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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 18, 2021 23:45:59 GMT -5
Pictures 1-4: Owyhee Picture Jasper I had a couple of back to back slabs of Owyhee Picture Jasper that I thought looked close enough to each other that I'd wrap them the same...so they kind of look like siblings to me. I liked the style, so I stayed with it for the others. I damaged the wires on the third one. I tried to buff it out, but they're pretty deep...dangit. Picture 5: Lapis Lace Onyx Picture 6: Kambaba Jasper Pictures 7-8: Brazilian Agate (same cab) Pictures 9-10: Coprolite This is my very first groove wrap. It was so long, I had no idea how I would wire wrap the thing...so it became the guinea pig.  Pictures 11-12: Ohio Flint I much prefer wire wrapping as opposed to groove wrapping. Groove wrapping is pretty simple for the most part. I know it shows off the stone better, which is why I chose it for the Ohio Flint...but I like the "bling" that's associated with wire wrapping just a little more. On my second attempt at groove wrapping, I did learn to check the height of the bit each time...just a little too late. I didn't think about it in time and completely jacked up an Autumn Leaf Jasper cab as the bit was set too high for that particular girdle. Grrrrr.... Lesson learned though... Anyway, as always, thanks for taking a gander and critiques and comments are always welcomed.  Picture 1  Picture 2  Picture 3  Picture 4  Picture 5  Picture 6  Picture 7  Picture 8  Picture 9  Picture 10  Picture 11  Picture 12  |
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Mar 19, 2021 7:16:48 GMT -5
I like those picture jaspers. The combination of style with the copper gives those stones a great sepia feel.
I like the coprolite groove wrap as well. It’s a busy, skinny cab so the groove wrap works well to let the poop speak for itself.
The only thing that stood out to me is the size of the bails, especially in the flint groove wrap. My eye was drawn to it which kind of defeats the purpose of the groove wrap. A more compact bail may help visually balance it out better.
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standles
spending too much on rocks
Well all I got was a rock ... Cool!
Member since February 2021
Posts: 325 
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Post by standles on Mar 19, 2021 7:52:13 GMT -5
#5 for the win in my book. It just speaks to me. On the wire wrap ones did you hand cut the groove or get on of those groover router thingys  |
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 19, 2021 7:59:58 GMT -5
Beautiful! I think the first one steals the show. You are sooooooo getting this down!
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 19, 2021 8:33:02 GMT -5
I like those picture jaspers. The combination of style with the copper gives those stones a great sepia feel. I like the coprolite groove wrap as well. It’s a busy, skinny cab so the groove wrap works well to let the poop speak for itself. The only thing that stood out to me is the size of the bails, especially in the flint groove wrap. My eye was drawn to it which kind of defeats the purpose of the groove wrap. A more compact bail may help visually balance it out better. Thanks Brian! I totally agree with the sepia feel. They do "old-time" photos up in Deadwood, which have the brown tones to them - and these do have some resemblance! I also 100% agree with your comment about the bails being "too" high - as far as the weaved bails are concerned. There's two causes...I don't measure the height it should be prior to beginning the weave, so I'm eyeballing it...and the biggest reason is I get so engrossed with being in a groove (no pun intended) that I just keep weaving without checking. LOL - Both of which I need to rectify. LOL As far as the height of the bail on the flint, the stone isn't that big, so I'm not sure I could've gotten the bail any smaller than what it is on that one... #5 for the win in my book. It just speaks to me. On the wire wrap ones did you hand cut the groove or get on of those groover router thingys Thanks Steven! I just used a hacksaw and hoped for the best! Kidding - I did get a Gryphon Gryphette with the groove bit. It works great! I don't have a ton of different wire gauges - I have 20 copper and 21 silver. The silver is just a hair too small for the groove, but it is what it is at the moment. Beautiful! I think the first one steals the show. You are sooooooo getting this down! Thank you so much Tela! That first one is one of my favorite wraps I've done so far. I wanted to try something different with it being a horizontal wrap - other than using "tabs" to hold the stone, so I tried this way out and I think it works pretty well. Definitely more room for improvement if you look really close...but I know where the problems are. It'll just take a bit more time (and patience) for me to get them worked out. |
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Mar 19, 2021 8:53:02 GMT -5
...and the biggest reason is I get so engrossed with being in a groove (no pun intended) that I just keep weaving without checking. LOL - Both of which I need to rectify. LOL I can sympathize with that remark. I’d probably end up with a bracelet sized loop before I realized how much I had done. Zoning out is my speciality. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 19, 2021 9:06:12 GMT -5
Holy moley, Jason! You are a machine.
