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Post by stardiamond on Dec 23, 2023 12:01:59 GMT -5
Thank you for the information. It answers my question. I should be able to offer $40-50 in cabs for a completed pendant using a cab I provide. My average cab sells for over $30 and the person who is willing to trade gets to choose. The person I am considering making the offer does work to make income.
I don't know silversmithing but I do know cabochons. I don't compete with importers. I checked Etsy and have a good idea of what a basic pendant with a particular stone is being offered at. My goal in selling cabs is selling price equal to three times of the cost of material. The cost of material for the cabs I trade and the one that is set would be roughly $40, so my goal would be $120 for a pendant. I like to make cabs and my goal is only to make the hobby self funding. I have excess cabs and hope to use them to increase revenue.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 21:41:05 GMT -5
I like basic. I don't want to cut a premade setting. I pick a shape to best frame. I've looked at premade and they are also generally smaller than I prefer.
I don't think she sells on the internet and likely gets a good price for her work.
My thinking was simple. I have excess cabs, she buys cabs and makes pendants. Rather than having inventory sitting, I would like to move cabs and increase revenue by offering pendants.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 21:31:45 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 20:56:52 GMT -5
I have a picture of one but don't have a price sold. I've sold her thousands of dollars in cabs but I can't find her work. She has a website and instagram but I don't see pendants.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 17:45:09 GMT -5
Top right is from this slab. Other three from this slab. ]
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 17:10:41 GMT -5
I did a little work on the Kentucky. It needs some work on the shape and scratches but it is done fracturing. Another preform from the same slab fractured so I ground it to a freeform. It is also done fracturing but I need to pick a side before dopping. I picked the face on the right when I started but now I'm not so sure. Opinions?
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 15:39:14 GMT -5
What I have learned is that a really worn 80 grit wheel is better than a 220. It removes more material and the scratches from my textured 80 grit.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 14:21:45 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 22, 2023 12:53:14 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback!! I have the plated 600 right now but I enjoy it so much I'll likely spring for the sintered wheel (especially if it's a finer finish yet). I still have to experiment with moving directly from 600 hard to 600 soft.. I tried this on a few stones and they looked pretty bad (poor shaping/material?) so I'm using the 280 soft as the middleman until I course-correct. At the time I purchased my wheels (Dec 22) the US Dollar and the Euro were about 1:1. The Baltic Abrasive wheels have 6mm about 1/4" of sintered material on them. I am sure I will never wear one out in the remaining years of my life. anyway they were on par price for plated wheels so there was no $$ penalty. Sintered wheels appear to be finer than plated wheels which has caused me some problems. a 30 grit Sintered is about equal to a 60 grit plated wheel when it is new out of the box. After the 60 grit plated wheel has cut 100 - 150 stones it slows down (I have tested both hex and smooth wheels). The 30grit sintered has continued to eat agate at the same rate or faster than new out of the box after 300 stones. As for the 600 sintered I am assuming it would be more like a 1200 grit plated wheel but I have not had a chance to pursue that yet. I have only had time to do general test and timed tests on the coarse wheels. For grit equivalent (approx)
Sintered Plated 30 60 60 120 140 280 280 600 600 1200 This is what I got from the vendor after some prying not sure it holds up completely. I hope to research this more to verify.
I mentioned this to John Rowland and he disagreed. The cutting speed difference might be by manufacturer or he is wrong. I've seen a lot of posts here and they mention two things; they like their sintered wheel and the difference in cutting speed. I've never used sintered and from a cost standpoint they look good. I like to cut fast.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 21, 2023 23:53:01 GMT -5
Mine is about 20 years old. I have the trim saw attachment so I remove the right side frequently. The left side is left hand threaded and was rarely removed. When the blade jams on the saw, sometimes the left side unscrews. I couldn't get it loose. One day when using the saw the left side unfroze and I lived happily ever after.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 21, 2023 23:06:20 GMT -5
My best customer is a silversmith. I make a lot more cabs than I sell. I was considering making a proposal to trade cabs for pendants. Silver with a very simple design and bail. What are the material costs and time to make a 40x32 pendant?
I work outside and don't have a place to work inside. My skill and enjoyment is making cabs.
I would appreciate some input. Thanks.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 21, 2023 20:22:33 GMT -5
They don't run independently. The left is fixed and the right is removeable. The left is remove the nut on the end and slide the wheels off the arbor. The right is rotated off the arbor and then a nut is loosened to replace wheels.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 21, 2023 18:10:52 GMT -5
I dismounted my 220 hard. It wastes space. The biggest mistake is overusing the 280 soft. I use it as a sanding wheel not shaping. I am trying a 140 grit soft as a replacement to remove scratches. I bought a 60 grit soft that I may try later. A couple people have a 60 grit soft mounted. I've often wondered about the course soft wheels so this is perfect! With the soft 60 and 140, where do they line up with the hard wheels in your setup? And. how is the 140 working out? Are they the resin wheels or the rough "REZ" wheels? I am only using the 140 now. It is resin. The only rez wheel I have is the 280 soft and after use it is no longer rough but effective. I have a Genie and when the left side arbor froze. I bought an extra right side arbor. I like to grind fast so I have a textured 80 grit Lithuanian wheel, a worn textured and a 325 soft on that arbor. On the left I have a very worn 80 grit DP wheel for scratch removal and fine tuning the shape, the 140 and the 280 rez. The textured wheel melts rock but leaves significant scratches. I spend most of my time on the top and the DP. The left side arbor unfroze itself.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 21, 2023 17:24:54 GMT -5
I dismounted my 220 hard. It wastes space. The biggest mistake is overusing the 280 soft. I use it as a sanding wheel not shaping. I am trying a 140 grit soft as a replacement to remove scratches. I bought a 60 grit soft that I may try later. A couple people have a 60 grit soft mounted.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 21, 2023 17:01:38 GMT -5
Morgan Hill pretending to be OJ.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 18, 2023 19:32:23 GMT -5
Mine had already had the two silicon wheels replaced with diamond. My polishing pad was on the left. I removed the arbor, removed the pad by loosening the set screw and slid everything of the shaft. I replaced the wheels and added spacers so the bearings stayed where they were.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 18, 2023 19:03:03 GMT -5
I assume this is the same machine with diamond belts on the left for the other grits. I had the same on my machine and replaced with wheels.
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 18, 2023 14:54:06 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 17, 2023 14:37:28 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Dec 16, 2023 16:01:31 GMT -5
A storm is coming in tomorrow and it was warmer today, so I trimmed 7 Loma Prieta Poppy and a Kentucky agate. I dopped these:
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