metalsmith
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 17, 2017 1:24:58 GMT -5
Hello and welcome. I was the same as a kid, though I was a self starter ... I still have many of the rocks I picked up even from way back as a nipper.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 17, 2017 1:21:47 GMT -5
Welcome jaz! Disabilities notwithstanding, let's concentrate on your developing your lapidary abilities.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 17, 2017 1:18:53 GMT -5
Hi and welcome. Don't forget second-hand options. I picked my tile saw up for only £5; it came with 6 months warranty and is still going strong 3 years later!
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 17, 2017 1:13:15 GMT -5
Welcome from England. Wow, sounds like some kit you have there!
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 16, 2017 16:10:36 GMT -5
I rushed through your pink opal, so I could hopefully see a cake!! Looks delicious and wonderful! A chocolate theme - Happy Easter Vanilla sponge marbled with Chocolate sponge; home-made dark-chocolate & double-cream ganache; a nest made from 'flake' chocolate filled with chocolate eggs; three hollow-milk-chocolate rabbits and fluffy bits stuck down with ganache... obviously my inner girl again
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 16, 2017 15:03:49 GMT -5
Pink Opal I'm really pleased with the way this one has worked out. Made entirely on Easter Sunday 16/04/17 or 04/16/17 I believe some would have it. I spotted a piece of rough, a little intriguing with some dendrites and a blush of pink. Would I be able to preserve the mound of pink opal? I'd like to bring some dendrites through. I would like those on the right (point up) to be background. The blatent one near the edge will be ground away or nearly - enough to conceal under a bezel. Rarely for me, I polish both sides: top to #30,000, underside to #10,000. This helps with the light transmission which is important to see the features highlighted in the translucent pale opal. Even more rarely, this cab was completed alongside the making and decorating of an Easter cake! Rough Preform with a hint of dendrites Pink Opal cabochon - cut / ground to #1200 - prepolish Diamond polished Pink Opal cabochon #30,000 Pink Opal cabochon Pink Opal cabochon Pink Opal cabochon Pink Opal cabochon - final ETA Pink Opal cabochon - reverse ETA drocknut - the material (above) you sent - thank you! Home-made Easter Cake
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 16, 2017 13:54:23 GMT -5
It doesn't look random enough to be graphitic texture - in lines: I'd recommend you check out the pottery links first.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 15, 2017 15:19:07 GMT -5
Yeah, the Olympic Poppy Jasper has it for me!
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 15, 2017 13:24:22 GMT -5
Not a big fan of turquoise but that sure is a nice one . How? If you didn't like this one all hope would be lost!
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 15, 2017 1:02:58 GMT -5
Online review by Jeff Graham. linkWhen after reading a lengthy monologue criticising the machine you can go on to purchase is it because you don't appreciate the issues or because the issues are really not so significant? There are many online 'resources' for facetron; facetting academy / youtube etc all help from unboxing to getting going to their cutting a huge (worlds' biggest?) sunstone. link
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 15, 2017 0:51:25 GMT -5
So, what machine do you facet on? I have a Facetron
Did you buy the machine new or used? Used, but only lightly used The seller had a 'genuine reason for sale'; of course anyone could say that. In this case, eye-sight problems meant he could no longer reliably cut. This is where some dialogue can help with establishing trust. Prior to the sale (ebay) I didn't talk with the owner. I recommend you do. It turns out they were (earlier) a key player in the UK faceter's guild. That helps with trust. At the out-set, by all means take their word, but do your own research. The UKFG part was easily checked out and valid. As a UKFG they either knew what they were doing or they knew how to find out. My nerves on buying were made worse by the facetting manufacturer's videos stating the unreliability of buying second-hand. Again, do your research ... I was previously 'watching' another facetor up for auction. The facetor had owned and used it for 2 years they said. I searched and searched on the model since it was Australian and found posts on a forum that suggested of this 2 years which they did own it, the owner had it working for 6 months... Trust issue: the seller of the Oz model offered a free half day intro to how to use the machine; this would demo that the machine was working and also give a newbie (like me) an intro to what they were doing, possibly skipping errors and the cost of those mistakes you have to learn. Learn them myself, I did! Not that I was foolish to turn down an intro, but I bought a different facetor from a far-flung corner of the country. The seller was able to produce examples of stones they had cut - however I suggested to myself that the few stones may be the sum total of 6 months cutting I wondered why they were selling; would I potentially purchase something for a couple of £100 only to wish I had gone in more at the deep end. I knew that I loved cutting cabs and putting bevelled edgess (/facets) to the stones. How seriously do you want to play? Various threads discuss the difficulty of getting rough... a bit like buying a car when oil runs out: will it be useable? Can I afford the rough or will I have a machine I can't afford to run. I'll need to practice. How can I do this? By cutting non-facet grade stones.
