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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 20, 2021 9:48:26 GMT -5
toiv0 Billy, those are beautiful little silver cabs! 
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 20, 2021 10:16:58 GMT -5
If you are going to use diamond on any of them. A few dots of diamond paste dotted around the lap and spread around with your finger with some extender oil is all you need. Add more diamond paste when you need it. Eventually the lap will be charged with enough diamond that you don't need to recharge as often or with as much.
I have diamond paste. Do you use that on leather or just a polish pad? I was sold 2 polish pads - for 3000 and 14000 grit diamond paste. Also, dumb question - what is extender oil? I have motor oil, olive oil, gun oil and many others, but none are "extender". I just realized no one answered your question about diamond paste, Greig.
You can use either with diamond paste. If you are using a leather lap, make sure it is a smooth one. If it's a rough leather, use it for oxides. The reason being that if you use a rough leather with diamond, the diamond is going to get buried in the nap and you will need a lot to get it charged.
With a polishing pad the diamond stays pretty much on the top.
I think I probably mentioned this before, but my favorite polishing lap is smooth Elk leather. Hard to find nowadays, but if you have a leather shop around you anywhere, they may have some you can make your own laps out of. I have one for cerium and one for diamond.
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Feb 20, 2021 10:41:46 GMT -5
My turn to turn a little green here - with envy. Really like all those silver cabs!
We've cut native copper from a few sources - some of the Michigan stuff has copper and silver - but we don't have any straight silver. The metallics do shine up nicely with methods that might not produce the same results on typical lapidary materials. A jeweler's "Sunshine Cloth" or even a plain clean doeskin will do for a quick cleanup on copper or silver.
jasoninsd - The part about furrows in stones is quite true. At least on softer stones. "In the beginning" I assumed more is better, so I loaded a felt pad up with Linde A. It clumped up in the fibers and when I looked at an opal with a 10x loupe I could see little parallel furrows. Not scratches, just smooth little shallow trenches across the surface.
That was my lesson on how much polish to use. If your pad is still polishing, it's good. When it stops making the rock shinier, add a little.
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 20, 2021 11:03:51 GMT -5
quote: Crossing Oxalic acid off the list...and added your recommended supplier to my eBay favorites list.  end quote FYI - Careful with any acid and rocks. Some are very affected. For example, calcite and dolomite will rapidly etch. Probably not what you want to happen during a polish. For example, I use table vinegar or HCL to remove calcite from crystals (that are not affected). Thanks for chiming in about the acid. I definitely will refrain from experimenting! BTW - I read on the internet that a certain kind of acid can even make the rocks talk!  This is the best explanation of orange peel that I've seen:
"Different stones orange peel at different grits. The frustrating later orange peel you are referring to comes at the finer diamond grits , over 3,000 usually. This occurs because the softer fibers of the rock are being plucked out but the harder ones remain . Grits such as 1200 or 600 cut both hardness fibers in the rock equally so orange peel does not develop. As you go to a finer grit the harder fibers resist the cutting action and stand proud while the softer ones keep getting plucked out.
The possible solution is to go back to the last grit that did not result in orange peel and thoroughly resand. Then go to either 14,000 or 50,000 diamond and try them . One of these grits may be fine enough that both hard and soft fibers are polished rather than plucked."
Hope that helps explain the problem and possible solution better.
I’ve got to echo Jason’s comments. You and Vince are such an amazing couple! I love reading your posts. They are always so helpful and positive! I have no plans to cab (yet, should I say?) but I love reading your posts because they are so informative! I’m obsessed with learning how things work and it is such a joy to see such well thought out and knowledgeable posts. Thank you so much for that!! That's kind of the pot calling the kettle black! You sir, are also an amazing contributor on this forum!  Great càbs and a great thread all together. Here are two cabs made from Greigs material. Not much calcite in it. But you can see little plumes in them. greig crystalized silver?   Billy, those are just plain gorgeous! Thanks for posting these! I really liked the look of the calcite in the slab I got from Greig, so I tried to leave as much in as I could on mine...whether I should have or not, I'm not sure, but I like the way it turned out. Interesting question about the crystallized silver...  My turn to turn a little green here - with envy. Really like all those silver cabs!
We've cut native copper from a few sources - some of the Michigan stuff has copper and silver - but we don't have any straight silver. The metallics do shine up nicely with methods that might not produce the same results on typical lapidary materials. A jeweler's "Sunshine Cloth" or even a plain clean doeskin will do for a quick cleanup on copper or silver.
jasoninsd - The part about furrows in stones is quite true. At least on softer stones. "In the beginning" I assumed more is better, so I loaded a felt pad up with Linde A. It clumped up in the fibers and when I looked at an opal with a 10x loupe I could see little parallel furrows. Not scratches, just smooth little shallow trenches across the surface.
That was my lesson on how much polish to use. If your pad is still polishing, it's good. When it stops making the rock shinier, add a little.
Thanks for driving home the point on this one. I have a real tendency to have the same thought process you did in the beginning of "more is better!". So, I'll remember that "less is more" in this particular case! |
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Feb 20, 2021 11:50:52 GMT -5
If you use too much AO you could end up with little furrows in your stone says Vince, the voice of experience.
I can't begin to describe what an enormously important piece of advice this is. Cerium Oxide does the same thing, which I learned the hard way agonizing over many obsidian cabs. In obsidian, at least, it can create those furrows that look like nasty, deep scratches but they don't have that white color you'd expect from jumping up a wheel too soon...just polished trenches, but it ruins the glassy finish. It was really always a strong hunch that seemed to prove itself over time but I'll take Vince's comment as evidence the theory has been proven |
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Feb 20, 2021 19:19:45 GMT -5
I think that the Silver ore really came out in the video. I know what you mean about the metal. My sister sent me a cab which had some metallic reflectant running through it. Not the same as the Silver here, but it was not possible for me to get a picture of it. It looked a lot cooler in person.
I think it is probably hard to create a cab using dissimilar materials like these in your example, Jason. Thanks for posting.
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Post by jasoninsd on Feb 20, 2021 19:29:48 GMT -5
I think that the Silver ore really came out in the video. I know what you mean about the metal. My sister sent me a cab which had some metallic reflectant running through it. Not the same as the Silver here, but it was not possible for me to get a picture of it. It looked a lot cooler in person. I think it is probably hard to create a cab using dissimilar materials like these in your example, Jason. Thanks for posting. Thanks Bill! I tried taking pics in the light box, out of the light box, in the sun, out in the garage under the florescent bulbs, under the pool table lights. I got tired of trying to take pics of the dang thing, I finally just went with the video! LOL |
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Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
