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Post by holajonathan on Aug 21, 2021 16:01:22 GMT -5
This stuff is nerve-racking to hand feed. I managed to pull these slices off a 10" trim saw without a rip fence, guide, or vise which requires patience, a steady hand, and a sharp, un-warped blade. The one with a big eye may be the nicest rock I have ever cut. It is about 3" long, fracture free, and has none of the soft chalky rind that these nodules usually have. What look like deep fractures in the middle of some slices are completely filled in with tiny sparkly quartz. The broken ones were from broken nodules. In other words, broken before cutting.         I just happened to be cutting some cold mountain jasper / thundereggs at the same time, and couldn't help but notice a similarity.  And finally, one of the more extravagant fracture-free Bots I have cut. It has great contrast in person, very geometric curved bands, and good parallax in the middle. I want to cab it but I'm struggling to figure out the best cab shape. Maybe a horizontal oval?  |
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Post by Rockindad on Aug 21, 2021 18:34:28 GMT -5
Beautiful Jonathan. Just came across some rough of RIJ today while digging through boxes, ours is so bad I still don't want to touch it. Those Bots are too cool as well.
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Aug 21, 2021 19:55:46 GMT -5
Those look like some hard boiled eggs gone bad!
The Bot is incredible! I love that wide and wild pattern in it!
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 21, 2021 21:30:54 GMT -5
Those look like some hard boiled eggs gone bad! The Bot is incredible! I love that wide and wild pattern in it! It really does look like a demented egg. I would like to hear one of those smarty-pants geologist explain how that rock was formed! |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 21, 2021 21:35:01 GMT -5
Beautiful Jonathan. Just came across some rough of RIJ today while digging through boxes, ours is so bad I still don't want to touch it. Those Bots are too cool as well. I got about 25 pounds of truly ungraded RIJ earlier this year. That means big, small, broken, and unbroken. Out of 25 pounds, there are probably 5 or 6 rocks that have the potential to be that nice and complete. And two of the previous ones I cut were complete duds. One was filled with almost solid colored green jasper, and the other one had a nice pattern but had tons of cracks that had been filled in with a soft, dark green mineral. So not only is this stuff expensive on a per pound basis, but the yield is not very good either. With that said, I'd take that one rock over a box full of mediocre rocks. I've got enough of those already. |
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lunker
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2021
Posts: 430
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Post by lunker on Aug 21, 2021 23:08:36 GMT -5
Those are great. The white ones remind me of the grateful dead skull.
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Post by fernwood on Aug 22, 2021 2:27:29 GMT -5
Nice slabs. I really like the ones with the healed fractures.
The Bot is pretty amazing. Looking forward to seeing the finished cab.
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 22, 2021 8:12:57 GMT -5
Those are great. The white ones remind me of the grateful dead skull. Right? Those should be carved into a pair of earrings for some 310 lb Portland chick with armpit hair. Just sayin'. I have cut literally buckets of Royal imperial nodules to get maybe 2 or 3 beauties, those are amazing. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 22, 2021 8:17:58 GMT -5
However you cut that bot, it would be really cool to retain a little bit of the plumes on the edge if possible.
I would be looking at free forms that follow the lines.
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 22, 2021 10:05:42 GMT -5
However you cut that bot, it would be really cool to retain a little bit of the plumes on the edge if possible. I would be looking at free forms that follow the lines. Thank. I hadn't thought about trying to keep some plumes, but I like the idea. I will try that with at least one slice. |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 22, 2021 12:37:42 GMT -5
Those are great. The white ones remind me of the grateful dead skull. Right? Those should be carved into a pair of earrings for some 310 lb Portland chick with armpit hair.Just sayin'. I have cut literally buckets of Royal imperial nodules to get maybe 2 or 3 beauties, those are amazing.  |
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 22, 2021 16:59:17 GMT -5
I would smooth the bots outer edges for nice curves with minimum material removed and go from there.
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Post by jasoninsd on Aug 22, 2021 18:39:41 GMT -5
Wow! Just...wow! I was scrolling down looking at all the pictures very carefully and was preparing my reply in my head...in which I was going to remark about the similarity of those first couple to Cold Mountain Thundereggs...and lo and behold...you covered that! LOL That Bot is off-the-charts! I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of that pattern!  |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 23, 2021 1:57:07 GMT -5
victor1941 I went with your recommendation since you seem to have good ones (and you are kind enough to share them).  This photo was taken with bad lighting, but I'm sure you can see what I see... I got though the 1200 wheel before I realized there are still some scratches from the hard wheels just to the right of the fine banding. I dried it and gave it a close look between every wheel, but apparently not close enough. I'll go back and fix it tomorrow, but in general, I think it's going to turn out fine. It has good parallax in the fine banding, and strongly contrasting colors throughout. The colors are sort of lost in the bad lighting, but I'll take some proper photos and post here when finished. Thanks for your help.
