metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 13, 2017 2:12:08 GMT -5
Ahh... humour! I recognise it from afar! I actually came here looking for dust-catchers. I make so much, a mate of mine cally my lapidary "making sand". Still you have some beautiful lanterns there. Cool work.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 13, 2017 2:05:35 GMT -5
Likewise - I've never seen Noreena so shiny!
Faves ... maybe the dryhead and moroccan. Mookaite too. That spotted Laker is simply sumptuous. Too difficult to choose!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 13, 2017 0:50:09 GMT -5
Wow thank you metalsmith - you got this party started with a bang. I think these two almost perfectly capture the subject - composition, angle, lighting. If you could share a higher res uncropped version with me they are strong early contenders. I love your cropping as-is but I've painted myself into a square shape dimensionally already. The last one you added is very good too - might not be quite as easily understood to be faceting tho. Thanks Tommy, I have the full res originals; just need to go find them, but I'm pretty organised so shouldn't take long.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 12, 2017 17:33:01 GMT -5
I suspect others may have better, but if you like any of the following (first 5 are relevant) you can crop from here (this is one image on my Flickr account) or I can upload & post a single higher res image if needed: Another is relevant but not if you're looking for a high-hardness multi-faceted 'shiny':
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 12, 2017 15:12:48 GMT -5
Amazing! You have a super star, not in-the-making, but unveiling before your eyes.
So very very good, skilled and confidant to be singing 'sans musique'.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 12, 2017 14:03:10 GMT -5
That's a great result for your first effort! Of course you know the penalty for not getting things quite right: time, It looks like it has paid off here though. Not sure where you need to remove solder but really the only ways are filing & polishing, unless you count leaving it to soak in pickle and breaking it apart when the solder wastes.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 12, 2017 13:50:22 GMT -5
I can see an entry from Metalsmith could well happen here... All subject to change until the closing date, but here for starters: Australian Boulder Opal Rough - an offcut left over with just a hint of possibility With the hint of a seam firming up, an idea develops Work in progress: looks more like Gem Silica than Boulder Opal, but a few pin-fires here and there give the game away: Finished Cab - the longest I've ever taken to cut a single cab (but then I did all the work on a 1200 lap!) - around 4 hours but this is one rock I don't want to s**w-up Australian Boulder Opal finished cab: waves of chocolate and opal the colour of chryocolla-gem-silica mix with a few fine blue-green pin-fires This might be my preferred stone. My hopes of photoshopping these into a wand have gone up the creek; with a lot of other things recently. This was to form the Dragon's eye. I guess my fourth rock in the wand collection would be the Dragon Green Chrysocolla I've been asking about elsewhere. These were all cut a couple of weeks back: Jelly Opal 11/03; Boulder Opal 1 12/03 02:30 - 06:30!! Boulder Opal 12/03, though it seemed like a different day somehow! Chyrsocolla 13/03 (unlucky for me as it turned out!)
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 12, 2017 3:54:37 GMT -5
Beautiful cab!
I've just been cutting some boulder opal and currently working on a jelly but picked up some cracking Welo the other week at a local gem show.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Mar 12, 2017 3:51:44 GMT -5
Tumble them all together. Periodically (say every day) open the can and take a look. The soft stones will lose their edges and points quicker. Then you can pull them out when they're still round and you can still id the harder rocks. So you can use the tumbling process to work out which rocks will be ok run together Good luck!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 28, 2017 13:18:09 GMT -5
I don't have such luxuries, just a tin (airgun pellet type) shallow dish style. I tend to melt the side of a large chunk of wax and daub it on the dop. Fixing the stone whilst there is still some play in the wax or just keeping it going on a gentle heat. The general principle was to heat the stone, stick and wax and let a blob of wax run down on top of the stone. There are some videos on youtube should help you do it properly. Let me know if you can't find them.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 28, 2017 4:10:54 GMT -5
The right side cut looks a little thicker, but you're learning. Enjoying the thread. Faceting is something I never thought of doing. Is it a slow process? Slow??? I'm up to figuring out the dop wax!! Then comes attaching stone correctly. AFTER I figure out how to orient the stone. It doesn't seem difficult, but I haven't actually done anything yet. I HAVE learned a lot. Right or wrong, as soon as I get stone set up on dop, I'm going to set the dials to whatever and FLIP THAT SWITCH!! metalsmith is doing a great job. He is at the doing stage. Ahh compliments! I'm still tiptoeing in the shallows tbh, but growing my skills. Re orienting the stone, I just get the thing on then work out the difference between zero and my stone then add that to all the numbers. Easy.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 28, 2017 4:00:44 GMT -5
metalsmith thanks for posting all those stones and the Flickr link. I've gathered all my dopping equipment, and that is the big plan for tomorrow. Playwith dop. get a stone dopped, get it on the machine and make a flat face or two somewhere! I've never used dop wax, but it could be useful here : ) Dopwax is another small but relatively easy learning curve... again I wouldn't say it was mastered as I think my torch is a little too hot. I would say its pretty essential: some of my CA glue dops have failed.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 25, 2017 3:04:08 GMT -5
Cool work. Shame about the pits, but I see Wall-E in your Bird's Eye Rhyolite!