Have you done any upgrades? No - it came with a dial gauge fitted by the previous owner. Two camps of thought - either they knew what he was doing or not! Did they do the job properly or are they selling because it was bodged? It is fine and post-sales dialog helped calm nerves. For me this was a substantial outlay, not play-money. I can't understate the value of talking.
If you bought used, do you wish you had saved a bit longer and gotten a new machine? No; I'm glad I my caution about buying second hand was high; it meant I chose a good machine. My caution about (/against) the strong message not to buy second-hand was right; they have a vested interest in selling a new one! I was cautious about purchasing and only went with a machine that looked to be in good condition and had either been well maintained or cleaned up well. It came with all the bits I'd need - keyed dop sticks; bits you don't but help e.g. 10x loupe graduated scale; rough of different qualities and practise material - synthetics For significant purchases I put 'value' down to cost / quality. For example my paraglider, I didn't fly for 100 hours, but god it was great when I did. I spent more time sitting on the hill waiting for the wind, but even that had value. Even not accounting for income, as a hobbyist, working out a cost per hour for using my facetor (even for cabbing), well I couldn't afford to spend so long with a hired tennis court. With income, have I broken even yet? No but it is surely a matter of time. I tend not to sell my stones; I prefer to set them, but my metalwork needs to catch up with my cutting.
Overall a great buy. No regrets.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 14, 2017 17:47:43 GMT -5
We purchased a used Lee faceting machine at a silent auction from our rock club maybe five years ago. I have not used it - yet - but some day, lol! In the meantime, I have purchased a bit of facet rough, some synthetics, etc., getting ready for the day. Still need to pick up or make (I know a good machinist ) a dop transfer jig. Have seen them used online for around $50 (more than we paid for the machine!!!).
I also picked up what a lot of folks consider the faceting bible, Faceting for Amateurs, by Glenn & Martha Vargas. It is copyright 1969, which makes it a first edition, and also dedicated (to Natalie) and signed by the authors. I'm sure I picked this up at a show somewhere. There is a price written inside the cover, $25.
ETA (not my actual book, mine is not Second Edition) There are 3 volumes (as well as any various editions); from experience of looking at prices over about 12 months, they rise around $30, $90 and $150 from volumes one through 3. I don't have any copies at all although one would be a welcome addition when I can extend to it.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 14, 2017 0:59:02 GMT -5
Some pictures from yesterday on my 60th birthday Belatedly wishing you a happy birthday! Unconventional thinking is called innovation where I come from. But some of the suggestions here to learn the rules then break them are good too.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 13, 2017 16:38:15 GMT -5
Just an FYI, I do believe that metalsmith is a guy. Really? My apologies if so. Kinda thought that was a girl avatar. metalsmith you a guy? I took that as a complement ... but last time I checked French chic and French chick are really quite different!
