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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 14:24:18 GMT -5
Amy Sage Agate
I posted a these in a dop handle review thread, but here they are in better lighting. Easily one of my favorite materials. 
Wildflower Rhyolite (as named by Tommy ) Red area (left) has some uneven hardness, but not too bad. The yellow and salmon colored parts were surprisingly solid and hard with no undercutting.  Montana Agate. This was a tumbled saw scrap before it was a cab. So the back was already polished! This got me thinking... maybe I should run Montana agate preforms through the Lot-O tumbler before cabbing just to polish the back? Fracture free preforms would be unfazed, and seeing the preform polished would also provide insight into how I want to shape the dome. I will try this soon. 
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 21, 2022 16:14:34 GMT -5
The amy sage is wonderful, but so is the wildflower. Did you get that from Tommy or is it something you can buy on eBay?
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 16:53:25 GMT -5
rockjunquieI found a decent size chunk of Ebay described as "old stock Leopard Skin." The listing included 3 pieces. The two smaller pieces were low grade leopard skin. The third and largest piece was a nice looking and solid chunk of the Wildflower rhyolite. The seller was Rockman69 
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 17:00:23 GMT -5
A few more that I just finished polishing with cerium: Mexican Lace Agate
 Moss Agate from Chihuahua, Mexico. Sold to me as "Macaw Agate" -- a moss agate mined near the Agua Nueva agate mines. Better material than many Mexican moss agates. Some pieces have large and bright colored fortification banding mixed in with the moss.  Agua Nueva vein agate from Mexico. Mined near the famous Agua Nueva nodular agates. Very nice green and white moss with purple fortifications, which did not photograph well. Rectangle may not be the best cab shape, either.  |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 21, 2022 17:01:02 GMT -5
rockjunquie I found a decent size chunk of Ebay described as "old stock Leopard Skin." The listing included 3 pieces. The two smaller pieces were low grade leopard skin. The third and largest piece was a nice looking and solid chunk of the Wildflower rhyolite. The seller was Rockman69 OK, I was wondering how you found it without using Tommy's name for it. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 17:02:24 GMT -5
rockjunquie I found a decent size chunk of Ebay described as "old stock Leopard Skin." The listing included 3 pieces. The two smaller pieces were low grade leopard skin. The third and largest piece was a nice looking and solid chunk of the Wildflower rhyolite. The seller was Rockman69 OK, I was wondering how you found it without using Tommy's name for it. I have also been interested in whether there is another name for it... I suppose it could get lumped in with Leopard Skin or with Birds Eye rhyolite. It's a little different than either, in lease in terms of colors, but not all that different. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 17:13:23 GMT -5
rockjunquie I found a decent size chunk of Ebay described as "old stock Leopard Skin." The listing included 3 pieces. The two smaller pieces were low grade leopard skin. The third and largest piece was a nice looking and solid chunk of the Wildflower rhyolite. The seller was Rockman69 OK, I was wondering how you found it without using Tommy's name for it. Ebay tip: searching for leopardskin jasper often turns up some interesting rough / slabs that are not classic leopardskin. A lot of people call any orbicular rhyolite leopardskin, and a lot of orbicular rhyolite is interesting. Like this: www.ebay.com/itm/274639167723?hash=item3ff1c520eb:g:FooAAOSwjO1f9nZDThat rock doesn't make me think of leopards, but I like it. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 21, 2022 17:20:38 GMT -5
holajonathan I never would have called that leopardskin! Wow, what a stretch. LOL! I guess you can kinda see it, but not what you expect to see.
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 17:26:36 GMT -5
holajonathan I never would have called that leopardskin! Wow, what a stretch. LOL! I guess you can kinda see it, but not what you expect to see. Exactly. I think the issue is that, as a seller, you will never sell a rock listed as "orbicular rhyolite." There are probably 100X more searches for leopardskin jasper. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 21, 2022 18:55:02 GMT -5
Beauties! I love the Wildflower and the Crazy Lace.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 21, 2022 19:27:45 GMT -5
Jonathan, all of those cabs are very well done...shape and polish. Those Amethyst Sage really stand out to me...maybe because I have three slabs waiting for me! LOL
Interesting thought on "pre-tumbling" the MSAs. I can see the advantages to doing that...and can't really think of any reasons not to do it.
