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Post by holajonathan on Dec 20, 2021 21:33:01 GMT -5
I made these over the past few weeks, but they all got final polish today. Some are disappointing, but it's good to show those too. Not all cabs turn out no matter how hard you try. All are free forms except #4. Ones I Like 1. Dino Bone. The cell matrix is either metallic or simply a metallic color. My first d-bone cab from decent rough.  2. A big laguna lace free form (80mm+ long) with a couple of inside curves to inspire jasoninsd   3. Montana Moss Agate. Huge -- about 80mm x 40mm. Way too big. It took hours to work out the scratches, which are particularly stubborn with a low dome. All while trying to not undercut the unstable quartz in the middle. Polishing the back was also a pain in the.... It's nice, but not 3-4 hours nice. No more massive MMA cabs.  4. Royal Imperial Jasper 4. Caddis fly larvae infested palm root agate ( maggot agate). Love this stuff.  5. Unknown west-coast jasper with a high dome. Silvery metallic specs throughout, which don't really add anything, but don't look bad, either.   6. Montana Moss Agate -- This one is little, about 25mm x 30mm.  7. A high dome Montana Moss Agate. No one makes high dome MMA cabs. And for good reason. About 42mm x 20mm x 9mm.   Just Ok8. Wascoite jasper from Wasco, OR (near Biggs Junction). Looks like pet wood. There's nothing wrong with this cab, but it's just sort of... brown.  9. Crazy lace agate. Shape and composition are poor. 70mm x 30mm. Top is an inside curve. This is what happens if you cab a nice slablet without cutting or grinding a cab shape. Too much work for a mediocre result.  Maybe someday I'll recut it like this  Disappointing Cabs10. Jasper from Mexico. The slab looked awesome, but the red and orange colors ended up being a little punky and did not polish well. Some rocks just don't get shiny even when they look like they should.   11. West Texas Agate. This was an ugly little nodule with a peculiar luster (high opal content, I suspect) and a little bit of moss. I worked the whole nodule with wheels to the shape of a cab. It would be ok (not great) except I cooked the top with cerium. I don't like it well enough to fix it. Fail.  12. These Montana Moss Agate twins (fraternal, not identical) have tiny pits that run in line with the dots. MMA is not normally pitted, but I have done everything imaginable to try to remove them, and I can't. Either the rock has pits (unlikely), or the dendrites that break the surface are undercutting (more likely). MMA should have a flawless finish, and these do not. My 8 year old niece will get these for her jewelry making projects.   |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 20, 2021 21:42:26 GMT -5
Thanks for showing your really nice cabs and the ones you don't care for. It happens to all of us, but usually we don't show the ones we're disappointed in.
Love the dino bone, RIJ (of course) and the Maggot Agate! The Wascoite is very pretty because of the wood look. Very male looking. Some guy would wear that on a leather cord for sure.
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 20, 2021 22:01:13 GMT -5
Holy smokes...where do I start?! You really do have a lot of amazing work and beautiful cabs out of the "work" this week!
Dino Bone - That piece is amazing. It's really awesome that it had no undercutting on the cell walls.
Laguna Lace - I love what you did with this one! The double curve is something I haven't seen before...and it really looks like you nailed the symmetry!
Montana Moss - Stop doing such large cabs! LOL - That second one you posted (#6) is drop dead gorgeous...and a great size to it.
Maggot Agate - Interesting. I worked three pieces of this yesterday. The rough I got has a tendency to have some pits and some undercutting (only in a couple very minor areas). I love the looks of this material. Yours has a darker tone to it than mine. I'll post pics in a day or two.
RIJ - What's not to like about this piece... (That's more of a statement as opposed to a question! LOL)
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 20, 2021 22:24:02 GMT -5
Holy smokes...where do I start?! You really do have a lot of amazing work and beautiful cabs out of the "work" this week! Dino Bone - That piece is amazing. It's really awesome that it had no undercutting on the cell walls. Laguna Lace - I love what you did with this one! The double curve is something I haven't seen before...and it really looks like you nailed the symmetry! Montana Moss - Stop doing such large cabs! LOL - That second one you posted (#6) is drop dead gorgeous...and a great size to it. Maggot Agate - Interesting. I worked three pieces of this yesterday. The rough I got has a tendency to have some pits and some undercutting (only in a couple very minor areas). I love the looks of this material. Yours has a darker tone to it than mine. I'll post pics in a day or two. RIJ - What's not to like about this piece... (That's more of a statement as opposed to a question! LOL) Here's my problem. I cut these smallish Montana moss agate nodules, and if the slab has no unstable fractures, I tend to think... what the heck, why not just cab the whole slab? It seems like a waste to cut off those pretty dendrites. That is the wrong approach. I cut them thin in the first place (around 5mm, or 0.2"), so a big cab has to have a super low dome. Big low domes on super hard rocks is a good way to make cabbing feel like a chore. I like a challenge, but the end result has to be worth it. I am done with the huge MMA cabs unless the material truly deserves it. My maggot aggot has a few soft spots where the dome is a very tiny bit flat, as well as a few small pits. Seems common in my material as well. But I wasn't going to miss out on the best part of the slab just to stay away from a few little surface imperfections. The busy pattern seems to hide them pretty well. |
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lunker
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2021
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Post by lunker on Dec 20, 2021 22:26:10 GMT -5
Beautiful work on all. I love anything Montana moss agate. Until recently I had never seen dino bone polished but man is it cool stuff. I can't wait to see the self collected Montana cabs coming next summer!