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 13, 2017 2:55:03 GMT -5
The first paragraph I consider irrelevant babble Thank you for the beneficiency of your judgement. I am humbled. There is one side to backing out of a concluded sale: beration and public humiliation in perpetuity, it seems . I'm sorry if you're unclear; it seems to be also American (similar in English); perhaps you could consider more sensitively what losses to his reputation this thread has brought. It seems you may have done so with the benefit the wisdom of these thoughts might bring. Of course I... Egocentricity knows no bounds. I have many French friends; what are you saying? How to make lose friends and alienate nations ... Sorry to contradict your view of the world; a sale on ebay is a contract. There may be opportunity to honor one's word in the discharging of it. Oh sh*t now I've broken my word, I know what to expect here. Peut-être je devrais trouver un besoin d'aller en vacance dans la belle France, encore. Why miss an opportunity ... actually: <snore>... But now you will. Thanks for the generosity of your time. Perhaps as reward for your motivation you might have an opportunity to flame somebody else. Really? When it comes to 'guns blazing', Mohandas Ghandi is my role model. Thanks for the personal attack. You're showing your colours. Yes, sometimes discretion can be the better part of valor. Oh now you're the victim? Let me fetch the band aid. These things often work both ways. I used to care what you think. That's now in decline; on the red list in fact. I'm pleased to have had the opportunity, nay, benefit, to have my mind cleansed of such conciliatory thoughts. I'm not sure what I was thinking in contradicting to fit with a very polarised view of the world. Toute a l'heure
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 12, 2017 0:35:47 GMT -5
offer some can't pass deals and eat small losses until you get about 100 pieces of good feedback. cost of starting up. lots of business plan for initial loss. ^^^ This! Sell rough with an image of a finished stone - clearly marked "example of typical finished stone" or "image for illustration only" or "not the stone being sold" (or all of these). Split your "packages"; sell single stones. Sell cheap. Sell many. Break even then look to build profits.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 12, 2017 0:28:58 GMT -5
If you want to keep kicking this horse, I'm more than happy to play along. Yes, there may be two sides to a coin, but there usually aren't two (truthful) sides to an issue. You seem to be forgetting some of the details to this story. You said the "customer got his money back, so I did nothing wrong." Uh, yes you did. You backed out of a binding agreement, and for a pretty lame reason at that. I don't think adam is happy at all to keep taking a kicking. There is discussion and administrative action to reduce the loss of new members in political threads of this forum. Why is it thought to be acceptable to continue to berate a member with 700 posts. If I were a new member reading this thread (or lurking, potential new member), I would be thinking twice. captbob for all his words of wisdom on the matter and apparent seniority, appears to have failed to have learned through life that there can be two very different perspectives on the same thing, neither of which is necessarily incorrect. As well as considering whether to continue his ebay account, Adam might consider getting an opportunity for a clean start at 'the competition' lapidaryforum. The thing is I know he's a trier. Sometimes it is better to cut your losses. This is the better forum, but it has to be better all round, not just talk rocks better and tolerate what is starting to amount to cyberbullying. Newly instated moderators have acted well in presenting moderated views, but need to show they're a watchdog with teeth imho. Ebay states the agreement is binding which captbob regurgitates without thought. Of course this is what they would like you to think. It encourages the completion of deals. However, I believe that the US, like the UK requires a consideration. In cases like this, no consideration was passed. There was no contract. At this point, however much ebay or captbob and others dislike it, one can go back on their word without legal consequence. If this were not the case, it would be an open-and-shut situation and the 'buyer' could call his lawyer and sit back while adam was dragged through the courts and then have to pay costs too. "Thanks for the rocks". Of course it didn't happen like that. It never happens like that - for the above reason. indeed!!! #pissfookingpoor
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Hello
Apr 11, 2017 17:14:25 GMT -5
Post by metalsmith on Apr 11, 2017 17:14:25 GMT -5
Hello fellow rock lovers. My name is Andy, I am 32 years old and from southern Minnesota. Land of limestone. I have loved rocks since I was about 3. A slow starter eh? Don't worry you'll soon catch up! Welcome to RTH
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 11, 2017 16:53:03 GMT -5
There are a suite of tests you could do to establish whether it is pottery or basalt.
It does look basaltic to me, specifically, it appears to be a porphyritic basalt or porphyrite, further to the magma being delayed allowing crystals to form. Later, these would form a specific texture called graphic or cuneiform, according to the fact that they do look like ancient writing. Later, on exposure to the elements, the feldspar have been eroded out.
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Apr 10, 2017 10:23:30 GMT -5
"We can only see green from our window ..."
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