Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 24, 2022 14:02:17 GMT -5
Hello everyone, first time posting here.
I’m new to cabbing and live in an area where it’s not pursued by any others due to the lack of interesting rocks in my area (TN/VA border). I saved up for a year and bought a cabking, my 1,200 grit wheel vibrates like crazy straight out of the box, but that’s a question for another post I suppose.
On to point.
I purchased a slab of labradorite from a fellow off Etsy and he stated that he stabilized it with CA and 30 bars of vacuum pressure (I think that’s what it said… I remember 30 bar for sure). The slab looks great but you can see the glue of course, but I figured that would be ground away while shaping cabs. It doesn’t. The entirety of the cabs I’m making has a hazy white look that runs through the stone.
I tried soaking preforms in acetone overnight, but to no avail. Is there a way to remove the superglue so that the cabs do not show that hazy appearance? If not, no big deal, I’ll just keep the rest of the slab as a display specimen.
Thank you in advance, and I look forward to asking y’all many more questions.
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Post by Pat on Jul 24, 2022 14:46:25 GMT -5
Pictures?
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 24, 2022 15:48:29 GMT -5
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 24, 2022 18:57:25 GMT -5
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 24, 2022 18:58:30 GMT -5
The pendant on the left was cabbed from a rock I cut on my own, the two on the right came out of the stabilized slab. I hope you can see the cloudiness I’m referring to
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 24, 2022 20:02:38 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota!  Wow. Interesting dilemma! I wish I had an answer for you...but I'll be paying attention to see what others with stabilizing experience have to say. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2022 23:31:57 GMT -5
@wheatrocks Hi! I am originally from Virginia. Virginia has some pretty quartz. |
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Post by rmf on Jul 25, 2022 3:49:44 GMT -5
Justin OK now you have me curious. So you are somewhere between Bristol and Middlesboro. I use to look at coal mines in them thar hills. you are right not much to rock hunt for cutting purposes. South between Johnson City and the NC border you can find unakite but I have not found any that I was proud of. There is also Hematite and other minerals in the area though so something could be there if you were close enough to look. I use CA all the time to attach stones to dop sticks and to seal cracks before cutting and to prevent chipping. When I am done I put in a jar with acetone and let it soak 24 to 48 hrs and it is gone. If that does not work the used something other than CA. I purchased a couple of cheap wheels from Kingsley North due to a sale one was a 3000 grit diamond. It sat on the shelf a year before I needed it and when I put it on the grinder it had a bad bump (nearly vibrated my teeth out of my head). Since it had been a year since I purchased it I did not figure KN would appreciate me calling back and complaining so I just used it for testing. I replaced it with a Nova wheel. I now have a 280 Nova wheel that is not real round but is still workable.
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Post by fernwood on Jul 25, 2022 4:38:50 GMT -5
I feel your pain.
I purchased some heavily stabilized fossil soup slabs last year. The price was right, like less than $20.00 for two boxes full. Over 20 lbs. total.
The slabs have a lot of glue or something on them. Enough that you can feel sloppy bumps on the surface.
I have some soaking in acetone right now.
Do you think that whatever was used to stabilize was not appropriate for labradorite? I have tumbled some that was not stabilized. There were the typical cracks in some, but others turned out fine.
Do you think the seller was correct with what they said it was stabilized with? Could it have been something else?
I hope that your issue can be figured out.
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 25, 2022 6:53:21 GMT -5
Justin OK now you have me curious. So you are somewhere between Bristol and Middlesboro. I use to look at coal mines in them thar hills. you are right not much to rock hunt for cutting purposes. South between Johnson City and the NC border you can find unakite but I have not found any that I was proud of. There is also Hematite and other minerals in the area though so something could be there if you were close enough to look. you are dead on! I live in The tri-cities area, on the Weber city/Kingsport border! Last weekend my wife and I went to our first gem and mineral club meeting. Everyone confirmed my suspicions that some things can be found but they are few and far between. They said with a little traveling over to NC or deeper into TN I could have better luck, but for our area it’s mostly limestone I use CA all the time to attach stones to dop sticks and to seal cracks before cutting and to prevent chipping. When I am done I put in a jar with acetone and let it soak 24 to 48 hrs and it is gone. If that does not work the used something other than CA. I use CA to stabilize material too, but this is a whole different ball game on this labradorite slab. You know how sometimes CA dries clear (like with starbond thin) and sometimes it doesn’t? This did not. He said that he gives the rock a CA bath and then uses a vacuum chamber under 30 bars of pressure to remove all the air from the stone before slabbing. but I’m beginning to think that I may need to soak it in acetone for another day if you are having results after a 48 hour soak I purchased a couple of cheap wheels from Kingsley North due to a sale one was a 3000 grit diamond. It sat on the shelf a year before I needed it and when I put it on the grinder it had a bad bump (nearly vibrated my teeth out of my head). Since it had been a year since I purchased it I did not figure KN would appreciate me calling back and complaining so I just used it for testing. I replaced it with a Nova wheel. I now have a 280 Nova wheel that is not real round but is still workable. so I bought mine, got really excited and (you have to understand, I had never cabbed a stone or seen a cabbing machine in my life until it showed up on my porch) started grinding away, but then made it to 1200 and, just like you said, just about chattered my teeth out. I assumed this was a new wheel that needed a break in period and that would go away soon. 2 weeks and 40+ stones later I realized that I had messed up by not saying something or sending it back. However, I’m saving up NOVA wheels now thanks to the other posts I’ve read on this forum. and thank you to everyone for the responses! I appreciate all of you for helping!! |