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 23, 2021 2:02:58 GMT -5
Wow! Just...wow! I was scrolling down looking at all the pictures very carefully and was preparing my reply in my head...in which I was going to remark about the similarity of those first couple to Cold Mountain Thundereggs...and lo and behold...you covered that! LOL That Bot is off-the-charts! I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of that pattern! I'll give you the other slice of that Botswana agate if you promise not to make me look bad. In other words, when your cab turns out amazing, no posting photos. |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 23, 2021 2:07:17 GMT -5
Wow! Just...wow! I was scrolling down looking at all the pictures very carefully and was preparing my reply in my head...in which I was going to remark about the similarity of those first couple to Cold Mountain Thundereggs...and lo and behold...you covered that! LOL That Bot is off-the-charts! I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of that pattern! I was thinking about cabbing one of the slices of the RIJ with the big demented eye, but that's another rock where I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of it. Which means it would be something like a 3" x 2" cab. It would make a pretty flamboyant pendant necklace at that size! The only problem is that the RIJ is really, super, duper hard. At least as hard as Montana agates. So doming, sanding, and polishing a cab that size might take me 2+ hours. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Aug 23, 2021 16:01:24 GMT -5
Wow! Just...wow! I was scrolling down looking at all the pictures very carefully and was preparing my reply in my head...in which I was going to remark about the similarity of those first couple to Cold Mountain Thundereggs...and lo and behold...you covered that! LOL That Bot is off-the-charts! I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of that pattern! I'll give you the other slice of that Botswana agate if you promise not to make me look bad. In other words, when your cab turns out amazing, no posting photos. Well that would be a really easy promise to keep as I don't think I can get the same shine you get...yet! Of course I'd love to work that other half. You want to tuck it into your suitcase and bring it with you when you get over this way?  Wow! Just...wow! I was scrolling down looking at all the pictures very carefully and was preparing my reply in my head...in which I was going to remark about the similarity of those first couple to Cold Mountain Thundereggs...and lo and behold...you covered that! LOL That Bot is off-the-charts! I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of that pattern! I was thinking about cabbing one of the slices of the RIJ with the big demented eye, but that's another rock where I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of it. Which means it would be something like a 3" x 2" cab. It would make a pretty flamboyant pendant necklace at that size! The only problem is that the RIJ is really, super, duper hard. At least as hard as Montana agates. So doming, sanding, and polishing a cab that size might take me 2+ hours. As soon as you described the size, I was immediately brought back to the '80s and thought of this:  Only two hours to work it? That sounds like about the same amount of time a regular sized Botswana Agate takes me on the flat lap! LOL |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 23, 2021 19:11:55 GMT -5
victor1941 All done. I did what you suggested -- rounded the edges and took it from there. Got pretty good symmetry overall without sacrificing any of the good bands. jasoninsd The polish is pretty good, but I think you get just as good of a polish. I might be able to beat you on polish if you don't have a vibe tumbler. I've got diamond wheels up to 14,000, buffing pads, etc, but nothing I have lays down the shine like the Lot-O vibe. I can never see the dust until I send the photos to my computer, then it jumps out at me.    
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Post by jasoninsd on Aug 23, 2021 19:21:20 GMT -5
Man you've set the bar pretty darn high! That's gorgeous! I love the final shape! I've got disks up to 14,000...and I won't finish any of the cabs in the tumbler. I tried that a long time ago (that's relatively speaking of course! LOL) and I couldn't shake the "guilty" feeling. That feeling is ONLY meant for me. I know a lot of people finish their cabs in the tumbler and I'm not opposed to anyone other than myself doing that. For me, I want to say it was all hand done. Again, for anyone reading this who finishes their cabs in the tumbler - that was not directed at you - only me! |
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 23, 2021 19:21:25 GMT -5
I was thinking about cabbing one of the slices of the RIJ with the big demented eye, but that's another rock where I wouldn't want to lose a millimeter of it. Which means it would be something like a 3" x 2" cab. It would make a pretty flamboyant pendant necklace at that size! The only problem is that the RIJ is really, super, duper hard. At least as hard as Montana agates. So doming, sanding, and polishing a cab that size might take me 2+ hours. As soon as you described the size, I was immediately brought back to the '80s and thought of this: Only two hours to work it? That sounds like about the same amount of time a regular sized Botswana Agate takes me on the flat lap! LOL I was a kid in the 80s and my mom didn't let me listen to rap, so I have no recollection of that fine timepiece around his neck. I wonder if he still thinks that was a good look?  As far as giving you the other half, I've got a better idea... I could send a few nice Botswana slablets your way and in exchange, perhaps you would be willing to wrap one or two of my cabs? You would be collaborating in Christmas presents for my wife and mom, so you would have many months to do it. I will even toss in a nice piece of royal imperial jasper if you get some silver wire.  I was looking the other day and the silver isn't all that expensive. Not sure if it's harder to work with than the copper. |
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