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Post by holajonathan on Jan 29, 2022 12:56:31 GMT -5
1. Amethyst Sage Agate. High dome + high polish makes reflections a big problem. This lilac / bronze colored Amy Sage is perhaps the most "gemmy" variety of this material.    2. Sage Agate. No Amethyst, but lots of dendrites.   3. More Sage Agate. I meant meant to cab the other side of this preform, which does have amethyst. I screwed up, but it turned out ok. Soft, druzy area on the top left didn't polish perfectly, but there's plenty going on elsewhere to distract the eye.   Not impressed.  4. Green mossy jasper / agate from the Cady Mountains area of California. The entire cab displays some translucency. Green appears to be thick moss. White spots are white specs of rock, not undercutting. This cab is a bit of an ugly duckling, but I like the material for some reason. 
5. Crazy lace agate from Mexico. No one seems to like my crazy lace cabs as much as I like making them (and that's ok!), but this one's got pink sagenite tubes, for god's sake.     6. Red Lightning Agate from Mexico. This has a very low dome because much of the agate banding was about to disappear if I went any lower. The back is 75% quartz. Minor undercutting in the red moss which could be fixed, but it's not very noticeable in person.  
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cadefoster117
having dreams about rocks
Member since December 2021
Posts: 62 
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Post by cadefoster117 on Jan 29, 2022 16:50:18 GMT -5
Dang that first one might be the shiniest I've seen! Nice work as always. I especially like that amethyst moss agate material, very unique.
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller 
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,504
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Post by realrockhound on Jan 29, 2022 17:07:12 GMT -5
Good cabs. That shine
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 479
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Post by hypodactylus on Jan 29, 2022 17:15:36 GMT -5
Your rocks are always so shiny. What is your process for the final polish?
There are many variables to consider and I find that everyone on the board seems to have their own process. Some use leather, some use felt. Some use diamond paste, some use oxide polish. Some stop at 14,000 grit while others go all the way to 100,000 grit.
Don't feel like you have to answer; I'm just curious.
Anyway, beautiful rocks/cabs; as always!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 29, 2022 19:02:00 GMT -5
Another awesome group of cabs. I'm going with that crazy lace for god's sake. It's got pink! Love the kitty picture- that's how my Sid looks all the time- unimpressed. And, of course, I love the dendrites.  |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 29, 2022 19:39:17 GMT -5
Another awesome group of cabs. I'm going with that crazy lace for god's sake. It's got pink! Love the kitty picture- that's how my Sid looks all the time- unimpressed. And, of course, I love the dendrites. He is chronically unimpressed, but he also sleeps on top of me every night, which is like a feline electric blanket. So I love him despite his aloof attitude. I'm learning that crazy lace often looks better tumbled or in slab form than it does cabbed. Composition is the problem. Including some quartz to balance out the craziness seems to help. I used to avoid the quartz since would end up with flat spots in the dome. But I've gotten better at preventing that. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 29, 2022 20:05:16 GMT -5
hypodactylus I'm happy to share my secret polishing process. Ok, it's pretty standard, actually. I go from the 3000 grit resin wheel directly to cerium oxide polish on a flat lap. I use either a leather polishing pad, a felt pad, or this 3M polyester polishing film which is what I'm using at the moment. Each provides a different feel -- with leather being the least grippy, but they all polish equally well with cerium. Flat lap with polishing film stuck to a spin-on backer pad with 1/4 of fairly soft foam.  This is the super cerium from Kingsley North. I also use the pink colored regular cerium and get the same result. Sub-micron aluminum oxide works about as well on hard agates and jaspers, although cerium might work a little faster.  I add a small amount of cerium, like this, which is enough to polish a number of cabs.  I give it one or two squirts of water, and then create a runny paste with my fingers. I spread the paste around the face of the pad, focusing more on the middle, since the polish will get spun to the edges of the pad once I power up the flat lap. Then I give the whole pad another squirt or two to make sure all areas are damp. I go with about 50% speed on the flat lap, pressing the cab against the cerium with medium pressure. I spin and tilt the cab a little making sure all parts of the cab get hit with the cerium from a few different directions. About every 10 seconds I give the pad a half of squirt of water to keep it moist. I don't mind running leather almost dry, but with felt or the 3M polishing film, as soon as it starts to get dry it is incredibly grippy and it will rip the cab out of my hands. So I keep it moist at all times. When done, I wash with dish soap and water. If cerium got in any cracks or vugs, I use a Water Pik (oral irrigator) to wash it out. The Water Pik is like a miniature pressure washer with a super focused spray. Everything I have described is a very standard way to polish cabs. The key to a great polish is not the final polishing step. The only way to get a great polish is to get every last scratch out of the cab starting with the 220 or 280 grit resin wheel. I usually have something of a polish after the 600 grit resin wheel, since by that point there are no real scratches left on the cab, just some very faint lines left by the 600 grit diamonds. The cerium is such a good polish it will sort of polish over small scratches left from the resin wheels. But if you take that approach, you will never get a shine like my first cab (above). There are no shortcuts. You have to take your time on the resin wheels, while drying off and inspecting the cab after each wheel. I wear a head lamp when doing this, and the bright focused beam of light makes scratches really stand out. I rock the cab back and forth from a number of different angles while looking for scratches. I spend a solid 60 seconds after each resin wheel looking for scratches. If I patiently and meticulously remove all scratches with each resin wheel, the final cerium polish is fast and simple. Although most of my cabs are highly polished, the key to showing off that polish is bright, indirect light. I prefer to take photos near a bright window, but not in direct sunlight. The indirect natural light makes the colors accurate in the photo, and it creates glare. In my cab #1 above, I did not try to hide that glare, which is why you can see my light fixture and my messy hair in the reflection. In some of the other photos, I tried to position the cabs as to minimize the glare so you can see all of the details of the cabs. Here is what the same cabs looked like in really poor, dim lighting. Not quite as impressive, right?      
