itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 9, 2013 10:59:32 GMT -5
It's not the same color as jadeite... this is DARK blue/green, but in no lighting does it look black. quote] I believe you may have a misconception about jade; nephrite, jadeite, Helen. It can and does come in allmost any colour. I have 70 lbs of jadeite that range from clear to black, with mauve, all different greens, and blue in the range. nephrite is a little more limited in colour range and rarer in anything but greens Lloyd
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 9, 2013 10:43:43 GMT -5
it works well. Its all I use for cutting and polishing now. I started with a drill press for everything but only use the drill press for cutting rough and then trimming preforms. I whipped the one in the picture up last night in 3/4 of an hour from rough to what you see. It is only about 1/8th in thick at the crown and is a local chalcedony I call "BC Blue" that I hounded. The polisher I use was bought new for $39 and is variable from 0-3000 rpm. It takes a 7" backing plate but I rarely use that. I put a grinding disk on first then put my 6" diamond laps on top of that so they get support, then when I am finishing i use the 5" floor polishing disks mounted on velcro pads. I mounted an 16" old frying pan on the face so don't get spray but extended it with inner tube to make sure the spray stays in. I have a drip tube to water the pads/disks and a hole in the frying pan with a tube leading to the 5 gallon pail the whole rig is mounted on. I like it. Lloyd Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 7, 2013 15:26:39 GMT -5
I have to add that "carlton" A Canadian member and supplier has some stunning Canadian labradorite, and has shown it here quite a bit. It is found; wait for it, in Labrador on the east coast of Canada. Hunh!!! imagine that.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 3, 2013 16:23:12 GMT -5
I am in the continual process of processing my fall hounding material and unexpectedly found a couple of stones that have some nice desert scenes in them. The rock is silified sedimentary and lava flow layers so runs 7 mohs+ and is "very" tight grained so it gives off that high pitched "tink" when two pcs. are tapped together. I picked these two up on spec because there is nothing showing outside that would indicate the insides other than having a slightly polished surface which in this river rock means -hard- and tough. The green streaks coming in from the center left is probably nephrite. thanks for looking Lloyd Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 3, 2013 16:15:35 GMT -5
welcome from beau BC from an old Gronlidite; take a few years and look around here and ask questions/show your stuff, lots of help and lively discussions.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 3, 2013 16:12:05 GMT -5
nice haul and it looks like it was a great day to be working
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 1, 2013 21:57:28 GMT -5
My daughter showed me the listings for these things; she doesn't use them but friends do, that got me thinking about the commercial aspects and then on another forum there was a lady that was showing off her son's; 1 1/4in stones !/2in thick and how he wears them all the time; doesn't look good to me, kinda like the ones you see in the geograpic magazines where a persons bottom lip is hanging on their chest, but if they are willing to do it and want some, what the heck, it's their choice. I've seen a lot of them and man it sure isn't something I would do. Hope the girl recovers and comes back to class:<))
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 1, 2013 20:13:05 GMT -5
Blah blah blah for denialists
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 1, 2013 19:55:29 GMT -5
yeah, were doing such a wonderfull job safeguarding the future of our children/grandchildren, no matter how much BS is spread by the denialists the future is allready been layed by us but to deny it just so you can feel good is hypocritical; we are supposed to advance the species, not kill it. we don't have long to wait, mother nature has taken our measure and found us sorely lacking
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Feb 1, 2013 19:40:42 GMT -5
google bamboo; invasive species. These are not the type of tree I envision when I imagine a north american forest yet because a lot of NA is temperate, they can and do thrive and choke out our native trees. JMHO
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 30, 2013 15:13:40 GMT -5
sorry, I missed the remark on the colour but some of it the matrix is greener and with certain light settings on the camera It makes it look way greener than it is by eye. After I made this I thought that a cord tied in the groove would make it into a nice bead/pendant, or even do a nice wire wrap on the groove portion.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 30, 2013 14:28:09 GMT -5
actually Shotgunner, the cutting of the circle and routing takes no time at all with the water drip and the table of the drill press to slide it along and keep it even; 15 minutes at most; works great for grooving too, I just put a thick 6 In. dia. blade in the same chuck. What took the longest was polishing in the groove but it would have been better if I used a stone the same thickness all the way:<) but this was just a test. I don't know why either Helen but if you look online the costs for these things in nice material runs to 2-300$ a peice. Not my idea of a good time but I'm not into body tatoos either.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 29, 2013 19:13:13 GMT -5
you guys crack me up :<)
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 29, 2013 15:24:46 GMT -5
final, warts and all Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 29, 2013 15:23:55 GMT -5
second photo Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 29, 2013 15:22:56 GMT -5
I can't find the thread where someone was asking about making earplugs so I am posting here in the hopes they see it. From slab to finished took about an hour and I will be able to make improvements on the second one I make if I do. This was all done on my ( inspired by H2M mining ) "Frankencutters" which are a 10 speed drill press I use for cutting rough, drilling/cutting holes, and this kind of shaping and for carving out places for inserts, and my grinding/polishing unit which is a 7 in. angle polisher/grinder with a variable speed trigger that I mount my 7 in. flat lap disks on and my 5 in. resin/diamond floor polishing pads. I know there are a few warts but it is the first one and I was going for the concept more than anything. The "Blue G" slab was just over 1/2 in. tapering off a little so nothing is totally square. Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 29, 2013 11:22:34 GMT -5
You must be very proud of her on the great job she did of learning your skills, I don't think I am going to get grandkids even though we have 4 children between us, the oldest 32 and the youngest 27 :<( none seem inclined. great to see the master class can be passed on.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 29, 2013 0:46:34 GMT -5
I did these over the weekend while I was doing some others just to show some more of the variety on a local hounding site in S.central BC the long one is mossy guatemalan jadeite(9 just a colour name) One is tiger chalcedony one is the BC Blue chalcedony The multi coloured is something I haven't found a name for the pattern yet but looks a lot like vistaite all but the jadeite hounded locally, cut, and polished from the rough by me. They aren't final finished yet Thanks for looking Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 28, 2013 22:23:04 GMT -5
thanks all; it's a real nice stone to work with and now tht I have the diamond pads figured out I can get a water look finish. The material ranges up to 8 mohs if you get into a pocket of jadeite down to 6.5 in the nephrite, with the chalcedony in between. I don't seem to have a problem with the way it works, just need good diamond to keep it cutting. even with 100 grit, if you are working more than an 1/8in wide surface it gets rel slow. Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jan 28, 2013 21:42:56 GMT -5
greasy fried taters is the best way to start the day; YUMMY!!! not to mention, as a lubricant; as mentioned, it makes the job a lot more interesting as you smell the heated bacan fat wafting up to your nostrils; I us eit for lubricant in drilling and cutting aluminum with a saw; makes the cutting edges last much longer
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