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Post by holajonathan on Jan 24, 2021 20:11:23 GMT -5
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Post by Pat on Jan 24, 2021 20:33:11 GMT -5
Vug filled is a plus.
I’d practice on good, not best, stuff. Then when you are done, you have a nice useful piece.
Junk in, junk out.
Good in, good out. 😀
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 24, 2021 20:49:50 GMT -5
Hey, great job on your first cab!!!  I agree with Pat...work some okay, or "good enough" material to start with so you're not concerned as much what happens to it. My first cab was a donated slab from Tommy for a monthly contest, but my second cab was a rock I picked out of the landscaping river rock around my deck. One of the wiser members on the forum once told me a template cab is just a freeform waiting to happen.  Great recovery on a stone that wouldn't cooperate with your plans. Way to go getting the first one of many done! |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 24, 2021 20:55:30 GMT -5
Vug filled is a plus. I’d practice on good, not best, stuff. Then when you are done, you have a nice useful piece. Junk in, junk out. Good in, good out. 😀 Why is vug filled a plus? Serious question. Thank you. |
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Post by opalpyrexia on Jan 24, 2021 21:01:28 GMT -5
Looking good and I like the shape you chose, too.
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Post by Pat on Jan 24, 2021 21:03:13 GMT -5
Vugs are usually pretty! Attractive design element. Gives a little something extra; not boring perfection.
Serious answer.
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 24, 2021 21:12:07 GMT -5
Vugs are usually pretty! Attractive design element. Gives a little something extra; not boring perfection. Serious answer. Hmmm... Maybe there are pretty vugs and not so pretty vugs. Or maybe one vug is pretty, but 5 per square inch is not. In any event, I am learning that too many vugs, like this zebra agate, often means prone to break. I can see how a vug or two in the center of a cab might look nice, especially if its druzy or has something else interesting inside, but I at least need solid edges without vugs, right? |
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Post by Pat on Jan 24, 2021 21:19:08 GMT -5
Vugs are usually pretty! Attractive design element. Gives a little something extra; not boring perfection. Serious answer. Hmmm... Maybe there are pretty vugs and not so pretty vugs. Or maybe one vug is pretty, but 5 per square inch is not. In any event, I am learning that too many vugs, like this zebra agate, often means prone to break. I can see how a vug or two in the center of a cab might look nice, especially if its druzy or has something else interesting inside, but I at least need solid edges without vugs, right? Right. 😀 |
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Post by parfive on Jan 25, 2021 3:27:56 GMT -5
It started as a different shape, and a lot bigger, but after breaking twice, this is the shape that it ended up. In the future, I will use more solid material even for practice. I like to prove/test slabs before marking any possible cabs. Just hold the slab on your open hand and smack it on the workbench. If it’s gonna break, you might as well find out early. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 25, 2021 5:07:53 GMT -5
It started as a different shape, and a lot bigger, but after breaking twice, this is the shape that it ended up. In the future, I will use more solid material even for practice. I like to prove/test slabs before marking any possible cabs. Just hold the slab on your open hand and smack it on the workbench. If it’s gonna break, you might as well find out early. So you smack the slab face into wood? And a solid slab will not snap in half as a result? I believe you, I'm just having a hard time picturing it. I was already thinking about starting to tap them with a rubber mallet. Same idea, sort of. |
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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 Jan 25, 2021 8:20:35 GMT -5
I like to prove/test slabs before marking any possible cabs. Just hold the slab on your open hand and smack it on the workbench. If it’s gonna break, you might as well find out early. So you smack the slab face into wood? And a solid slab will not snap in half as a result? I believe you, I'm just having a hard time picturing it. I was already thinking about starting to tap them with a rubber mallet. Same idea, sort of. Really, you actually do this? |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 25, 2021 9:20:07 GMT -5
And you're off!
Nice job on your first attempt.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 25, 2021 10:41:41 GMT -5
holajonathan and rocket - several members have suggested dropping the slabs on concrete as well. I actually have started doing this...not from waist level mind you, but anywhere from 6"-12" from the garage floor. It really does find the existing fractures which saves heartache down the road. I figure if it does hold up to a drop from that distance, it'll hold while making a cab... At first, I had trepidations doing this, but then I figured just because I saw a nice area in the slab for a cab, it didn't mean the rock gods wanted it there. So why not just get the breaking "over with" right from the start.
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Post by parfive on Jan 25, 2021 13:23:05 GMT -5
So you smack the slab face into wood? And a solid slab will not snap in half as a result? I believe you, I'm just having a hard time picturing it. I was already thinking about starting to tap them with a rubber mallet. Same idea, sort of. Yes, a firm smack on a wood benchtop. Try it and you’ll see the strength of a good slice o’ rock. O/t . . . An old-timer I knew would hold a slab in one hand and break it on purpose with a rock in the other because he liked to cab random shapes. rocket Absolutely, almost without fail. |
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Post by parfive on Jan 25, 2021 13:26:30 GMT -5
several members have suggested dropping the slabs on concrete as well. I actually have started doing this...not from waist level mind you, but anywhere from 6"-12" from the garage floor. Like I told Stephan a while back . . . |
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Post by socalagatehound on Jan 25, 2021 23:54:59 GMT -5
I think the area on the right side of your slab looks much better than the left, as it appears on picture 4. Even though it's vuggy, it's usually the harder agate. I would avoid the left side altogether. Zebra can be challenging because of the vugs, but a little carefully applied Star Bond type glue or hxtal can be helpful. Don't let it get in the vugs and it needs to be thin to soak into soft spots. It can be pretty cool when done.  by Craig Uhlig, on Flickr |
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Great recovery on a stone that wouldn't cooperate with your plans.
