zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Sept 3, 2018 10:38:13 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Utah. If you like Urban Rockhounding, there's the Denver gem show coming up next week. We go there to buy supplies for our lapidary/jewelry business. It's a lot of fun, & most shows are free. There's one in the Mart at 58th Ave off I-25 that charges an entrance fee. I'll be checking that one out this year. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Sept 2, 2018 14:53:59 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones2 - A friend took me to the Hackberry area you're referring to near Kingman, AZ. We took the dirt road that leads west across the highway from the general store. We drove a few hundred yards & parked near the train bridge. We basically found nothing of interest to a lapidary. Just chunks of quartz & some rusty railroad spikes. If there is anything there, I'd love to know where to look. I'd give it a try next trip to Kingman. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 31, 2018 0:45:22 GMT -5
measure the circumference of the cab. take that measurement in inches, add 2 inches and then multiply by 2. The result is the length of wire to cut for the frame wires. Sometimes it gives you a little more than what you need, but it's better to have some extra than not enough. This is the formula I use for all of my wire wraps. That seems excessive. My method takes a 4.5" circumference adds 3" for a length of 7.5". Your method takes 4.5" adds 2" and doubles it to 13". 5.5" longer than mine. Where does all that extra wire go? Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 28, 2018 1:21:39 GMT -5
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
|
Post by zarguy on Aug 27, 2018 18:54:54 GMT -5
Or get technical and determine the number of threads per inch on your cross feed screw of the vice. If its 20 threads per inch, and you want 1/4" slabs do 5 turns of the crank. Of if its 16, well you get the picture. I have two saws that I trust the vice cross feed on, and one I have to use 5 1/2 turns and one I just use 5 turns. There must be a thread difference but I have not tried to measure it. But the one that takes 5.5 turns to get the thickness I prefer is my old HP (which should be like yours). I'm just cutting to what feels good and acknowledging that thicker is better than too thin. A thicker blade with the same number of threads on the crossfeed requires more turns to make up for slab thickness lost to the thicker blade. To answer sophia13 , I crank 5 times for approx. 1/4" slab on my HP 14". Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 27, 2018 12:59:37 GMT -5
I'll be in Seattle Tues Aug 28 - Sat Sept 1. Any good rockhounding within 1-2 hours of Renton? How about rock shops? Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 27, 2018 10:16:06 GMT -5
...I'm the scruffy one who's always in the saw shop trying to fine tune my x-ray vision. It's unreliable as hell, but it's always cool to see what really does come off the saws... .
I just responded to another post about "windowing" rocks to determine what's inside. I neglected to mention that some slabbers use their X-Ray vision. Mine's not working right now. I need a firmware upgrade. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 27, 2018 0:06:16 GMT -5
I add 3" to the circumference of the cab for bails/twirlies. That gives 1.5" on each side. It works with my style of wrapping. Depends on your style. I try for minimal waste since I work with Argentium. Make your first wraps with cheap plated wire & experiment. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 27, 2018 0:02:38 GMT -5
I never "window" rocks. Many rocks show clues of what's inside via chips, etc. I try to determine the best way to cut based on what I see on the outside. I aim for a usable slab the first cut I make. If I don't like the pattern, I may re-chuck it in the vise & try something else. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 26, 2018 23:59:16 GMT -5
$600 for a Highland Park 16" saw is a great deal. It looks like the front (closest to user) part of the vise is not present. Hopefully you still have that assembly. If not, you may pay $$ to get it. I bought the 14" version of this saw used, and have been slabbing with it for 10 years. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 24, 2018 12:59:00 GMT -5
We see the review that the customer wrote, paraphrasing the seller's note, but we don't get to see the full text of that note. Her reference to her "dress" is the crux of the problem. However he said it, that was what ticked off the customer. I'm sure this has helped him learn to project a more professional image of his business. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 23, 2018 16:19:51 GMT -5
I don't know if there is any interest in posts like this. Most posts are about the finished product. Sorry about the bad pictures. I'm certainly interested! I would love to see more work-in-progress threads. And lots of pictures. Many of my rockhound friends get bored when I want to talk about this aspect of lapidary. I love the very process you're describing - figuring out the best cabs hiding in a slab, or even a chip. I've met with a friend at a Mexican restaurant & brought slabs, pencil & a Sharpie to talk composition between tacos. As for quality vs quantity of cabs, I go for the best cab in a slab. I have several lifetime's worth of material to cut. Why scrimp? I aim for the best. It seems that much of the material I work has to be babied, as in treated with Hxtal, backed or other fixes. For that reason, I'm not a cabbing maniac. I don't crank them out. I'm proud of every cab I cut. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 23, 2018 15:53:08 GMT -5
Tommy If you're going to replace the spring, you don't have to do too much disassembly. Remove the bottom/rear jaw of the vise by 5 or so screws. That should let you see & remove the spring. At least that's how the smaller 14" works. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 22, 2018 12:39:07 GMT -5
I have rocks I can't decide yet how to slab. Some of these I've had for years. Still not decided on how to cut them. Some have so many patterns showing on the outside. I'm afraid I might sacrifice one awesome pattern while pursuing another one.
One thing I don't do is cut the stone the easiest way it fits in the vise. I'll cut off protrusions to make it fit the vise better. I use water glass to glue the rock to a scrap of granite countertop so I can chuck it at the orientation I want. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 22, 2018 12:32:08 GMT -5
Does the HP 18" have split nut inserts? My HP 14 has cast bronze levers that incorporate the split threads. I just got done rebuilding my saw. I will post a thread with lots of pictures so people can see what's what under all that rock snot. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 21, 2018 17:42:47 GMT -5
What options for water does the EZ Cab offer. Couldn't see and site is not too detailed. Thank you. Overhead drip. I think it may be an extra cost, not sure. I think the price is about $1700, and this is an 8" machine with lots of space between wheels. The soft wheels are 2" wide instead of the standard 1.5". It has a 2 speed motor. Their site is pretty low-key. They don't say much about the machine. I guess they want you to call them & get details. There are authorized resellers on some rock related facebook groups. The name Vince Allred comes to mind. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 21, 2018 12:12:53 GMT -5
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 19, 2018 20:24:25 GMT -5
I got them & they're installed. Perfect match to the mounting holes. Lortone was smart & used standard bearings. Lynn
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 19, 2018 17:00:04 GMT -5
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Aug 19, 2018 16:54:55 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay everyone! I'm working a ton of overtime right now, but I took the time today to go through everything and choose what I wanted. I'm not keeping much, only 13 pieces total, literally one handful! The Cedar City agates, apparently I love them... Over half of what I'm keeping from the box is Cedar City, 7 pieces of the ~15. I've also chosen to take two pieces of the Holt Canyon. A piece of rose quartz. And finally, for specimen samples, a small slab of Indian Blanket and a tiny piece of Tiffany that's almost half the size of my thumb. It's labeled Tiffany, but I'm not sure, it's a light purple. And can't forget the piece of Peanut Obsidian I fell in love with! I'm hopping to start packing the next Traveling Rock Box within the next few weeks, so that means that I'll be starting a new thread with the rules and asking for names! Sorry it's taking me so long, we'll get the next box moving hopefully before October! ~Cody Cody, you validated my choice of rocks to include. The Cedar City agate & some of the Holt Canyon agates were from me. Lots of great colors & dendrites in the Cedar agate. I hope to see the cabs & tumbles from those. Lynn
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