RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 17, 2008 11:13:44 GMT -5
O.K. I spent a little time yesterday thinking about shapes for the new templates. Here are a few ideas. Butterfly wings - flip the template and have a matched set for pendants etc. Stars - 4, 5, 6 & 8 point. Yin Yang - one half of the symbol so that after cutting two cabs, you can rotate one and have them match & create a doublet if you wish. Ice cream cone shape 7 Stone series - several different series that when cut together form a set. Here's a pix of one set I'm currently working on. Grooved - a normal oval except with little "fins" that need to cut with a flexshaft. S or Leaf - I don't know if these names are correct for this shape. Basically it's a rectangle with two of the opposing corners rounded off. Ignore the faceting. I know these aren't the easiest shapes to cut. I am always looking for something different. I'll try to draw some of these shapes.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 15, 2008 22:15:56 GMT -5
Well after the failed rocket powered velcro suit experiment failed and caused a major power interuption, I promised I wouldn't play around with altering anything - especially if it goes BOOM ;D So I figured I would ask the brain scientists on RTH what they think. Has anyone ever tried to mount a 6" grinding wheel sideways on their 8" AmeriTool grinder (or 4" wheel on a 6" grinder)? I know what your thinking: Why not buy an arbor, Genie or some cheaper grinder. It's pretty $imple. I don't have the $$$ right now for another major purchase and I know someone selling a couple slightly used diamond wheels. This is something I've been thinking about since this summer. I have this slab of turritella agate (from Baja Mexico not Wyoming) that someone suggested polsihing with ZAM. When I bought the slab the guy gave my a 3/4 stick of polish and a buff for $1. So I removed the plastic splash guard and mounted the buff on the platen with a slightly longer screw. It worked great except that a piece of fossil shell plucked out of the cab towards the end The only drawbacks are that the wheel needs to be under 21 oz. to meet the AmeriTool warranty. And I would need to make some sort of spray guard. The advantages are having some different surfaces such as convex and the outside edge for grooving.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 15, 2008 21:49:20 GMT -5
A friend found some more information about Pinolith and I thought I would share it here instead of letting it get buried at the bottom of the other thread. From the book Glossary of Geology "A metamorphic rock containing magnesite as crystals and as granular aggregates in a schistose matrix. It is so named because the magnesite inclusions resemble pine cones in shape. Found in Styria, Austria." From www.mindat.org "Name for a graphite-pigmented, light grey to almost black dolomite with inclusions of white magnesite grains looking like pine kernels (hence the name). Sometimes used as a decorative stone." I had searched mindat for Pinolith not Pinolite. Now the name makes sense Pin e - o - lith (Latin for stone).
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 15, 2008 9:47:44 GMT -5
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 15, 2008 9:46:45 GMT -5
Also known as magnesite: magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), 3.5-4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, rarely forming white rhombohedral crystals, more commonly found in massive form, associated with brucite (magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2) in several different geological formations. Nothing fossil-related in there to speak of, from what I see. Pinolith equates to magnesite on several German websites I found on Google. Yup. It's often listed as Pinolith-Magnesit. I'm glad everyone likes these
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 15, 2008 9:42:11 GMT -5
If you still have a set left, I'll take it.
If you don't, that's my fault.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 13, 2008 21:08:40 GMT -5
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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12/12
Dec 13, 2008 9:01:56 GMT -5
Post by RocknCritter on Dec 13, 2008 9:01:56 GMT -5
Whoa! Whoa ! Whoa! That Tahoma Jasper is niceeeeeeeeeeeee. I love that silky look. It looks almost edible ;D On my monitor it doesn't look like your lighting setup is the issue with your pixs. Blown highlights are usually an indication of over-exposure. Basically, the black background is fooling the camera meter into thinking the black is really gray. So all the details in the lighter areas of the pixs gets lost. With digi-cams, it's almost always better to be slightly under-exposed. You can recapture the lost details in the shadows much easier than the lost highlights. Try a slightly shorter exposure (higher shutter speed) or decreasing the aperture a bit (if your camera has manual over-ride - use a higher f stop). If you have any of the photo editing software, you can also make adjustments there but it's always better to get it right in the camera first. Of course, this is all after you make some more of your great cabs
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 13, 2008 8:47:09 GMT -5
I'll offer another perspective on using the Lot-O-Tumbler. I use mind for finishing and polishing cabs. After filling it with the stones, media grit and water, I just let it run for each 24 hour cycle. While I might check on it out of curiosity, the need to check the water level hasn't been an issue. The results have been absolutely awesome. The stones have a mirror finish that doesn't even compare to anything I have seen done by hand. Compared to a friend's rotary tumbler (brand unknown), it's much, much quieter. I did place a piece of foam under the cinder block so this did make some difference. On the bottom of the tumbler are two strips of self-adhesive Velcro for attaching the unit to a cinder block, etc. I was pretty skeptical at first these would keep everything secure but after 12+ loads nothing has moved. I don't know if it was on RTH, somewhere I read about someone using a Lot-o-Tumbler almost 24/7 since the 1960's without any problems. While I'm glad I bought mind, it would be fun to throw some stones in other tumblers and then compare the results. Inquiring minds want to know: Do all tumblers know how to rock and roll the same way?