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 20, 2021 22:28:38 GMT -5
jasoninsdHere's the maggot agate up close so you cans see the minor imperfections.  
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 20, 2021 22:40:10 GMT -5
Holy smokes...where do I start?! You really do have a lot of amazing work and beautiful cabs out of the "work" this week! Dino Bone - That piece is amazing. It's really awesome that it had no undercutting on the cell walls. Laguna Lace - I love what you did with this one! The double curve is something I haven't seen before...and it really looks like you nailed the symmetry! Montana Moss - Stop doing such large cabs! LOL - That second one you posted (#6) is drop dead gorgeous...and a great size to it. Maggot Agate - Interesting. I worked three pieces of this yesterday. The rough I got has a tendency to have some pits and some undercutting (only in a couple very minor areas). I love the looks of this material. Yours has a darker tone to it than mine. I'll post pics in a day or two. RIJ - What's not to like about this piece... (That's more of a statement as opposed to a question! LOL) Here's my problem. I cut these smallish Montana moss agate nodules, and if the slab has no unstable fractures, I tend to think... what the heck, why not just cab the whole slab? It seems like a waste to cut off those pretty dendrites. That is the wrong approach. I cut them thin in the first place (around 5mm, or 0.2"), so a big cab has to have a super low dome. Big low domes on super hard rocks is a good way to make cabbing feel like a chore. I like a challenge, but the end result has to be worth it. I am done with the huge MMA cabs unless the material truly deserves it. My maggot aggot has a few soft spots where the dome is a very tiny bit flat, as well as a few small pits. Seems common in my material as well. But I wasn't going to miss out on the best part of the slab just to stay away from a few little surface imperfections. The busy pattern seems to hide them pretty well. Just so you know, it was kind of a me preaching to the choir kinda deal! LOL - I have the same exact tendency when it comes to Teepee Canyon Agate cabs. I have a LOT of oversized cabs. When I see a fortification pattern which CAN be contained within a large cab, I'm reluctant to lose that entire fortification area just to make the cab smaller. I figure someone will want one THAT big! LOL There's a big difference between working MMA and TCA...TCA is a lot easier to work! jasoninsd Here's the maggot agate up close so you cans see the minor imperfections. Okay...that's exactly what mine does. And I'll agree with your statements above...it's worth the few minor blemishes that easily get lost in the busy pattern, because it's really an awesome looking material.  |
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adrian65
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Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
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Post by adrian65 on Dec 21, 2021 0:01:01 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs! I think you're too hard on the "twins", I like them a lot.
Adrian
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Post by stephan on Dec 21, 2021 0:47:06 GMT -5
Thanks for showing your really nice cabs and the ones you don't care for. It happens to all of us, but usually we don't show the ones we're disappointed in.
Love the dino bone, RIJ (of course) and the Maggot Agate! The Wascoite is very pretty because of the wood look. Very male looking. Some guy would wear that on a leather cord for sure.
I would wear most of those. I’m not too particular about whether it’s “masculine” or not (I also wear pink, and call it pink  ). holajonathan amazing cabs. I love the crazy lace (can we call it a banana slug?), and the wood best. The Montana twins are pretty cool too. I’m sure your niece will love them. ‘’And then the dino bone… freaking awesome. |
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Post by Pat on Dec 21, 2021 1:18:50 GMT -5
Maggot Agate, Dino bone, and #10 are favorites. Thanks for the show!
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 21, 2021 3:06:53 GMT -5
Thanks for showing your really nice cabs and the ones you don't care for. It happens to all of us, but usually we don't show the ones we're disappointed in.
Love the dino bone, RIJ (of course) and the Maggot Agate! The Wascoite is very pretty because of the wood look. Very male looking. Some guy would wear that on a leather cord for sure.
