ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Feb 6, 2017 19:50:20 GMT -5
use a scrap cab to play with, is your wire dead soft? I am excited to see end results. I would have hooked it up to a drill just for play. Right now we are without any wire at all. We just ordered 6' of half hard sterling square 20 gauge. It said in the description it is for wire wrapping so I guess we'll find out when it comes if it is the right stuff. I don't think I have a scrap cab to test on but we might have one after that first try😁 The motor is coming tomorrow for sure so a video of the groover in action is coming soon after. No way to mount a drill in our machine or he might have done that too.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Feb 6, 2017 18:59:26 GMT -5
Rio says 20 ga square is .032 or .81 mm Thank you. So, from hubby's measurements, it looks like the small bit is 31.5/1000. Seems maybe too small. The large bit will make a 50/1000 wide groove.Seems maybe too large. I guess we'll just try them and see when we get the motor tomorrow.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Feb 6, 2017 16:30:33 GMT -5
Hubby took a close look at those bits. He said they look like two different thicknesses of cut. He went and got his calipers and sure enough one bit was 10/1000 of an inch thicker than the other one. Then he took measurements at different spots on the cutting edge. On the thicker one of the two bits it varies by up to 10/1000 just on that bit. The smaller bit only varied by 3/1000 on its cutting edge. Hubby is frustrated at this lack of quality control and is wondering which bit to use. The thicker of the two is 50/1000 thick at the thickest point and 40/1000 thick at the thinnest point. He doesn't have any wire to compare to right now. He plans on using 20 gauge square wire in the groove. Does anyone know what 20 gauge equates to in thousandths? Below: First two are pics of the caliper readings on the thicker of the two bits showing the 10/1000 size spread. Below are two pics of the thinner bit at its thickest and thinnest points. One more question. Are these two bits supposed to be the same? Or is the size difference intentional.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Feb 6, 2017 15:27:01 GMT -5
The diamond bits came in the mail today. We're hoping the motor comes tomorrow. It's one step closer to grooving.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 30, 2017 21:45:42 GMT -5
Had a warm spell for a few days so we made some cab pre forms to groove when we get the motor. We are ordering the motor and bit finally on Friday.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 28, 2017 16:18:58 GMT -5
Ugh. Maybe I'll just post them on the FB page. The F/B page is just a sister site-many of the regulars on here don't use F/B........ You could send the photos to one of us by email and we would gladly post them for you... I personally despise Fakebook.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 25, 2017 17:48:58 GMT -5
He has a powder coat gun and an oven to cure it. How did I know that?? LOL! He totally rocks..... and wins the prize for most tools. He used to build machines professionally and has thousands of dollars invested in tools. He bought the powder coater about ten years ago when he was building a chopper motorcycle from the ground up. It's still out in the pole barn waiting for a motor. He had major health issues that took the remainder of the motorcycle build budget before he got done with that one. Someday maybe.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 25, 2017 16:44:10 GMT -5
Looking good so far! I may have missed it, but does your man do the powder coating himself or send it out? He has a powder coat gun and an oven to cure it.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 24, 2017 19:16:43 GMT -5
Them thar revenuers know better than to mess with us back roads Michigan hicks. They don't have the guts.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 24, 2017 16:17:14 GMT -5
It that ever found in Keweenaw? I don't think I have that. Does it ever come with copper inclusions in it? Don't forget where I found it. Based on where I found it, the copper inclusions and the fact that I have personally seen positively identified datolite very similar to what I have, I am going to overrule everyone and settle on datolite. I think it is nearly impossible to positively identify a rock based on a cheesy phone cam, especially when texture (an important part of identifying datolite) can not be judged. This thread started off as a question about specific gravity. So I am happy that my question on that subject was answered. I am going to not worry about that rock anymore..... thanks
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 24, 2017 16:08:02 GMT -5
A puzzle!!! I love it. And trust your and your hubby's ability to use clever methods to achieve the necessary answers to the puzzle. We would need to somehow get a clean sample of just the pink mineral in the rock below. The pink and the darker stuff are pretty well mixed. Not worth the bother to destroy the rock to get a clean sample. I will settle for calling it an idkwii stone. (Short for "I don't know what it is") It was found in Keweenaw and it has some native copper specks in the pink. Looks like datolite to me but I've been told it's not. I still think it is datolite, just not the best example. Someone claimed that it has mica in it....This stuff is harder than my stainless steel pocket knife. No sign of any mica.....Shines up like porcelain. I will have to settle for idkwii stone I guess.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 23, 2017 18:51:26 GMT -5
I know how to check it. My problem is isolating just the mineral I want to check. You out can check s.g. using a digital scale, small container of water, some thread or a bent paperclip to suspend the sample in the water and a pen and paper. First weigh the sample and write that number down. Put the container of water on the scale and zero it. Now suspend the sample in the water and write that number down. Now divide the first number by the second number. The answer is the s.g. You confirmed my suspicions though with your first answer. Thanks
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 23, 2017 17:26:50 GMT -5
That's what I thought. Guess sometimes one must go on visual or scratch.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 23, 2017 15:37:52 GMT -5
The specific gravity of a mineral is a good way of determining what kind of mineral you have. Trouble I'm having is what if your mineral is highly intermingled with matrix rock to the extent that there is no way of obtaining a sample of the actual mineral itself but only the mineral with matrix included. How much will mixed in matrix mess with the specific gravity of the mineral your're attempting to identify?
