor cab I know right!?!? Funeral services will be on hold, as there might still be a chance at resuscitation... LOL I've got to start thinking of "holding a baby bird" type of pressure, rather than "choking the everlasting crap out of a noisy rooster" type of pressure! LOL I only go baby bird on soft or fragile material. I like to go from a to b as fast as possible. My right thumb started cramping after I was done and that doesn't happen using a light touch. The more confident I am the more reckless I can be. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 7, 2020 22:36:50 GMT -5
I love that movie. So many good lines -- Blow'd up, sir!
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 7, 2020 22:49:58 GMT -5
Yep...I knew this one wasn't ready for the sledge hammer or hearse...but the ambulance driver did say an amputation was going to be needed! It was just frustrating to lose the original shape after being so careful through the two stages I thought were going to blow this thing apart. I know right!?!? Funeral services will be on hold, as there might still be a chance at resuscitation... LOL I've got to start thinking of "holding a baby bird" type of pressure, rather than "choking the everlasting crap out of a noisy rooster" type of pressure! LOL I only go baby bird on soft or fragile material. I like to go from a to b as fast as possible. My right thumb started cramping after I was done and that doesn't happen using a light touch. The more confident I am the more reckless I can be. One of the things I wasn't expecting with regards to cabbing is the diversity of hardness in stones and how it affects the process of working them. I know, probably very naïve in my thought process, but I came into this thinking "rock=hard" with no variation to the "hard" part. I'm learning how with both tumbling and cabbing, the mohs scale comes so much into play! I like...and oftentimes live by your last sentence! I love that movie. So many good lines -- Blow'd up, sir! Me too! One of my favorites...and I've actually used this and kept a straight face while saying it: "Convicted? No. Never convicted!" |
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Post by miket on Dec 8, 2020 10:29:16 GMT -5
Yeah, sometimes the rocks don't want to cooperate, do they? I have lots of train wrecks- cabs, wraps, tumbles...sometimes I post them, sometimes I don't. But I do agree, you can definitely save that first cab. A good percentage of my freeforms are secondary designs brought on by undercutting, fractures, etc... |
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Post by stephan on Dec 8, 2020 13:29:10 GMT -5
Oh that poor Cold Mountain cab. You decapitated it!
Actually that will cut into a very nice shield shape. Just lop his head all the way off and make a slight, pleasant curve to connect the two sides. Be a shame to waste that perfect girdle!
I hope you're kidding about the pressure. If you aren't, then you really need to lighten it up. Part of the Linda Marie problem may be if you're pressing that hard on the cab, the softer material in the stone is getting gouged out by the diamonds. Hold the cab to the lap just enough so it doesn't bounce around and grinds smoothly. Let the diamonds do the work, Grasshopper. It may take a few minutes longer, but you'll be much happier with your results.
I was thinking shield, as well, if you want symmetrical, or something like this:  DSC_0811_Owyhee / Spring Mountain jasper freeform pendant by Stephan T., on Flickr if you don't.... Other than that, get used to brecciated materials breaking (again). Lighter pressure will help, but no guarantee. Just weird (and, ultimately, more frustrating), when it happens later in the process. If it's going to happen, I wish it would be during the grinding streps. Anyway, sacrifices made. Better luck now. My guess is that it was either Máni, the Norse Moon God, who accepted your sacrifice of a Mexican (Monday) stone, or Loki, who is upset because I forgot to start his thread on Saturday. |
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Post by stephan on Dec 8, 2020 17:05:03 GMT -5
Yeah, sometimes the rocks don't want to cooperate, do they? I have lots of train wrecks- cabs, wraps, tumbles...sometimes I post them, sometimes I don't. But I do agree, you can definitely save that first cab. A good percentage of my freeforms are secondary designs brought on by undercutting, fractures, etc... I think that is almost the definition of a freeform, early on. Later you learn the pitfalls and short-cut to the freeform that you are going to end up with , regardless. Then you can save on the  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 8, 2020 20:10:50 GMT -5
Yeah, sometimes the rocks don't want to cooperate, do they? I have lots of train wrecks- cabs, wraps, tumbles...sometimes I post them, sometimes I don't. But I do agree, you can definitely save that first cab. A good percentage of my freeforms are secondary designs brought on by undercutting, fractures, etc... Uncooperative little turds! (Oh wait, that's the coprolite thread! LOL) I'll save it...or die trying! LOL Oh that poor Cold Mountain cab. You decapitated it!
Actually that will cut into a very nice shield shape. Just lop his head all the way off and make a slight, pleasant curve to connect the two sides. Be a shame to waste that perfect girdle!
I hope you're kidding about the pressure. If you aren't, then you really need to lighten it up. Part of the Linda Marie problem may be if you're pressing that hard on the cab, the softer material in the stone is getting gouged out by the diamonds. Hold the cab to the lap just enough so it doesn't bounce around and grinds smoothly. Let the diamonds do the work, Grasshopper. It may take a few minutes longer, but you'll be much happier with your results.
I was thinking shield, as well, if you want symmetrical, or something like this: DSC_0811_Owyhee / Spring Mountain jasper freeform pendant by Stephan T., on Flickr if you don't.... Other than that, get used to brecciated materials breaking (again). Lighter pressure will help, but no guarantee. Just weird (and, ultimately, more frustrating), when it happens later in the process. If it's going to happen, I wish it would be during the grinding streps. Anyway, sacrifices made. Better luck now. My guess is that it was either Máni, the Norse Moon God, who accepted your sacrifice of a Mexican (Monday) stone, or Loki, who is upset because I forgot to start his thread on Saturday. That's the shape I used for the Linda Marie that stuck in the disk and snapped off the tip! LOL I don't know how many sacrifices I can mentally and emotionally handle! (Kidding...I'm sure there will be a TON more along the way! LOL) |
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