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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 2:05:26 GMT -5
 Because once in a while, they actually have moss in them. Much more moss than most Montanas. 58mm x 38mm x 5mm. Masochistic measurements. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 17, 2021 2:23:30 GMT -5
Love the moss! Impressive size, too.
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 2:37:58 GMT -5
Love the moss! Impressive size, too. It's bedtime, Tela.  At least I have the excuse that I spent 2 hours making an oversized Montana agate cab. That was the first slice off of a big (3-4 pound) nodule. I hope the whole nodule ha the green and black moss. |
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 2:40:28 GMT -5
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 17, 2021 2:43:05 GMT -5
Love the moss! Impressive size, too. It's bedtime, Tela. At least I have the excuse that I spent 2 hours making an oversized Montana agate cab. That was the first slice off of a big (3-4 pound) nodule. I hope the whole nodule ha the green and black moss. I was in bed. Then I got up. I have weird sleeping habits.
I bet it slices up very nicely. |
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Post by perkins17 on Nov 17, 2021 10:12:44 GMT -5
I love Montana moss. Those are great. I need to cab today! I haven't cabbed for a while.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 17, 2021 13:25:22 GMT -5
Beautiful piece!
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 13:34:34 GMT -5
Thanks. I'm sure you've cut some that had a lot of moss. What is your experience on the hardness of the green moss? It is almost as hard as the surrounding agate in this rock, but the green moss has undercut pretty bad in similar pieces that I've to cab. |
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 13:34:51 GMT -5
I love Montana moss. Those are great. I need to cab today! I haven't cabbed for a while. Do it! |
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lunker
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2021
Posts: 430
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Post by lunker on Nov 17, 2021 18:20:24 GMT -5
That's a real beauty
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Post by perkins17 on Nov 17, 2021 19:01:41 GMT -5
I love Montana moss. Those are great. I need to cab today! I haven't cabbed for a while. Do it! Yup! I think I will |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 17, 2021 19:08:45 GMT -5
This has to be one of the nicest looking MMAs I've ever seen! It's freaking gorgeous Jonathan!
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 21:03:57 GMT -5
This has to be one of the nicest looking MMAs I've ever seen! It's freaking gorgeous Jonathan! Thanks, Jason. It was probably the most difficult cab I have ever made. The light green moss is surprisingly hard, but not quite as hard as the surrounding agate. And the dark colored spot next to the tiny area with waterline banding is quartz. Given the softish moss and softish quartz, I had to use a light touch on the 280 resin wheel. That is a losing strategy with Montana moss agates. With Montana agates, it is hard to get all of the scratches out from the hard wheels even when I am aggressive on the 280 wheel. Once I realized this was never going to work, I went back to the 220 hard wheel and ground the dome down about 1mm while trying to avoid the soft spots. That allowed me to aggressively use the 280 resin wheel, which both removed scratches and wore the softer spots down to the same dome height as the rest of the cab. There are still a few very fine scratches that I can see upon close inspection, but I am hoping that another polish with cerium oxide might pull them out without having to go back to at least the 600 grit resin wheel. If I had to do over I would have made it about half the size. I hate wasting slabs this nice, and I went overboard on the size. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 17, 2021 21:08:06 GMT -5
That's an amazing big, yummy cab! Thanks for sharing.
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Post by perkins17 on Nov 17, 2021 21:09:30 GMT -5
I love Montana moss. Those are great. I need to cab today! I haven't cabbed for a while. Do it! Got some garnet done! I posted a thread about it a little bit ago. |
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 17, 2021 21:19:38 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones I recently decided to start patiently cabbing my best slabs, as opposed to hurriedly making a bunch of cabs of so-so material. I was saving the better stuff until my skills improved. I've still got a lot to learn, but I no longer feel like I'm going to destroy my nicer material. I've got this group through the 280 resin wheel. All Montana agates with one piece of Yellowstone river pet wood.   I'm looking to see which ones I might finish in a vibe tumbler since these things wear me out.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 17, 2021 21:28:05 GMT -5
This has to be one of the nicest looking MMAs I've ever seen! It's freaking gorgeous Jonathan! Thanks, Jason. It was probably the most difficult cab I have ever made. The light green moss is surprisingly hard, but not quite as hard as the surrounding agate. And the dark colored spot next to the tiny area with waterline banding is quartz. Given the softish moss and softish quartz, I had to use a light touch on the 280 resin wheel. That is a losing strategy with Montana moss agates. With Montana agates, it is hard to get all of the scratches out from the hard wheels even when I am aggressive on the 280 wheel. Once I realized this was never going to work, I went back to the 220 hard wheel and ground the dome down about 1mm while trying to avoid the soft spots. That allowed me to aggressively use the 280 resin wheel, which both removed scratches and wore the softer spots down to the same dome height as the rest of the cab. There are still a few very fine scratches that I can see upon close inspection, but I am hoping that another polish with cerium oxide might pull them out without having to go back to at least the 600 grit resin wheel. If I had to do over I would have made it about half the size. I hate wasting slabs this nice, and I went overboard on the size. The highlighted part was smart! I don't think making this particular cab smaller would have made it as amazing as it is. The pure size of the cab really adds to the overall beauty as it is able to incorporate all that moss along the top, bottom, and side! |
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,790
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Post by adrian65 on Nov 20, 2021 0:14:52 GMT -5
WOW! There's a whole world inthat cab!
Dunno why, the patterns remind me a Dali painting. Not a speciffic one, just the style.
Adrian
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At least I have the excuse that I spent 2 hours making an oversized Montana agate cab. 