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 22, 2017 19:21:24 GMT -5
We got the electrical box, switch, and some recycled power cord and mounted it on the right side piece of the frame. The grooving process is not going to throw water or spray. There should be no issues with the handy box being metal and not plastic. The tray can be lifted straight out without spillage for emptying it. The entire circuit is grounded as well. There was no room for a plastic box. They were all too big. The handy box was $.88. A plastic one at least $5.00. Should any issues with water arrise some other switch will be used.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 21, 2017 17:58:35 GMT -5
Since you are open to suggestions and want to continue with metal working, may I suggest that you get some files- a large #2 and some needle files? Also, and this is just kinda a thing with me, I love to see finished edges with a burnished shine. A steel burnisher really puts a nice shine on things and can cut down on some of the finishing work on the edges. These things are cheap, but you will wonder how you ever did without them. I know you are on a limited budget. They have a pack of assorted needle files at Harbor Freight for about $6.00. they may not be the best quality, but copper and silver are soft. I have had mine for 10+ years. Vic Are you talking about the diamond ones they sell? Forgot about H.F. Hubby used to have a set of those for when he was building machines. I see if he can dig them out of his toolbox again. Thanks for the memory jog.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 21, 2017 17:53:25 GMT -5
Getting the preforms ready for grooving Our first two will be left: Lightning Stone Right: Variolite (Nebula Stone?) That one needs some more shaping still. Still gotta wait almost two weeks to buy the motor but we will fill our waiting in with getting some more cabs ready for the process.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 20, 2017 10:42:20 GMT -5
You may be wrapping with different size wire. After we get the motor and the bit we will use a length of 20 gauge square wire laying next to the depth gauge and even with the edge of the bit. The we will clamp the depth strip in place. Remove the wire and its set to 20 gauge cutting depth. "If I decide to use another wire size down the road, just repeat depth setting procedure" using new wire. Easy peasy. Most if not all of my groove wraps (the actual wire surrounding the cab) will be done using 20 gauge square wire. The cutting width of the bit pretty much limits the size of the wire being used. The ability to turn the wire into a bail is also something to be considered. For those reasons most of my groove wraps will be done with 20 gauge square. I realize that I could cut wider grooves by making two passes with the bit, one at first height and another with the bit raised slightly. I could then use a wider piece of stuff or something. Wider stuff would require special bail design I think. Maybe more than I could figure out. This machine will be easy to experiment with different settings for sure. I just don't plan on getting too radical most of the time. The end game for me is a summer stand out by our road where I can sell Michigan rocks found and made in Michigan (on days not reserved for rockhounding.) We want to be able to turn out consistently simple well wrapped stones (mostly Petoskeys and Lightning Stones) cabbed for pendants and sell them to the rich people who live down at the lakeshore who drive by our property every day and the constant flow of beachgoers driving by who swim down at Lake Michigan and a state park at the end of our road. The kind of wrap we are looking to do is like the one done in this thread because it looks nice and is fairly easy to do. Many thanks to Chuck for the inspiration to do all of this.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 20, 2017 10:18:46 GMT -5
I have never grooved. On further consideration 1/4" is probably too deep and 1/32" too shallow. Probably 1/6", 1/8", 1/10" and 1/12" would be better groove depths.
Any comments from actual groovers? I personally am going to set my first cut depth to 20 gauge square wire. Why there is a need for different depths of cut I am not really sure. I like when the wire is just set even with the surface of the cab and don't really plan on making much deeper cuts ever. Hubby just sees the ability to set different depths as sort of an added bonus feature that will rarely be used. After we get the motor and the bit we will use a length of 20 gauge square wire laying next to the depth gauge and even with the edge of the bit. The we will clamp the depth strip in place. Remove the wire and its set to 20 gauge cutting depth. If I decide to use another wire size down the road, just repeat depth setting procedure. Here is a couple of pics showing the depth stop strip hubby came up with. It is simply a 1" wide strip of really stiff 1/16" thick 7075 aluminum clamped to the pan by two C-clamps (to be replaced with new ones soon.) I think the real advantage of the stop strip is that one won't need to guess if the groove is evenly cut and one could probably do the groove without even looking.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Jan 19, 2017 22:06:04 GMT -5
Amazing cabs. I like the one in the second picture down best.
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