fencejumper
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2021
Posts: 426
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Post by fencejumper on Dec 14, 2021 21:26:58 GMT -5
I always thought cactus juice was something entirely different — the bottle with the worm at the bottom. Then people drink the bottle down, eat the worm, get stupid (and sick) and blame it on the worm. Fred Flintstone loves cactus juice !
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fencejumper
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2021
Posts: 426
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Post by fencejumper on Dec 14, 2021 21:39:00 GMT -5
Cactus will stabilize. So you can cut crumbly stuff It is good for porous material Like parrot wing etc. Art resin is a sealer For hairlines and bigger… The chamber works better With cactus off the shelf, The art resin must be thinned Before you put it in the chamber There is a process I use When your ready hit me up. One finger typing is killing me smalls😊✔️ Do you use these on whole slabs? Preforms? Cabs? How hard are each of them when dried? If softer than the soft being stabilized, wouldn't they undercut when cabbing? Finally, do rocks sealed or stabilized with these products take a high polish? I'm sorry for so many questions. I would appreciate a response from anyone with knowledge or experience. Thank you! For stabilizing With cactus You can dunk the whole rock And slabs and cabs in at once Just follow the directions. The art resin is different, You have to want it. There is a process… But it is worth it.. Email me at PAFORSYTHE@comcast.net. I took it as a challenge, like im sure a lot of you Have, to seal a fracture or hairline crack In a rock seems like it would be easy right?🤔 It can be time consuming. But if you want it? It can be had.. I mess with a lot of crumbly duds And this technique has worked for me. Paul
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 14, 2021 23:19:09 GMT -5
For stabilizing With cactus You can dunk the whole rock And slabs and cabs in at once Just follow the directions. The art resin is different, You have to want it.There is a process… But it is worth it.. Email me at PAFORSYTHE@comcast.net. I took it as a challenge, like im sure a lot of you Have, to seal a fracture or hairline crack In a rock seems like it would be easy right?🤔 It can be time consuming. But if you want it? It can be had.. I mess with a lot of crumbly duds And this technique has worked for me. Paul I want it, Paul. I am not known for doing things in moderation or half way. I want to learn the right way, but don't want to reinvent the wheel. I will email you and you can tell me the secret info.
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Post by Rockoonz on Dec 15, 2021 12:38:16 GMT -5
For stabilizing With cactus You can dunk the whole rock And slabs and cabs in at once Just follow the directions. The art resin is different, You have to want it.There is a process… But it is worth it.. Email me at PAFORSYTHE@comcast.net. I took it as a challenge, like im sure a lot of you Have, to seal a fracture or hairline crack In a rock seems like it would be easy right?🤔 It can be time consuming. But if you want it? It can be had.. I mess with a lot of crumbly duds And this technique has worked for me. Paul I want it, Paul. I am not known for doing things in moderation or half way. I want to learn the right way, but don't want to reinvent the wheel. I will email you and you can tell me the secret info. I too wish to know of this secret elixir... Seriously, isn't art resin also used for encapsulating things and deep resin stuff? That's what I really want to learn.
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 15, 2021 14:37:04 GMT -5
I want it, Paul. I am not known for doing things in moderation or half way. I want to learn the right way, but don't want to reinvent the wheel. I will email you and you can tell me the secret info. I too wish to know of this secret elixir... Seriously, isn't art resin also used for encapsulating things and deep resin stuff? That's what I really want to learn. I sent Paul an email. I want to figure out how to stabilize crumbly rocks, seal and strengthen fractured rocks, and fill voids / gaps / pits. If Paul will help me figure out the equipment and supplies I need, and how to use them, I am willing to start a thread that shows my eventual process and progress in detail.
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 16, 2021 19:09:10 GMT -5
I just bought a bunch of stuff for sealing / stabilizing rock -- a pressure pot, vacuum pump, toaster oven, cactus juice, and art resin. Once I get everything set up, Paul has kindly agreed to give me a quick phone tutorial. I will take good notes, and post here what I learn from Paul as well as some photos of my own results.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 17, 2021 7:28:17 GMT -5
holajonathan I'm be looking forward to your posts. If DH knew what to get, he would have gotten the resin, too. Since you are testing them both, I'll wait to see what you do.