Agree with Tela, the first one is my favorite. The groove wraps are pretty good for your first ones. Good job on those! The flint is an amazing stone. Beautiful!
Kudos to you, sir! You are getting so proficient, it's almost scary!
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Post by miket on Mar 19, 2021 9:23:52 GMT -5
Great work, Jason, both cabs and wraps!
I think I like the picture jasper ones the best, especially how you oriented the cabs...
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 19, 2021 20:45:11 GMT -5
...and the biggest reason is I get so engrossed with being in a groove (no pun intended) that I just keep weaving without checking. LOL - Both of which I need to rectify. LOL I can sympathize with that remark. I’d probably end up with a bracelet sized loop before I realized how much I had done. Zoning out is my speciality. LOL. Here's a picture of what it's like for me doing the weaving:  Holy moley, Jason! You are a machine.
Agree with Tela, the first one is my favorite. The groove wraps are pretty good for your first ones. Good job on those! The flint is an amazing stone. Beautiful!
Kudos to you, sir! You are getting so proficient, it's almost scary!
Thanks Robin!!! Don't be skirrd! Great work, Jason, both cabs and wraps! I think I like the picture jasper ones the best, especially how you oriented the cabs... Thanks Mike! I agree on the picture jaspers...I just love that stuff! |
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Post by stephan on Mar 20, 2021 10:00:24 GMT -5
Those look great jasoninsd . The Owyhee ones look amazing. You managed to get past the fact that I usually am not fond of “sideways” oval as a pendant. The wraps balance the width to height ratio very well, and enhance the scenes. Also loving the groove wraps on the coprolite. For #5, I think you meant lapis lace onyx? |
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 20, 2021 10:28:03 GMT -5
Those look great jasoninsd . The Owyhee ones look amazing. You managed to get past the fact that I usually am not fond of “sideways” oval as a pendant. The wraps balance the width to height ratio very well, and enhance the scenes. Also loving the groove wraps on the coprolite. For #5, I think you meant lapis lace onyx? Thanks Stephan! I agree with usually disliking the horizontal oval for a pendant...it supposed to go the other way!!! LOL. But, the "pictures" I saw in the slabs really called for the horizontal. Good catch...I'll blame it on the time of night I posted this! LOL. Fixed the name on #5. Thank you! |
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USMC15
Cave Dweller 
I feel like I just came out of the tumbler ...
Member since March 2021
Posts: 273
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Post by USMC15 on Mar 20, 2021 11:36:24 GMT -5
I'll take them all!! You did such an amazing job. Those picture jaspers are just incredible!
