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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 3, 2017 22:28:00 GMT -5
Wow, digging through my slabs for soft rocks was just what I needed this afternoon! Great theme.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 3, 2017 17:47:53 GMT -5
Lots of beautiful cabs this week!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 3, 2017 10:22:51 GMT -5
Its nice and warm here!! I hear it is snowing back home. Tony Hurray! Tell it to stay that way please! Just curious, how many vendors would youy say are there now? Or what % of spaces filled? Are most of them just cutting slabs and hanging out, or do they have tables up for sales?
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 3, 2017 10:17:58 GMT -5
I don't know what class's are offered , but I know Rio Grande does offer different class's on Metal work I keep looking at Rio's classes every year but it seems like more and more they are centered around using the super expensive commercial jeweler machines that I can barely understand what they are (welders, etc). I think they're angling the classes toward big time commercial jewelers than toward hobbyists or even small time professional jewelers anymore.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 3, 2017 10:15:16 GMT -5
Thanks you guys, both for the sympathy, compliments and the glue advice. I think my hotstuff dried up (it is many years old), so I'll have to reup with either starbond or more hotsfuff or maybe hyxtal. I tried e330 one time and it popped right off when I went to grind the cab.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 2, 2017 11:05:42 GMT -5
Here are a couple that I had high hopes for. I still like them even with their imperfections though! (Isn't there some famous quote about that?) Canadian River Plume (finally got a good little sliver of it). The fracture opened up to a huge trench on the surface unfortunately, but it's holding together. That white line really bugs me though, not going to set it. Unknown agate I was going to use for the contest until the center small yellow plume started to disintegrate. It might be fixable with Hyxtal once I get some: Here's the slab, maybe somebody can ID it. I still have the other preform from the other end that might not crater on me, no yellow plumes. Yellow is usually bad news in agates in my experience!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 2, 2017 10:39:44 GMT -5
Those are cool Craig! Sounds like you had a good trip, hope you took lots of pics for a trip report!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 30, 2017 13:24:06 GMT -5
Wow gemfeller, that one is amaaaaazing. Nice job working around the iffiness!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 30, 2017 10:39:53 GMT -5
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 30, 2017 10:03:53 GMT -5
Yeah, you've got to count on no returns with the foreign sellers. Indian sellers are really the only place to get moonstone cabs though it seems like.
I recently got a nice slabette from a1gemshop, which arrived fast and is pretty much like the picture. I have a labradorite currently on its way from Kalagems - will see how it looks in person.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 30, 2017 9:56:16 GMT -5
Those are beautiful, would love to see the rest of the pics!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 30, 2017 9:53:16 GMT -5
Beauty is right!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 30, 2017 9:49:27 GMT -5
Wow those are great! Very smooth uniform curves, and you don't seem to be thrown off by different hardenesses of areas of the material. The one your daughter found is my favorite!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 19:04:11 GMT -5
Yeah, I noticed they've upped their photoshop skillz lately. They used to just crank the saturation (etc) slider, and the effect would be applied to the whole picture. The pics with fingers in them are a dead giveaway of this because the part of the finger in shadow turns bright pink. However, as with this example, they seem to have learned to apply the enhancement only to the stone itself, so the fingers (and grass, etc in the background) still look normal.
Thanks for the heads' up.
I have also had problems with generally well known and well loved ebay sellers enhancing their pictures too much. There are two biggies that I now will not buy from because of that. Annoying. Even some of the really honest nice ones are doing it - probably accidentally or by their camera settings. Frustrating!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:31:50 GMT -5
What about mailing rocks home? Can somebody talk about that? There's a post office right? Do they have a good supply of boxes or all used up?
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:28:55 GMT -5
Beautiful NDK Nate - do you wrap? Wrappers seem to make the most perfect level girdles I've ever seen. Serious precision going on there!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:25:00 GMT -5
Spectacular slabs! Last 1 reminds me of those nougat candies I can't seem to find anymore lol I can help you with that! You can get those nougat candies at a Chinese grocery like 99 Ranch Market.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:24:01 GMT -5
Beautiful, now you're making me want to cut! My favorites are the pink moss thunderegg (?) slice and the last one - some kind of wood?
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:20:28 GMT -5
I sense a trip bubbling on the horizon - can I come?
@hookedonrocks, do you mean down Lavic Road toward the marine base? or east from Lavic Road on the frontage road?
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:16:04 GMT -5
Good luck @shotgunner, I'm always interested in a good treasure hunt story!
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