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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 17, 2022 19:53:07 GMT -5
Those look fantastic!! Wicked smart way to get the mirror shape for those by bisecting the template shape! AND once again you get a killer shine on Noreena!!!  |
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Post by parfive on Jul 17, 2022 23:31:29 GMT -5
. . . but I'm just happy to have finished without breaking one!! I was scrolling up through Recent Posts and thought someone had a preform break on them . . .  Nice pair. |
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Post by liveoak on Jul 18, 2022 5:55:01 GMT -5
Those are lovely @ agatewhisperer.
I also liked your way to get the mirror imaged cabs.
Nice tip.
Patty
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,700
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Post by victor1941 on Jul 23, 2022 14:41:25 GMT -5
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2022 15:09:07 GMT -5
victor1941Really nice, love the color! I think your beef tenderloin has went quite tough though! Its changed colors and become hard as a rock!! 😆
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 23, 2022 17:47:16 GMT -5
victor1941 - Great looking pair Victor! Wow...those look more like Sodalite than Dumortierite. I don't think I've ever seen any Dumortierite that deep of a blue color before.
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,700
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Post by victor1941 on Jul 23, 2022 19:19:10 GMT -5
Jasoninsd, this piece of material was sold as Dumortierite and had fantastic deep blue color in some areas. It polishes differently than sodalite in the UV-18 vibe and takes a great shine.
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Post by liveoak on Jul 23, 2022 19:28:40 GMT -5
I honestly thought at first victor1941, WOW they're long- but then I measured the earrings I was earring this evening , less the ear wires, & found they were similar. I'd have to agree with jasoninsd, that the color looks like Sodalite, but I'm not an expert in any sense. No mater , they are certainly a beautiful intense blue.
Patty
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 11,883
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Post by Tommy on Jul 24, 2022 12:07:31 GMT -5
OK here is my entry. It was kind of rushed but I've been slammed with work and I also I waited too long to make something for my sweetie for her birthday. With the end of the contest in sight it was get it done this morning or never. This is from a little slab of variscite that I paid too much for on Facebook - I absolutely will not admit to having had a bit of wine before bidding way too much on it ... way more than I would have in my prime cabbing days  Anyway, the set came out very nice and if I can drill the earring stones without destroying them it will all be OK.     While I was already wet I decided to finish the matching cabochon for her set. It's taller than I wanted - about 50mm - because I decided to start grinding a cab out of the remainder of the slab thinking (hoping) it would break but it didn't. They never break when you want them to.  As a side note, I'm embarrassed about my horrible blurry photos. I absolutely HATE HATE HATE this Samsung S20U phone that I got suckered into through promises of the greatest camera ever... The last good photos I was able to take were on my old S7 that was prematurely broken by Samsung updates. This is part of the reasons that I closed my cabochon shop on Etsy. I absolutely cannot tolerate trying to take good photos with this pos camera. |
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Post by perkins17 on Jul 24, 2022 12:17:20 GMT -5
Nice cabs Tommy! Those turned out great! I actually kind of like that slab, but don't at the same time. Nice entry. |
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Post by liveoak on Jul 24, 2022 12:27:08 GMT -5
Beautiful entry Tommy, it looks worth every penny you overspent on it . Even better, a 2 for 1 deal, contest & birthday in one .
Not required of course, the matching pendant - but do we get to see the front , or is it only for your sweetie to see ?
Patty
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 11,883
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Post by Tommy on Jul 24, 2022 12:32:58 GMT -5
Not required of course, the matching pendant - but do we get to see the front , or is it only for your sweetie to see ? Thanks! I haven't made the pendant yet but I will show off the finished set when I'm done. I'm waiting on an order of wire from Rio. |
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 11,883
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Post by Tommy on Jul 24, 2022 13:03:40 GMT -5
Just in case anyone is interested I made a little video of the part of the process. The video shows just just short clips of me using the 600 grit wheel polishing the girdle, the face, the back, and the backside edge girdle getting rid of a couple of chippy areas.
I do everything by my fingers with no dop stick. Variscite is not a super hard stone so it made the difficulty level a bit lower than if it were an agate or jasper but I have done those the same way.
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Post by liveoak on Jul 24, 2022 13:16:56 GMT -5
Looks extra difficult on something small to hand hold.
I guess you get used to it, and have control. I'd be afraid it would slip out of my hand and slam onto the floor of the cab unit (DAMHIKT) and break the cab.
Interesting to see though.
Patty
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brotherbill
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2018
Posts: 333
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Post by brotherbill on Jul 24, 2022 13:33:50 GMT -5
Tommy That is gorgeous material and your matching set does it justice!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 24, 2022 16:22:28 GMT -5
Tommy I would have paid too much, too. There's a lot to like and you certainly did it justice. That pendant cab is to die for!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 24, 2022 16:26:16 GMT -5
My pair of chrysoprase cabs didn’t quite go as planned lol! The first one I made was absolutely what I was hoping for, then I decided to accidentally knock it off a countertop onto a concrete floor which ended it’s life  So I had to make up another one from a scrap with some inclusions I wasn’t that thrilled about. Then a vug showed up just under the surface of number two, seriously?!    Beautiful! Sorry for the breakage.  |
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Post by liveoak on Jul 24, 2022 17:19:37 GMT -5
Gotta love the colors
Patty
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Post by liveoak on Jul 24, 2022 17:21:51 GMT -5
My pair of chrysoprase cabs If you hadn't mentioned the problems, it certainly wasn't obvious.
Beautiful graceful shape & I love the color.
WOW this contest is really heating up & I spent my afternoon working on my entry.
Patty.......lots of competition, it's going to be hard to vote  |
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Post by liveoak on Jul 24, 2022 18:49:09 GMT -5
OK here's my entry.
I have to give a little background, the earrings are Bahia Agate, but not from a normal sized piece of rough, or a large slab.
I purchased a tumbling assortment from the Rock Shed, and of course I had to cherry pick ones that I thought might be good for cabs.
I thought the banding on this little rock was sweet, & so I decided, this will make my earrings.
I fired up my smaller 7" crude tile saw just for the purpose. I have a sliding vise for it, that does help a little bit with small rocks like this, but it's still a chore with that saw.
Give me my 10"MK any day of the week
Anyway, so here's the rock, more like an oversized pebble , really.
The Rock Shed sells them as " crushed rock".
I did find out that for little cabs the 1/4" dop sticks were WAY too big.
So I used 1/8" dowels & they were just right . I also found out that making tiny cabs like this is quite a bit more difficult , than normal sized ones.
I'm kind of surprised that small cabs aren't priced at 4 X's as much ,
I know I'd want to charge more for the little ones like this !
And surprisingly I was able to get a number of small thin slabs from that little pebble !
I was able to get a matching pendant to go with my matched earrings.
So I was pretty happy.
I thought it was interesting that the reflection from the light, looked very similar on all the cabs, when I took the photo.
I guess brotherbill certainly has me beat on the weight, as these came in at 1.87 grams for the pair. Still pretty light.
Size= approx 3/8" wide X 3/4" tall.
And so here's my contest entry photos- top & side :
Thanks for looking,
Patty
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