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 17, 2021 14:32:21 GMT -5
rockjunquie Here's a preview of my goals. I want to be able to... 1. Slab and cab unstable materials. I've got a ton of crumbly peanut obsidian which is top on my list. This material is porous making it a good candidate for resin stabilization. (I hope!) 2. Fill in tiny surface pits. I have a bunch of African Queen Picture Jasper with great scenes, often similar to regular Biggs. Many pieces are full of soft black specs (dendrites?) that undercut into pits when cabbed. Furthermore, the material isn't very well silicified and doesn't polish beyond a pearly, matte finish. I want to fill in the pits and impregnate the stone with a resin or epoxy that will allow it to take a high polish. If I succeed, I will have a very affordable alternative to Biggs. This Ohio flint is another example. Black specs are tiny pits that need filled. 3. Seal and strengthen fractured slabs so I can cut and cab with impunity! Wouldn't it be great to mark preforms on these slabs without having to think about fractures and soft bands? 4. Fill in bigger voids / gaps. A lot of the best Royal Imperial Jasper nodules have voids in the middle: 5. Stabilize materials with uneven hardness. This cheetah jasper with apatite comes to mind. The jasper is mohs 7ish... the apatite is mohs 4-5ish. Even the 1200 and 3000 grit Nova wheels will wear down the apatite, making it almost impossible to get an even dome and good polish on a cab. My plan is to run all of these through a few different stabilization processes and compare the results. I will have the cactus juice resin + vacuum chamber option, the art resin + toaster oven option, and the epoxy 330 + acetone in a canning jar option. I will record my success (and failure). This experimenting might take a while, but it seems like a worthwhile, long-term project.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 17, 2021 14:36:21 GMT -5
rockjunquie Here's a preview of my goals. I want to be able to... 1. Slab and cab unstable materials. I've got a ton of crumbly peanut obsidian which is top on my list. This material is porous making it a good candidate for resin stabilization. (I hope!) 2. Fill in tiny surface pits. I have a bunch of African Queen Picture Jasper with great scenes, often similar to regular Biggs. Many pieces are full of soft black specs (dendrites?) that undercut into pits when cabbed. Furthermore, the material isn't very well silicified and doesn't polish beyond a pearly, matte finish. I want to fill in the pits and impregnate the stone with a resin or epoxy that will allow it to take a high polish. If I succeed, I will have a very affordable alternative to Biggs. This Ohio flint is another example. Black specs are tiny pits that need filled. 3. Seal and strengthen fractured slabs so I can cut and cab with impunity! Wouldn't it be great to mark preforms on these slabs without having to think about fractures and soft bands? 4. Fill in bigger voids / gaps. A lot of the best Royal Imperial Jasper nodules have voids in the middle: 5. Stabilize materials with uneven hardness. This cheetah jasper with apatite comes to mind. The jasper is mohs 7ish... the apatite is mohs 4-5ish. Even the 1200 and 3000 grit Nova wheels will wear down the apatite, making it almost impossible to get an even dome and good polish on a cab. I will document my success (and failures) in achieving these goals with either epoxy sealer or resin impregnation. Wow! Can't wait to see the thread! Thanks so much for doing this. I mean, I trust you, so you're saving me a lot of time and material. Thank you.
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 17, 2021 14:45:48 GMT -5
rockjunquie Paul says he's got the process pretty much nailed down. Given the very high quality cabs and slabs that he posts on occasion, I believe him! I don't want to reinvent the wheel. I just want to learn and apply Paul's techniques, and post a bunch of before and after photos together with observations.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 17, 2021 14:47:25 GMT -5
rockjunquie Paul says he's got the process pretty much nailed down. Given the very high quality cabs and slabs that he posts on occasion, I believe him! I don't want to reinvent the wheel. I just want to learn and apply Paul's techniques, and post a bunch of before and after photos together with observations. Oh yeah, Paul has it down!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 17, 2021 19:32:40 GMT -5
I'm excited to see this thread, too, when you start it holajonathan!
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 17, 2021 23:32:57 GMT -5
I'm excited to see this thread, too, when you start it holajonathan !
Probably early January, after the holidays. By then I should have all needed equipment and supplies, as well as the time to do it.
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