I would wear most of those. I’m not too particular about whether it’s “masculine” or not (I also wear pink, and call it pink ). holajonathan amazing cabs. I love the crazy lace (can we call it a banana slug?), and the wood best. The Montana twins are pretty cool too. I’m sure your niece will love them. ‘’And then the dino bone… freaking awesome. Thanks. "Real men wear pink (pants)." That was the name of a presentation that I have in a non-verbal psychology class in college. I wore pink pants during the presentation. I can't say I've got much pink in the closet these days, but I do enjoy disrespecting dumb gender stereotypes. Back to the rocks... That d-bone was just good material. I didn't do much to it, just sort of hacked out a shape on the 80 grit wheel and gave it a little bit of a dome. Too bad the nice material is so darn expensive. It would take me a long time to get tired of cabbing the stuff. |
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 21, 2021 3:13:33 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs! I think you're too hard on the "twins", I like them a lot. Adrian I like them too, I just became sort of obsessed with trying to get the little pits out. I tried regrinding the surface on the 220 wheel and going back through all the resin wheels with a light touch... didn't work. Next, I tried giving them a hot polish with cerium oxide, hoping I could sort of smooth them over with a good polish. Nope. Finally, I stuck them in a vibe tumbler for two days with sub-micron aluminum oxide and ceramic media. That is usually a good way to get rid of stubborn little surface imperfections on hard agates, but not here. The more I tried to get rid of them and couldn't, the more they bothered me. If you think this sounds like an appropriate area of inquiry with a psychologist, you're probably right. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 21, 2021 8:09:02 GMT -5
I'm glad you showed your "bad" ones. It's something that happens to all of us but we rarely show the bad ones. (Well, I do esp that last thread! LOL) But, your "bad" ones aren't so bad, really. Frustrating I'm sure, but not actually "bad".
For me, that RIJ is the cat's meow and no others come close. It's just drop dead gorgeous!
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 21, 2021 15:30:31 GMT -5
I'm glad you showed your "bad" ones. It's something that happens to all of us but we rarely show the bad ones. (Well, I do esp that last thread! LOL) But, your "bad" ones aren't so bad, really. Frustrating I'm sure, but not actually "bad".
For me, that RIJ is the cat's meow and no others come close. It's just drop dead gorgeous!
I have much bigger "fails" than these, but I usually give up on those early in the process. The failed cabs are an important part of the learning process. I am getting better at knowing what areas of a slab to avoid when marking preforms, and when I want to take calculated risks in order to capture certain patterns or colors in problematic parts of a slab. In trying to figure out what was wrong with the pitted Montana Moss Agate "twins," I found your thread from a couple years ago where you were running flats through the Lot-O tumbler. You had at least one MMA slice with almost the same problem. Your thread seems to confirm that this is simply a flaw in the rock, and something to be aware of with MT agates that have dense concentration of tiny dendrites. A final note about the RIJ cab... That was simple to make. It's a nice cab because the rough was nice, period. Sometimes I think that I should focus most of my time, energy, and rock-related budget on acquiring quality rough, cutting it well, and marking good preforms. An amazing preform + "good enough" cabbing skills can produce great results, especially when working with mohs 7 rocks, which are very forgiving. In the end, knowing how to find and identify good material, and knowing how to best slab and/or cut preforms, may be the most important "cabbing" skills. What is done after that with the cabbing machine is not rocket science, even if it might take a year or two of practice to really nail down. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 21, 2021 15:35:28 GMT -5
I'm glad you showed your "bad" ones. It's something that happens to all of us but we rarely show the bad ones. (Well, I do esp that last thread! LOL) But, your "bad" ones aren't so bad, really. Frustrating I'm sure, but not actually "bad".
For me, that RIJ is the cat's meow and no others come close. It's just drop dead gorgeous!
I have much bigger "fails" than these, but I usually give up on those early in the process. The most frustrating cabs are those that look like they can be saved or fixed, but the "fixes" never quite get the cab to the finish line. The failed cabs are an important part of the learning process. Now that I have made a few hundred cabs, I have a much better idea of how to mark preforms to avoid many problems. In trying to figure out what was wrong with the pitted Montana Moss Agate "twins," I found your thread from a couple years ago where you were running flats through the Lot-O tumbler. You had at least one MMA slice with almost the exact same problem of little pits that run in parallel with the dendrites. Your thread seems to confirm that this is simply a flaw in the rock, and something to be aware of when cabbing MMA with a dense concentration of tiny dendrites.
I ran across that stone the other day. With the naked eye, it was truly hard to know anything was there. I remember thinking- why was I so stressed? LOL!
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Dec 22, 2021 20:18:05 GMT -5
Those are some fantastic cabs! The Dino bone is top notch, but I think the maggot agate takes the top spot for me due to everything its got going on. Laguna lace, RIJ, and Montana agates get an instant thumbs up from me any day.
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