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Post by stephan on Mar 20, 2021 11:55:40 GMT -5
Those look great jasoninsd . The Owyhee ones look amazing. You managed to get past the fact that I usually am not fond of “sideways” oval as a pendant. The wraps balance the width to height ratio very well, and enhance the scenes. Also loving the groove wraps on the coprolite. For #5, I think you meant lapis lace onyx? Thanks Stephan! I agree with usually disliking the horizontal oval for a pendant...it supposed to go the other way!!! LOL. But, the "pictures" I saw in the slabs really called for the horizontal. Good catch...I'll blame it on the time of night I posted this! LOL. Fixed the name on #5. Thank you! Ha ha ha. You hit the nail on the head when it comes to an issue that has kept me from cabbing up some of my picture jaspers. Horizontal was needed for the scenes, but I didn't like it as either ovals or rectangles. You've proven that it can work. The only other solutions I previously saw were to either make large cabs for display of to polish the entire slab, but I don't have the equipment. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 20, 2021 12:21:19 GMT -5
I'll take them all!! You did such an amazing job. Those picture jaspers are just incredible! Thanks James! I'll start drawing up the invoice! LOL Thanks Stephan! I agree with usually disliking the horizontal oval for a pendant...it supposed to go the other way!!! LOL. But, the "pictures" I saw in the slabs really called for the horizontal. Good catch...I'll blame it on the time of night I posted this! LOL. Fixed the name on #5. Thank you! Ha ha ha. You hit the nail on the head when it comes to an issue that has kept me from cabbing up some of my picture jaspers. Horizontal was needed for the scenes, but I didn't like it as either ovals or rectangles. You've proven that it can work. The only other solutions I previously saw were to either make large cabs for display of to polish the entire slab, but I don't have the equipment. I just can't see myself doing too many slab specimens...it's got to be outrageously off the charts picturesque for me to do that. I figure there's only so much room for specimen pieces...without an addition on the house. Hmmm....maybe I see another house project in the near future! (LOL - NOT!). |
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Post by scienceteacher79 on Mar 20, 2021 12:45:02 GMT -5
My wife would be drooling over these. My faves are the Ohio flint. Beautiful work. I envy people who do "something" with their material. My rocks are tumbled or cut into small slabs and tumbled. Then the just sit in a Denver Box with a label never to be seen by anyone but me. Fun for me, but would love to show others. It's the teacher in me wanting to do "show and tell."
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Post by beefjello on Mar 20, 2021 15:45:22 GMT -5
You've really been knocking it out of the park with your wraps! My favs are #5 and the groovy flint. Good stuff man!  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 20, 2021 21:19:15 GMT -5
My wife would be drooling over these. My faves are the Ohio flint. Beautiful work. I envy people who do "something" with their material. My rocks are tumbled or cut into small slabs and tumbled. Then the just sit in a Denver Box with a label never to be seen by anyone but me. Fun for me, but would love to show others. It's the teacher in me wanting to do "show and tell." Thank you so much! Your wife has great taste! LOL This whole adventure started out with tumbling and I was wondering the same thing...which lead me down the rabbit hole of cabbing and subsequently wire wrapping. I still like the whole show and tell aspect of all of this... You've really been knocking it out of the park with your wraps! My favs are #5 and the groovy flint. Good stuff man!  Thank you very much! That number 5 really was a showstopper in this batch! I might have to get some more Lapis Lace Onyx! That piece of flint is one of my favorite pieces out of the whole batch of that Ohio Flint I picked up. I really love how "busy" it is! |
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Mar 23, 2021 12:04:53 GMT -5
Dude!! Are you sure that you didn't have a former life of perhaps an enslaved Chinese jeweler maker, who was chained to a table at an early age, forced to only eat peanuts, stored in a dimly lit dwelling and only allowed to come out once a day to make cabochons! Like, these are amazing!
I can't comment on all of them now, since I just burnt myself out on your last batch of 12!! Where are you finding the time and energy to make all of these son?!?
The first 4 are totally cool! I think that I would retire as a wire wrapper after just doing those, and call it quits as a career. Kind of like golf when you get a hole in one. You just think, "well, I can't ever do any better than that! I might as well quit at the top". The top accents really help the whole nature of the picture stones. They don't take away at all. These are all like art in my opinion (disclaimer: of course consider the source of the opinion, lol).
Number 5 is a repeat of a tried and true formula which you have down pat now. I do this a lot. I think my last 50 pendants repeat a similar formula on the bail because it worked once, lol. Really neat stone you wrapped too.
By the way, your cabs are perfect too. Have I mentioned that lately? Really impressive shapes.
I think #6 is a perfect little thing where you tried a couple new bends, and the bail is ideal for the rock. I think 7-8 are the same rock. Man what a great rock!! I have never had anything like this myself. I would be too nervous to wrap it at all. I think that the stone could have been done with a groove wrap too, but I like the wire accents on this one.