Nice solid piece of Mexican Lace right there too!
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 20:03:31 GMT -5
Jonathan, all of those cabs are very well done...shape and polish. Those Amethyst Sage really stand out to me...maybe because I have three slabs waiting for me! LOL Interesting thought on "pre-tumbling" the MSAs. I can see the advantages to doing that...and can't really think of any reasons not to do it. Nice solid piece of Mexican Lace right there too! In the last few days I've cut about 50 preforms of the Amy Sage, even though I have no idea what I will ever do with 50 cabs of the same material. This exercise in pre-form excess made me think of you for some reason. How's your preform stash holding up? |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 21, 2022 20:14:39 GMT -5
Jonathan, all of those cabs are very well done...shape and polish. Those Amethyst Sage really stand out to me...maybe because I have three slabs waiting for me! LOL Interesting thought on "pre-tumbling" the MSAs. I can see the advantages to doing that...and can't really think of any reasons not to do it. Nice solid piece of Mexican Lace right there too! In the last few days I've cut about 50 preforms of the Amy Sage, even though I have no idea what I will ever do with 50 cabs of the same material. This exercise in pre-form excess made me think of you for some reason. How's your preform stash holding up? How could you NOT think of me cutting that many?!? LOL I'm adding WAY too many cabs to my "to wrap" pile...and really need to switch gears. I told my wife I need to wrap two stones for every cab I make for awhile. That hasn't started happening yet! LOL It's supposed to be 50 tomorrow (but windy) and then 57 on Sunday...so I am probably going to accidentally get some time on the trim saw...adding to the preform pile! LOL |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 21, 2022 22:01:13 GMT -5
In the last few days I've cut about 50 preforms of the Amy Sage, even though I have no idea what I will ever do with 50 cabs of the same material. This exercise in pre-form excess made me think of you for some reason. How's your preform stash holding up? How could you NOT think of me cutting that many?!? LOL I'm adding WAY too many cabs to my "to wrap" pile...and really need to switch gears. I told my wife I need to wrap two stones for every cab I make for awhile. That hasn't started happening yet! LOL It's supposed to be 50 tomorrow (but windy) and then 57 on Sunday...so I am probably going to accidentally get some time on the trim saw...adding to the preform pile! LOL I spent about 15 minutes outside today cutting preforms in 17 degree weather, which is possible when cutting with oil, but a little cold even with rubber gloves. You've better get some wrapping done this winter because come April or May, you're going to be out in the hills sniffing out those Fairburns, and not sitting around inside wire wrapping. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 22, 2022 2:09:04 GMT -5
How could you NOT think of me cutting that many?!? LOL I'm adding WAY too many cabs to my "to wrap" pile...and really need to switch gears. I told my wife I need to wrap two stones for every cab I make for awhile. That hasn't started happening yet! LOL It's supposed to be 50 tomorrow (but windy) and then 57 on Sunday...so I am probably going to accidentally get some time on the trim saw...adding to the preform pile! LOL I spent about 15 minutes outside today cutting preforms in 17 degree weather, which is possible when cutting with oil, but a little cold even with rubber gloves. You've better get some wrapping done this winter because come April or May, you're going to be out in the hills sniffing out those Fairburns, and not sitting around inside wire wrapping. I was going to ask if it was 15 hours or 15 minutes! LOL - Glad you clarified. I was feeling like a real sissy thinking you'd been out there for 15 hours! LOL I've learned to wear nitrile gloves when it's in the 30s...otherwise I can't feel whether I've cut my fingers or not! LOL |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 22, 2022 3:53:16 GMT -5
I was going to ask if it was 15 hours or 15 minutes! LOL - Glad you clarified. I was feeling like a real sissy thinking you'd been out there for 15 hours! LOL I've learned to wear neoprene gloves when it's in the 30s...otherwise I can't feel whether I've cut my fingers or not! LOL I've got insulated rubber gloves that almost go up to my elbows. But still, ice cold oil somehow freezes my hands through the gloves. 15 minutes is long enough. It was something like 17 degrees with 25 mile per hour wind. The really unfortunate thing is that my cutting "chair" is a little aluminum patio side table. Metal chairs in the winter is an awful idea. I can't believe how variable your weather is in SD. You go from sub-zero to 50 degrees in just a few days. It changes a lot here, too, but not as much and not as fast. |
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ridvanarik
starting to shine!