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 25, 2022 7:42:54 GMT -5
I feel your pain. I purchased some heavily stabilized fossil soup slabs last year. The price was right, like less than $20.00 for two boxes full. Over 20 lbs. total. The slabs have a lot of glue or something on them. Enough that you can feel sloppy bumps on the surface. I have some soaking in acetone right now. that sounds like a pretty awesome buy! I don’t believe I could have passed that up either. Do you think that whatever was used to stabilize was not appropriate for labradorite? I have tumbled some that was not stabilized. There were the typical cracks in some, but others turned out fine. Do you think the seller was correct with what they said it was stabilized with? Could it have been something else? I believe, and remember this is the speculation of a complete amateur, that due to the vacuum chamber and the two cleavage planes of feldspar, that the CA completely permeated the cleavage planes and infiltrated every crack, making it very difficult to remove the CA from the heart of the cleavage planes below the surface. No matter how far I grind, the glue still shows. Furthermore, I’ve never had something that acetone wouldn’t take care of… until now. My fear is that since a vacuum was used to remove the air that I would likewise have to have a vacuum chamber to get the acetone down into the cracks to dissolve the glue from within. again, just my speculation. I’ve never used a vacuum chamber for anything, but I was hoping someone on here could tell me if my theory is correct. either way, I don’t mind. It’s a beautiful slab so I have no problem putting it on the shelf for visitors to admire if the glue can’t be removed. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 25, 2022 9:59:49 GMT -5
Hi and welcome from Northern Arizona!
Here's my take on it: Not all Labradorite is created equal and not all Labradorite is slabbed in a way to correctly show the color well. The color in Labradorite switches orientations constantly. One cannot just find a good orientation once and slab straight through the rough and get all the slabs showing that same wonderful color. As soon as the color orientation changes, you have to take the rock out of the vise, re-orient it and cut again.
There is also mediocre rough. If there's not all the lovely color in it, you're going to get maybe just the blue and the clear/grey stuff. Labradorite shows those white lines and "haze" all the time. I don't think it's the CA at all. I have some cabs I started cutting (and never finished) that were very similar and they were not stablized. Just subpar material.
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 25, 2022 12:49:31 GMT -5
Hi and welcome from Northern Arizona! Here's my take on it: There is also mediocre rough. If there's not all the lovely color in it, you're going to get maybe just the blue and the clear/grey stuff. Labradorite shows those white lines and "haze" all the time. I don't think it's the CA at all. I have some cabs I started cutting (and never finished) that were very similar and they were not stablized. Just subpar material. Thank you, I was thinking also that it may just be the subpar rough that is hazy, so it’s good to have confirmation that someone else has had the same issue without it pertaining to the stabilization process. I have been wary of buying any more lab slabs that have mentioned stabilization… so now I can freely buy more 🤣 |
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fencejumper
Cave Dweller 
Member since May 2021
Posts: 441
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Post by fencejumper on Jul 26, 2022 20:34:03 GMT -5
I use lacquer thinner
It takes everything off😊.
Also, on a side note,
Ive found if you dip your slab in thinner before you trace your pre forms?
You will see every nasty little crack
To avoid
Live and learn😊💪
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 27, 2022 11:23:40 GMT -5
A-ha! I’ll give that a shot, thank you!
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markb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2022
Posts: 472 
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Post by markb on Jul 27, 2022 20:40:40 GMT -5
Justin
Do you have a picture of the rough, or has it all been cut up? Did you use the same material as the circle cut one, or is the material different? My point is different material can give you different results. Oh, and welcome from NW Oregon! Mark
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 27, 2022 21:08:47 GMT -5
I tend to agree with Robin that it's just a different grade of Labradorite. We have cut a bit of it and it is definitely all over the place, including haze at times.
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Jul 28, 2022 7:46:37 GMT -5
I do!    Here are pictures with flash, no flash, and side profile view. No, they are not from the same source. What got me thinking about it was how I could see the glue on the slab and at the profile view you can tell how it runs down in the cracks. |
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jul 31, 2022 13:26:59 GMT -5
Loctite-768-Solvent We use this at work to remove CA adhesive. Works great. Contact cabling. I had a bad GFI and they overnighted me a new one. Good customer service
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Justin
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since April 2022
Posts: 76
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Post by Justin on Aug 3, 2022 16:06:50 GMT -5
Thank you sir, I’ll give it a shot
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