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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 16:24:18 GMT -5
I think I am going to try that. Maybe I'll call it something silly like chameleon agate! Do you think it would be more appropriate to call it chalcedony? That's probably true. But 'chameleon chalcedony' is way too much of a tongue twister!
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 15:28:17 GMT -5
I don't know much about cabbing, but if you leave the matrix and it's blue... it's blue. That's where I'm stuck...is it blue or isn't it?! I vote blue and maybe just leave what I found as a nice specimen or something...Or leave the matrix on it and leave it as that.
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 15:26:26 GMT -5
We have a similar blue agate here in Cedar City, UT. It's not in veins, but big chunks. The smaller/thinner you make the piece, the more the blue looks gray. Lynn This slab was about 1/4" Maybe I'll try a really thick/high dome on one and see what I get.
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 15:25:17 GMT -5
I wonder what it would look like in a blackened bezel cup? I think I am going to try that. Maybe I'll call it something silly like chameleon agate!
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 15:24:15 GMT -5
It is a really beautiful cab Thanks Ali. I was hoping for so much more though
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 13:43:21 GMT -5
That's a bummer. I have cabbed some colored agate similar and had it loose color, but not go completely white. On top of what you suspect, I would think the rind blocking light transmission through the stone is also partially the culprit to the color variation. Thanks Nate, that's pretty much what I'm thinking. I was shocked. And so disappointed...
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 13:39:33 GMT -5
It sounds like you have one or more wheels out of balance. If it's on one side of the machine it will probably vibrate/walk more on that side. You could try loosening the wheel attachment nut on the suspected side, turning one wheel maybe 1/4 turn, tightening back down, and running it to see if you get improvement. Repeat until you find the best arrangement, maybe mark the wheels first for reference and to remember what you've done. Thin soft or foam rubber under the feet may eliminate the "walking" too. Is your table flat? If not that could be part of the problem. I think this is true. I have a CabKing as well and when its spinning and slowing/stopping I don't even know its running. I'd check your wheel balance!
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 13:16:48 GMT -5
Has anyone seen something like this? I'm a bit bummed...
This summer my son and I mined some really nice looking blue agate in southern Colorado. I was pretty excited to find it and the pieces we found had a nice blue/grey color to them. Here are a couple of the rough:
I made a pretty nice cab from come of it shortly after we got back, I just found a nice small piece and ground off the top to expose the blue, and I flattened up the back:
this weekend I played some more with the material, here's a slab:
For this cab, I cleaned it up very nice, removing all of the matrix and lo and behold, it was white, not blue at all! Here's the cab on top of the slab. Same stone:
Is the blue color just coming from the dark matrix? If I leave some of the matrix on and call it blue, is that cheating? I'm curious as to what others have encountered, especially with blue.
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 12:31:29 GMT -5
Does the white mineral stuff come off? I know once in a while I get small pits in things and there's a bunch of whitish material in them that's actually caked on diamond paste/cloth from the polishing wheel and I can get it off with a waterpik.
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Post by lpl on Jan 11, 2019 9:52:34 GMT -5
I'll be curious to see how the treatment with epoxy works out!
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Post by lpl on Jan 10, 2019 10:19:23 GMT -5
Just saw this thread. Those look great Ali!! Can't wait to see what you do with them. And I'm really happy to hear that they replaced your Dremel!
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Post by lpl on Jan 8, 2019 12:39:17 GMT -5
Yes I really like the hidden bail idea, but here's something that I did a while ago. I cut a nice pear shaped pietersite cab that looked better oriented like your stone. It's a touch smaller than your malachite, but not much. I framed it in square wire and added an accent stone. Maybe you could do something similar? Really nice malachite! I'll look forward to seeing what you do with it!
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Post by lpl on Jan 8, 2019 10:11:21 GMT -5
Wow! It looks like I need to invest in PSE. I'm always , always disappointed in my photographs. Nice cabs julieooly!
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Post by lpl on Jan 5, 2019 20:13:42 GMT -5
I haven't tired of seeing your work. Beautiful piece! One of my 2019 goals is to get into silversmithing. Work like this inspires me to get going! Thanks Garry. Try it, you'll like it! It's one of those things that's incredibly satisfying when it works! I've taken several classes, going to take another starting in a couple weeks. I'll look forward to seeing what you do when you take the leap!
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Post by lpl on Jan 5, 2019 10:03:17 GMT -5
stephan . Ugh hearts are so hard for me to do. I wish you well cutting some!
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Post by lpl on Jan 4, 2019 23:18:55 GMT -5
I agree with Pat . I see several faces on the left, and the entire cab looks like a face in a way. Super cool! Like all of your cuts. Someday I'll try opal.
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Post by lpl on Jan 4, 2019 23:11:14 GMT -5
Welcome Gary! Looking forward to seeing your work.
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Post by lpl on Jan 4, 2019 22:58:29 GMT -5
Great job on those! Do you have specific plans for them? I've seen some real nice drawer pulls made from polished stones. Thanks! It was fun, but got old fast. I have a few ideas for some pendants. I hadn't thought of drawer pulls, but I like that idea a lot.
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Post by lpl on Jan 4, 2019 22:53:35 GMT -5
They certainly are difficult, I needed to make some circular 1 inch cabs for a niece who has a pendant thing that she can clip in a new cab whenever the mood takes her. After lots of mucking around with various ways to do it I came up with a dop stick with the head turned in the lathe to be just under an inch, then just cut the stone to very close to the dop, very accurate and easy, very repeatable too.
Circles can also be made by chucking the dop with a trimmed preform in a flexshaft, Dremel, or hand drill and putting it to a flat lap.
Thank you! I think I'll try that too 👍
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Post by lpl on Jan 4, 2019 22:45:29 GMT -5
Ugh circles. What is the dark green stone on the left next to the white one? I love green and am working with some jades from California and Peru and a pretty serpentine from Delaware. Good job! Thanks! That's chrome chalcedony from Australia. Got that slab earlier this summer and finally got around to working some of it. Nice stuff!
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