Number 9-10 look like the same rock, and it seems like a groove wrap actually. Really shows off the character of the rock. More plain. But very polished effort for your first groove wrap. Wow, where did you get the machine to do that already? Pretty clean effort. I could never do this with my first groove wrap, no way.
And 11-12 is a phenomenal stone that is really shown well with the wrap. The bail is split so that should help on the chain from sliding. The actual bail is nice and smooth without any imperfections. For your second groove wrap it is pretty amazing really if you ask me.
Keep up the great work! But if you want my advice, tell your task master to allow you to go outside again, in to the fresh air and sunshine! It is Spring time out there, and it you stay locked in, chained to a table, in a small dimly lit Chinese sweat shop laboring away on pendants all day, then you might miss it! J/K of course.
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 23, 2021 20:40:00 GMT -5
Dude!! Are you sure that you didn't have a former life of perhaps an enslaved Chinese jeweler maker, who was chained to a table at an early age, forced to only eat peanuts, stored in a dimly lit dwelling and only allowed to come out once a day to make cabochons! Like, these are amazing!
I can't comment on all of them now, since I just burnt myself out on your last batch of 12!! Where are you finding the time and energy to make all of these son?!?
The first 4 are totally cool! I think that I would retire as a wire wrapper after just doing those, and call it quits as a career. Kind of like golf when you get a hole in one. You just think, "well, I can't ever do any better than that! I might as well quit at the top". The top accents really help the whole nature of the picture stones. They don't take away at all. These are all like art in my opinion (disclaimer: of course consider the source of the opinion, lol).
Number 5 is a repeat of a tried and true formula which you have down pat now. I do this a lot. I think my last 50 pendants repeat a similar formula on the bail because it worked once, lol. Really neat stone you wrapped too.
By the way, your cabs are perfect too. Have I mentioned that lately? Really impressive shapes.
I think #6 is a perfect little thing where you tried a couple new bends, and the bail is ideal for the rock. I think 7-8 are the same rock. Man what a great rock!! I have never had anything like this myself. I would be too nervous to wrap it at all. I think that the stone could have been done with a groove wrap too, but I like the wire accents on this one.
Number 9-10 look like the same rock, and it seems like a groove wrap actually. Really shows off the character of the rock. More plain. But very polished effort for your first groove wrap. Wow, where did you get the machine to do that already? Pretty clean effort. I could never do this with my first groove wrap, no way.
And 11-12 is a phenomenal stone that is really shown well with the wrap. The bail is split so that should help on the chain from sliding. The actual bail is nice and smooth without any imperfections. For your second groove wrap it is pretty amazing really if you ask me.
Keep up the great work! But if you want my advice, tell your task master to allow you to go outside again, in to the fresh air and sunshine! It is Spring time out there, and it you stay locked in, chained to a table, in a small dimly lit Chinese sweat shop laboring away on pendants all day, then you might miss it! J/K of course.
Thank you so very very much Bill! I won't make this reply long as I only escaped the ball and chain and need to get back to the grind before they notice I stepped away for a minute! LOL (I played golf for many many years and NEVER had a hole-in-one!!! LOL) I tried really hard to allow my "bling" in the bail area not to detract from the scene in the stone. Thanks for taking notice of that. I don't have the creative gene that would allow me to do a completely different wrap for each one...I figure the cab is what makes the difference, so I will "re-use" some wrapping patterns... That Brazilian Agate is pretty cool. You're right, it could have been groove wrapped, but I only want to use a groove wrap out of necessity... I picked up a Gryphon Gryphette awhile back, knowing I was going to be using it for groove wrapping at some point...I guess that point has come! LOL Now, with regards to it being "Spring"...it might be Spring in some places in the world, but in South Dakota, it still feels like winter...so I'm happy to be inside working on these for the time being! LOL Again, thank you for all the comments and suggestions...I really appreciate the time you put into these! |
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