I'm not familiar with chapenite, but it looks great!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 25, 2017 2:41:47 GMT -5
Hi Pat, Sorry, although there's no activity from you, I guess I may have thought you were probably in touch with the thread given it is on topic for your interest. Re reposting the images, there is a chance this might happen in the next couple of days!! My mobile battery is dead and I need a recharge in order to log on to Yahoo (Flickr hosting my images). If you'd care to check out my Flickr site then you'll find a few images (none of those missing from this thread unfortunately but I can make those visible later for you). www.flickr.com/photos/7571246@N02. Most of the stones shown at the minute are hand-cut, but there are a few others that are facetted I'll post below. I've also cut some additional stones that for one reason and another have had trouble photographing since the end of last year, but I've cut for example Hungarian agate (there's one on flickr) with a facetted approach, taking the concept of a bevel-edged cab one step further. These take the approach of squaring off a small cab: ring cabochons I believe the term is. I almost suggested here earlier that you might wish to consider cutting stones (rather than facetting rough) as a precursor to facetting. Personally I have trouble cutting glass / (non-gem) quartz as some suggest as an intro, since I wholeheartedly agree (you'll have read the same in Herbst) that the result just isn't worth the time invested. At least with a facetted approach to turquoise / agate, there is a worthwhile aesthetic at the end of the effort; the rough is affordable and the stuff I turn to facetting is usually much smaller than a cab. Anyway, to some eye candy... Cutting turquoise The point of this image was to show white swarf for another thread here, but I don't believe I ever posted it there. Stone size is approx 10mm length, was cut and polished on the dop and then I learned the lesson that I should have either used dop wax or burned the glue and let the stone cool. I believe the retained heat was responsible for softening the stabiliser and after finishing, the stone broke on removal. I would have been gutted but for the fact that it is all learning... just some learning is more painful than others. The pain was in the time, but this was just a small offcut from cabbing that would have made a lovely ring cab had it turned out. Hungarian Agate This was an ugly freeform cab that teased me for about 3 months. Yes, I could have cut it, but not efficiently. I left it until I could see what it 'wanted' to be (time to book another appointment!!) Then it was tricky to polish because the 'table' retains a small degree of curve from when it was a cab... Facetted waterweb turquoise Lavic Jasper Bolivian Chevron Amethyst Facetted waterweb turquoise 6mm Chrysocolla This was just a tiny nugget of compact perfectly coloured chrysocolla. It was an offcut from cabbing, that as a reasonably regular 8mm rough cuboid would never have made a cabochon, was just far too nice to consign to the bin. Sorry if you have seen some of these before, but it would be an undertaking to work out what I've shown everywhere else before. Hopefully this will keep you entertained until I can retreive some others for you
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 24, 2017 17:00:44 GMT -5
I try to imagine surviving in their time. Doubt I would make it. Over time the pit house would become contaminated with germs, body fluids - especially from people dying, rotting food particles, etc. Sorry I'm so long winded but I want to understand them - the Apache, Navajo, Anasazi, Olmec, Maya, Inca . . . The Fremonts seem to have arrived from the south around 2,000 years ago into an empty land that had been burned to a crisp by a glancing comet blow of around 10,000 oC around 13,000 years ago. That killed off the Folsom etc. that previously lived in the western US. Later, around 1,000 years ago the Apache and Navajo pushed in from the northwest, the Woodland from the far east, Aztec and Toltec from the southeast, slowly driving them out of the area. Weather changes were probably another factor. That is the story of mankind everywhere, and why there can never be peace. I'd never heard of the Fremont before. Fascinating. There's no way to understand / describe them without being detailed and I'm sure this barely scratches the surface.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 24, 2017 4:59:06 GMT -5
That's cool. I have this to do on my err... new okay okay, used Nova wheels. I had saved a link from somewhere before but this helps. One thing that I can think of to improve the process (other than a tripod for the camera) would be to use a fine sieve for the diamond; for fine grades I might try an enamel sieve. Thanks
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 24, 2017 3:45:47 GMT -5
Jim,where do you come up with ideas like that? Those are some awesome pieces of work! NICE!! Mike, most of us have a box.. some think inside it. Others out side it. wampidytoo? He doesnt have a box. Jim, you are a trippy dude. Im glad we are buddies. Nice work. Haha ... no ... totally off his box! Those pipes are amazing! Wampidy stops for tea!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 24, 2017 3:19:40 GMT -5
A good fix and lovely ring. There's also a good chance the turquoise will green over time to match the 'odd' piece.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 24, 2017 3:09:09 GMT -5
More about the Fremonts: after ten years or so, you need to abandon your pithouse and build another Err... why? #missingsomethin' BTW I do love your posts ... I just have to set aside a day to read them.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Feb 21, 2017 13:22:15 GMT -5
Can't wait for you to break the ice. You may have picked up that the disks should be kept in order with the fine grades at the top.
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