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Post by holajonathan on Dec 10, 2021 20:04:51 GMT -5
Quick and dirty cell photos of my latest. All free forms. All cut from from saw scraps except the Bot. Try to imagine them without the greasy fingerprints. Darn hand cream.  Ohio Flint  Ohio Flint  Labradorite with a lot of flash but at a poor angle.  Gary Green  A fine grained jasper from the Northwest  Botswana agate  Montana with greasy fingerprint at 12:00 position  Water level Montana Moss Agate cut parallel to the dendrite-filled opal bands. Super thin overall (1/8"). Very low dome. Difficult to work since every other layer is soft quartz, and the opal layers and quartz layers are not stuck together very well. Shaped on 220 hard wheel, before jumping to a well worn 600 grit resin wheel, where I must have spent a half hour working out the scratches, while trying not to remove the dendrites. This is a strange rock in that it has dendrites both in the white opal layers and in the grainy quartz layers, as you can see around the edges.  Together with tumbled pieces from the same rock, cut in the other direction.  I believe the cab is from this part of the rock.  |
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Post by perkins17 on Dec 10, 2021 20:20:26 GMT -5
Quick and dirty cell photos of my latest. All free forms. All cut from from saw scraps except the Bot. Difficult to work since every other layer is soft quartz, and the opal layers and quartz layers are not stuck together very well. Shaped on 220 hard wheel, before jumping to a well worn 600 grit resin wheel, where I must have spent a half hour working out the scratches, while trying not to remove the dendrites.  This is a very strange rock is that it has dendrites both in the white opal layers and in the grainy quartz layers, as you can see around the edges. I don't think I've ever seen dendrites in quartz except for this rock. Awesome cabs and tumbled stones! I really like the variation in shape! |
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 10, 2021 20:24:33 GMT -5
perkins17 Thank you. Cabbing small pieces is a good way to learn new shapes. I never really intended to make most of these cabs, but the scraps were within arms reach of my cabbing machine, and one thing led to another...
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2021 20:30:12 GMT -5
I really like that last one- with the quartz dendrites, but they are all uber shiny and purdy.  |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 10, 2021 20:39:09 GMT -5
Nice saw "scraps"! My favorite is the dendritic quartz.
A quick search for dendritic quartz yields these images.
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Post by perkins17 on Dec 10, 2021 21:25:12 GMT -5
perkins17Thank you. Cabbing small pieces is a good way to learn new shapes. I never really intended to make most of these cabs, but the scraps were within arms reach of my cabbing machine, and one thing let to another... That makes sense. I'll need to cut some freeforms next time I cut slabs. lol! I can see how one thing led to another... It certainly wood for me. |
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lunker
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2021
Posts: 430
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Post by lunker on Dec 10, 2021 23:16:41 GMT -5
Pretty sweet cabs sir
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 10, 2021 23:17:40 GMT -5
Great shine on those Jonathan. I particularly like that Montana!
I got ballsy awhile back and ordered some Labradorite...but once it got here, I haven't been as bold as I thought I'd be...so I haven't worked it yet. LOL
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 10, 2021 23:32:55 GMT -5
Nice saw "scraps"! My favorite is the dendritic quartz.
A quick search for dendritic quartz yields these images.
I should specify: they are trim saw scraps, as it oddly shaped piece left over after cutting out marked preforms from decent slabs. Not the stuff that I find in the oily muck when I clean out my slab saws. Included quartz is amazing. I agree 100%! The stuff I was messing around with is less amazing, but still fun. |
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 10, 2021 23:34:42 GMT -5
Great shine on those Jonathan. I particularly like that Montana! I got ballsy awhile back and ordered some Labradorite...but once it got here, I haven't been as bold as I thought I'd be...so I haven't worked it yet. LOL My only advice is to really analyze the narrow angle of flash, and think about how your dome will or will not give a decent viewing angle for the flash, if that makes sense. I didn't do that, and my cab only shows flash at a really low angle. |
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 10, 2021 23:39:47 GMT -5
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 11, 2021 8:43:06 GMT -5
Yeah, I got that. I save those types of trim saw scraps, too. You never know when you'll need a small piece of a nice stone. Plus I just hate throwing away nice rock.  I always figure some day I may need them for intarsia or inlay. |
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Dec 11, 2021 10:21:28 GMT -5
Nice cabs, you get a great polish.
Labradorite is tricky, orientation is key when slabbing. I've seen some beautiful flash in cabs that the orientation is way off. It's unfortunate because the colors are amazing.
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 11, 2021 13:48:44 GMT -5
Nice cabs, you get a great polish. Labradorite is tricky, orientation is key when slabbing. I've seen some beautiful flash in cabs that the orientation is way off. It's unfortunate because the colors are amazing. Tricky, indeed. Even more so that sheen obsidian, and much more so that tiger's eye. The layers of flash must be parallel in labradorite, but it still seems tricky to cut for some reason. Maybe the angle of flash changes in different layers? I will have to read up on this before I try cutting larger rough. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 11, 2021 21:35:53 GMT -5
Nice cabs, you get a great polish. Labradorite is tricky, orientation is key when slabbing. I've seen some beautiful flash in cabs that the orientation is way off. It's unfortunate because the colors are amazing. Tricky, indeed. Even more so that sheen obsidian, and much more so that tiger's eye. The layers of flash must be parallel in labradorite, but it still seems tricky to cut for some reason. Maybe the angle of flash changes in different layers? I will have to read up on this before I try cutting larger rough. The layers do change direction (a lot). Here's an article from Rock and Gem Magazine on how to orient Labradorite for slabbing. |
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 11, 2021 21:43:13 GMT -5
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brybry
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Post by brybry on Dec 13, 2021 16:31:28 GMT -5
Yes, thank you. My wife and I was just talking about cutting Lab for cabs.
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I always figure some day I may need them for intarsia or inlay.