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brybry
Cave Dweller
Enter your message here...
Member since October 2021
Posts: 1,221
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Post by brybry on Jan 29, 2022 20:05:25 GMT -5
The Amy sage is insanely shiny. That's the first crazy lace cab I honestly love. All are very beautiful but those are my picks.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 29, 2022 20:09:16 GMT -5
Great batch of cabs my friend! The polish on that first Amethyst Sage is how I want EVERY one of my cabs to come out! LOL That Moss Agate looks like it's a picture of some celestial event going on... The tubes in that Crazy Lace are amazing! Great close up of those tubes! |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 29, 2022 20:21:02 GMT -5
Great batch of cabs my friend! The polish on that first Amethyst Sage is how I want EVERY one of my cabs to come out! LOL That Moss Agate looks like it's a picture of some celestial event going on... The tubes in that Crazy Lace are amazing! Great close up of those tubes! I want every cab to polish like that, too, but as you know, only true agates or "porcelain" jaspers take that kind of a polish consistently. Then again, once in a while a material like Sodalite will surprise you with an absolute mirror finish as well. I might have sent you a piece from the same crazy lace rough. I'm not sure. If you got pink crazy lace, look closely for the tubes. They looked like regular sagenite until polished, which is an awesome surprise. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 29, 2022 20:36:42 GMT -5
Another awesome group of cabs. I'm going with that crazy lace for god's sake. It's got pink! Love the kitty picture- that's how my Sid looks all the time- unimpressed. And, of course, I love the dendrites. He is chronically unimpressed, but he also sleeps on top of me every night, which is like a feline electric blanket. So I love him despite his aloof attitude. I'm learning that crazy lace often looks better tumbled or in slab form than it does cabbed. Composition is the problem. Including some quartz to balance out the craziness seems to help. I used to avoid the quartz since would end up with flat spots in the dome. But I've gotten better at preventing that. I agree about the crazy lace. You notice I don't cab much of it. I like the red stuff, but it so often breaks at the seams that I don't want to mess with it. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 29, 2022 21:25:01 GMT -5
He is chronically unimpressed, but he also sleeps on top of me every night, which is like a feline electric blanket. So I love him despite his aloof attitude. I'm learning that crazy lace often looks better tumbled or in slab form than it does cabbed. Composition is the problem. Including some quartz to balance out the craziness seems to help. I used to avoid the quartz since would end up with flat spots in the dome. But I've gotten better at preventing that. I agree about the crazy lace. You notice I don't cab much of it. I like the red stuff, but it so often breaks at the seams that I don't want to mess with it. Crazy lace is definitely unstable, plus they usually mine is with dynamite... A big crazy lace slabs just looks so amazing, it's hard to believe that there aren't some amazing cabs hiding in the slab... But when it comes right down to it, my cabs never look half as good as the slab looked.  |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 29, 2022 21:36:54 GMT -5
rockjunquie Care to try your hand at some pink crazy lace with sagenite tubes? I've got about 5 or 6 slabs left, and enough rough for another 10 slabs.    It's super solid because it's not very lacy. More of a pink and gray sagenite agate, I suppose.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 29, 2022 21:47:22 GMT -5
rockjunquie Care to try your hand at some pink crazy lace with sagenite tubes? I've got about 5 or 6 slabs left, and enough rough for another 10 slabs. It's super solid because it's not very lacy. More of a pink and gray sagenite agate, I suppose. That looks like a challenge I'll accept. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 29, 2022 21:49:51 GMT -5
Of course, that first Amy Sage is da bomb, but I do so love the pink Crazy Lace! It's yummy!