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 3, 2008 11:07:27 GMT -5
Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner?
I had some quartz that soaked up lot's of diamond paste. I thought everything was a goner. A friend recommended an ultrasonic bath and it cleaned up everything.
If you don't have one, I got my for $30 on eBay. It really is amazing sometimes to see all the crud in the bottom of the tank after cleaning stuff that looks absolutely pristine.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 2, 2008 20:58:22 GMT -5
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 2, 2008 20:56:26 GMT -5
These are really nice. I'm still too, tooo scared......to try anything that round.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Dec 2, 2008 20:54:20 GMT -5
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 27, 2008 10:28:20 GMT -5
The green forest fire agate is from Idaho. I almost always get a vendors card when I buy rough. This is one of the exceptions. The guy is always so busy. The next time I see some, of course I'm going to grab it.
I wish mailing rough back was easy. In Brasil often times, the pedranistas only want to sell 50 or 100 kg. of rough if any at all. They really want to add value by cutting it. So the large quantities means using a freight forwarding company. I actually looked into this three years ago. At the time, it was something like $10/kg. to get the stuff back to the states. (I don't remember which port though and this can make a big difference in the total shipping costs after adding in ground transportation.)
Also, just looking at the outside of a Brasilian post office (or bank) is a sobering experience. There are usually lines running out the doors and around the building if not the entire block. I've heard wait can be from 4 to 6 hours some days.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 27, 2008 10:11:37 GMT -5
The slab whispers the shape to me. All the rocks whisper to me too. Especially the ones in my head. I guess I didn't do a good job explaining the poll and the difference between style and shape. The original impetus for this thead came from an article in Lapidary Journal/Jewelry Artist this past spring. I think it might have been the April, May or possibly June issue. While the material, thickness and end use all help determine the final shape, the magazine article made me think about cabbing styles in a different way from just the shape. Certainly two cabs from the same slab with the same shape yet a different style evoke different emotions and reactions from different folks. A really good friend of mine prefers making flat cabs. While I'm not totally wild about these, I have done some this month just to be different. I've also done a bunch of low dome, a few high dome and one of these days I'm going to make a few grooved cabs for wire wrapping. (Thanks Adrian! for the concept). It would be nice to hear from everyone that prefers "Other Style". After creating the poll I realized that I had forgotten to include what I call "ridged" cabs. You know the ones that have two or maybe three tables. Does anyone have any other styles of cabs that I have forgotten? What about milled cabs?
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 27, 2008 9:54:57 GMT -5
I didn't cab any of the examples of tablets in the pixs. These are all cabs I got in Brasil. The first one is quartz with pyrite, then "morango" or "strawberry" quartz (quartz with lepidocrosite) and the last one is quartz with rutile.
All of them have a girdle. The sides taper slightly with the back being slightly smaller than the table. It's similar to a baquette or emerald cut with out the steps on the pavillion
I'm guessing they are cut on a flat lap with a jamb peg. Most of the cutters down there don't have the resources to buy a precision faceting machine. In fact, out of all the lapidary shops I have been in, I have never even seen one. There is almost a reverse snobbery: often times the pedranistas will look down on a stone that has been "machine cut".
One of the Brasilian mine owners is in the country right now. I'm suppose to call him tomorrow about my conchonita quartz rough. He sells a lot of cut stones and cabs. I'll ask him.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 27, 2008 9:38:28 GMT -5
These are awesome! If you have any more, pelase post them.
So what's it like cabbing ammolite?
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 25, 2008 10:21:03 GMT -5
Anyone got a pic that shows what a tablet looks like? Rich Here are a couple of pixs of Tablets. This is a term that is used in Brasil. I don't know of any other names. I met with David Epstein, the American ex-pat gem broker, living in Teofilo Otoni. He mentioned one afternoon that he developed this style several years ago and it's gotten popular in the area. Basically by slightly tapering the sides, when the cab is viewed from the top, it creates a frame effect with translucent and transparent gems like quartz. I'll try this p.m. to take a few pixs from the side so it shows the overall form.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 24, 2008 22:31:52 GMT -5
With me being a novice I get them all in one cab: high dome, low dome, no girdle, flat, its all there:) Cool. You have your own style Next time I'll have to try it also.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Nov 24, 2008 22:29:53 GMT -5
Where's the "all of the above"? I can't decide That would be way tooooooooo easy ;D ;D ;D
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