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Post by stardiamond on Jul 26, 2023 16:30:17 GMT -5
My son said it resembled half of a penis and then said half cock.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 26, 2023 14:29:07 GMT -5
Five dopped including this one.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 24, 2023 19:21:01 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 24, 2023 17:33:53 GMT -5
I like to slab, cab and tumble. That being said I almost weep when I see really good stuff broken up for tumbling when it's rare or expensive and would best be used otherwise. I subscribe to the idea that some really good material that's been broken up is worth more whole than the sum of its parts. I also feel the same way about cabbing certain pieces because I appreciate them more as polished slabs or specimens instead of being cut up for cabs. Yeah...I just acquired a bunch of slabs I can't stomach chopping up for cabs! LOL When I am looking at a slab that I am considering buying to cut up, my eyes look for performs. An absolutely beautiful collector slab can be unsuitable for making cabs. Blue Mountain Jasper is a good example because the a pattern is too large to frame. There are two markets for slabs; slab collectors and those who like to chop them up. Two markets increases the cost of the slab as cabbing material. I look for ugly slabs with a lot of cabable patterns. Here is a collector slab that would be a total waste to cab. I wasn't selling at the time so I gave it away.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 24, 2023 16:38:20 GMT -5
Mel, I have used that in the past and it is browser dependent. I use edge and Google and it doesn't work.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 24, 2023 16:35:00 GMT -5
I have a large ziploc bag full of acrylic stands for slabs, spheres, etc. I thought I had looked in it for cab stands before. I checked and found these: I now have four so I don't need to look further. The one on the right is all I could find and they are designed for slabs.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 21:36:52 GMT -5
Tough getting anything done when you are going in circles.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 16:48:36 GMT -5
MHPJ, Owyhee.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 16:26:23 GMT -5
Lapidary material that I buy is intended to end up as cabs. I've been attending the Highland Park zoom rough auctions and most of them are agates particularly Alimajo Agate Rough from Malawi. When I am considering buying unfamiliar material I do a web search for what finished pieces sell for. Since search engines are in the business of making money most of the results are on ebay or Etsy. Most of them are selling faced for $10. John Rowland stated that he has a low opinion of Etsy for agates.
I changed my search criteria from shopping to search which provides non etsy/ebay results. I looked at other sites and the higher end stuff was Lake Superior, Botswana, Dryhead, Condor, Fairburn, Kentucky, Turkish, Morrocan.
Can someone recommend some websites that show really great agates?
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 16:04:31 GMT -5
I received a 17 pound box of agates from Vance as the high bidder of his auction. Most of it is best used for tumbling. I cut or face polished some of the larger nodules. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/102914/package-vanceI am offering a cigar box full of agates for $10 including priority mail shipping to someone willing to tumble and post pictures of the results. Anything that I can't use I find a home for and seeing the results of the tumble would be away to indicate the value of the nodules so I can offer them at a very reasonable price.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 14:48:49 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 13:49:06 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 23, 2023 13:39:06 GMT -5
I got a piece of Lion's Den Morgan Hill from Martin Kramer on facebook. I bought from him 20 years ago as philospherstone on ebay. Really beautiful material and the slab was a little over 1/2 inch. My splitting technique needs a lot of work. I keep adjusting the cut when it is off so the cut is hacked up but very usable.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 22, 2023 19:18:38 GMT -5
Last Friday, it was announced that there would only be a Friday auction and that didn't even happen.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 22, 2023 15:27:00 GMT -5
I sell cabs on Etsy. eBay is no longer cabber friendly and most of the sellers except over seas have moved on. The only benefit to a local show is socializing. If you make nice stuff you will be competing against those who sell low end. To have your own site, a person needs a huge reputation and advertising costs so people can find you. Selling slabs on eBay is good, but eBay scares me.
I like Etsy because they do a lot for the seller, payments, discounted shipping labels and ease of use. I am a hobbyist and I sell not for income but to fund the hobby. The more I sell the better rocks I can buy.
Some Etsy sellers have moved to facebook. No fees, no tax, the wild west. I would list there if I was income driven. I resist because it is kind of clubby. I buy a lot of slabs and rough on facebook.
A large percentage of my sales are to silversmiths; large orders and repeat buyers. I price reasonably and give one of them a quantity discount. I give the other free cabs with an order. I didn't market to them, they found me.
Except for those who just collect, cabs are to make jewelry. Many cabbers here also wire wrap so they have a finished product to sell.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 22, 2023 14:41:39 GMT -5
I cut the larger Howardite and did a good job making a pear shape cab. While taking it off the dop, the right edge crumbled and I recut it. I'm happy with the shape since the right edge now follow the druse area.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 22, 2023 14:37:26 GMT -5
I am usually asked to make earrings to match a pendant cab. A customer wanted a pair of Tahoma earring cabs to give to a friend who had an association to Mt. Ranier. I made two sets of preforms and completed the better set. I decided to make a pendant earring set and needed a cab that matched the earrings. I looked through my Riker boxes and found one that would work. It was made a long time ago and not very well. I recut it and finished the earrings.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 21, 2023 19:08:15 GMT -5
Skipping rocks on water. My wife was interested in new age stuff; Rikei with the metaphysical qualities of crystals and minerals. She liked to collect and moved on to rough, slabs and cabochons. I knew how to work with wood and was interested in photography so I thought I could turn slabs into cabs. You were correct about “slabs into cabs” I have seen pictures of yours and you definitely know how to do it. One piece of equipment I have picked up is a 4 wheel speed demon caber from a man that moved from making cabs to working with wood. Interesting! A lot of people think that making cabs is a predecessor task to making jewelry. I have no jewelry. Photography is about capturing and framing images which is what I do with rock. Cabs are completed and collected or sold. Wood working is making something a person can use; a table, a cabinet or using a lathe bowls or candlesticks or just art.
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 21, 2023 16:05:54 GMT -5
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 21, 2023 15:57:06 GMT -5
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