Member since May 2015
Posts: 36 
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Post by ridvanarik on Jan 22, 2022 15:45:13 GMT -5
Amy Sage Agate
I posted a these in a dop handle review thread, but here they are in better lighting. Easily one of my favorite materials.
Wildflower Rhyolite (as named by Tommy ) Red area (left) has some uneven hardness, but not too bad. The yellow and salmon colored parts were surprisingly solid and hard with no undercutting. Montana Agate. This was a tumbled saw scrap before it was a cab. So the back was already polished! This got me thinking... maybe I should run Montana agate preforms through the Lot-O tumbler before cabbing just to polish the back? Fracture free preforms would be unfazed, and seeing the preform polished would also provide insight into how I want to shape the dome. I will try this soon. |
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ridvanarik
starting to shine!
Member since May 2015
Posts: 36
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Post by ridvanarik on Jan 22, 2022 15:47:29 GMT -5
Amy Sage Agate
I posted a these in a dop handle review thread, but here they are in better lighting. Easily one of my favorite materials. Hi holajonathan, Very wonderfully processed and polished cabochons. How do you polish this way. What do you use? I would appreciate it if you could give some information about it. Thank you from now. ridvanarik
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 22, 2022 16:41:52 GMT -5
Hi, ridvanarik , For these cabochons, I used a Diamond Pacific Genie cabochon machine to shape, sand, and polish the cabochons. My machine looks like this:  It has 6 wheels, which include two hard diamond wheels, and 4 wheels with progressively finer diamonds embedded in resin. After I am done using the last wheel on the Genie, the polish is pretty good, but not yet a flawless mirror polish. At that point I do a final polish with cerium oxide polish. For this step, I use an Ameritool flat lap with a felt or leather polishing pad. I add a little bit of the cerium oxide powder to the polishing pad and a few squirts or water. I mix them together to create a runny paste and spread the paste around the pad with my finger. Then I turn on the flat lap to about half speed and pass the face of the cabochon over the polishing pad in different directions, making sure that I polish the entire surface. This final polish takes between about 30 seconds to 3 or 4 minutes, depending on the type of stone. I spray water onto the polishing pad every 10 to 15 seconds as I polish so that the polishing pad does not dry out. My Ameritool flat lap looks like this:  The cerium oxide polish is an extremely fine powder, so it gets inside any tiny cracks or pits in the stone. Thus, when I am done polishing I wash the cabochons with dish soap and hot water. If the cerium is still stuck in cracks or pits, I use more dish soap and a toothbrush to remove the cerium polish. That's it! What I have described in a standard cabochon making process. These cabochons (especially the Amethyst Sage agate) took a very good polish because the material has a high silica content and because I patiently removed every tiny scratch with the Genie machine. If there are absolutely no scratches when I am done using the Genie, then the cerium oxide polish works incredibly well to impart a mirror like finish. Let me know if you would like more information and I am happy to share. Jonathan |
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ridvanarik
starting to shine!
Member since May 2015
Posts: 36
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Post by ridvanarik on May 30, 2022 1:10:19 GMT -5
Thank you very much.👏👍👏
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