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 479
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Post by hypodactylus on Jan 29, 2022 21:59:47 GMT -5
hypodactylus I'm happy to share my secret polishing process. Ok, it's pretty standard, actually. ..... Thank you so much for the detailed response! I have been doing some research trying to figure out the best way to go about this, and it is nice to have all this information together; with results that speak for themselves! They still look incredibly shiny in the "poor, dim lighting"! 😀 Thanks again! |
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Jan 29, 2022 23:24:15 GMT -5
holajonathan - I noticed one thing in the description of your polishing methods that many people don't mention, and it's a good point.
You said you run your flat lap at about 50% speed during the polish. It sounds like a small thing, but makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Seems to give the polishing compound a chance to really work over the whole surface of the stone.
Our Richardson's buffer turns the 12" head at about 145 RPM, using a 1" pulley on the motor and 12" pulley on the arbor. Those folks have been in the business for a long time, too, so they probably know what they're doing, right? For some stones I probably run my flat lap even a bit below the 50% you mentioned.
hypodactylus - One old cutter told me the following before I ever started cutting: " When you get done, if it's smooth and shiny you did it right.". I had told him I didn't know how they could remember all the different lap and compound combos, so he "simplified" it for me. I started cutting pretty soon after that. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 30, 2022 4:25:01 GMT -5
hypodactylus I'm happy to share my secret polishing process. Ok, it's pretty standard, actually. ..... Thank you so much for the detailed response! I have been doing some research trying to figure out the best way to go about this, and it is nice to have all this information together; with results that speak for themselves! They still look incredibly shiny in the "poor, dim lighting"! 😀 Thanks again! You're welcome. Others (like rockjunquie and hummingbirdstones ) get just as good of a polish using diamonds only, up to 50,000 or 100,000 grit. That might be a more versatile approach since a lot of softer materials don't polish with cerium, but will polish with high grit diamonds. Some softer stones polish a little better with aluminum oxide than cerium, but the oxides in general really shine when used to polish silica based rocks, and are pretty hit or miss with other types of rocks. There are pros and cons with either option (cerium vs. fine diamond wheels / discs), but cerium on leather would be my go-to affordable solution, especially with your new flat lap, and especially if you plan to polish agates and jaspers. Leather is much more forgiving than felt or the synthetic 3M polishing film. |
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 30, 2022 5:13:09 GMT -5
holajonathan - I noticed one thing in the description of your polishing methods that many people don't mention, and it's a good point.
You said you run your flat lap at about 50% speed during the polish. It sounds like a small thing, but makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Seems to give the polishing compound a chance to really work over the whole surface of the stone.
Our Richardson's buffer turns the 12" head at about 145 RPM, using a 1" pulley on the motor and 12" pulley on the arbor. Those folks have been in the business for a long time, too, so they probably know what they're doing, right? For some stones I probably run my flat lap even a bit below the 50% you mentioned.
hypodactylus - One old cutter told me the following before I ever started cutting: " When you get done, if it's smooth and shiny you did it right.". I had told him I didn't know how they could remember all the different lap and compound combos, so he "simplified" it for me. I started cutting pretty soon after that. Yep. Full speed when polishing is a bad idea for a host of reasons. First, it just doesn't seem to polish as well. Second, at high speed the polishing slurry flies off the pad, which makes a mess and requires that you unnecessarily reapply it often. Super cerium is super expensive, so no need to waste it. I can polish a bunch of cabs without reapplying cerium if I keep the speed down -- at least 6-8 cabs with less than 1/8 tsp of super cerium. As you know, it really doesn't take much. Third, everything dries out faster with the speed cranked way up, which causes problems. The sweet spot for polishing agates and jaspers with cerium is moist but not wet. Really wet works, but slower. Just barely damp works best of all, perhaps, but it's dangerous unless you're using leather. With felt or synthetic polishing film, as soon as it passes from damp to dry, you will either stall the motor or the cab will get ripped out of your hands and go flying across the room. When you polish in a room with concrete floors (as I do), this lesson is learned quickly and tragically. Leather doesn't get as grippy when dry, but it does get hot, and it can "burn" some materials like Montana agates. I know you want it to get hot with some materials -- like obsidian -- but even then, I like having some control over the heat, which is easier at moderate speeds. I know I am not telling you anything new, Vince, but others might find my rambling helpful. Finally, I agree that a little slower than half speed is better yet, and I sometimes polish at what might be 40%. But my flat lap gets anemic when any slower than that. I think torque is proportional to speed with DC motors, so a really low speed means almost no torque. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 30, 2022 9:25:35 GMT -5
holajonathan My favorite cerium lap is an elk hide leather. When I first started cabbing, I used to be able to buy them online, but they're impossible to find now. Vince and I went to a leather craft show a few years ago and found a vendor selling elk hide so we bought a couple of tanned hides specifically for making polishing laps.
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