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Post by lpl on May 21, 2018 14:22:46 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I'm just so impatient and want to be grinding, since I have so little time to do it. But it seems like patience is the key.
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Post by lpl on May 21, 2018 12:30:49 GMT -5
Ha ha Drying the cab between grind step to check for scratches that problem used to really me I hated waiting-- wanted to be grinding Towel was less than efficient Paper towel worked-- but got expensive and unwieldy quickly So I hooked a up hair dryer After certain amount of practice/experience The process gets mush easier and wet stones were no longer a problem mostly All of this! I hate to wait, since I want to be grinding. I just got a bottle of compressed air that I'm going to try out next time and see if I can speed up the drying process. But, if I need to slow down and/or take a break, then that's what I will do. I like the hair dryer idea!
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Post by lpl on May 21, 2018 12:28:30 GMT -5
I use an aluminum scribe to ensure my doming is good, and take a break after the 280 wheel to check for any other scratches. Doesn't need to be a long break... 5-10 minutes. I had one guy tell me to cover the surface with sharpie and once the sharpie color is gone, move to the next wheel. Is that sort-of what you are doing with the scribe?
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Post by lpl on May 21, 2018 12:26:10 GMT -5
</div>I'm on the 280 for what seems like an eternity! ...but maybe not long enough...
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Post by lpl on May 21, 2018 10:56:28 GMT -5
Hi all, I just picked up a CabKing on the cheap from Craigslist, really these good deals never come my way, so I jumped on this when I saw it! It's a learning curve from my Graves CabMate for sure. I do have a question as to how people dry off the cabs between wheels. I towel them off, but they never really dry enough for me to see the scratches, and they all look great and I keep going, then I see to my horror after I have finished that there are a ton of scratches missed. So is there a best practice? Towel? Time? Compressed air? Just curious what other folks are doing. Thanks! John
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Post by lpl on Apr 16, 2018 10:04:10 GMT -5
Your smiley face slab is awesome!
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Post by lpl on Mar 26, 2018 21:54:02 GMT -5
Very nice! is this from that deposit north of Laramie? I've got some of that it looks really hard to work, crystal planes going all different directions. It sure is! Once in a while you can find some pieces that give a hint of the proper orientation to work, but you are right that mostly the material is a jumbled mass of crystals. Nice to see a fellow Fort Collins resident here!
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Post by lpl on Mar 25, 2018 8:06:43 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this qualifies as a cabochon since it's flat on all sides, but every time I try to dome labradorite, I lose the flash. This is cut from some self-collected material from Wyoming. It's super hard to tease the material from the matrix and get the flash, but once in a while, I can get something decent. Attachments:
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Post by lpl on Mar 25, 2018 7:56:13 GMT -5
I'm very jealous of the material you find! This is some great work on some killer material.
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Post by lpl on Mar 19, 2018 13:51:13 GMT -5
Wow! That cab is stunning!
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Post by lpl on Mar 19, 2018 9:38:41 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! I've been accumulating more, nicer material and am now feeling confident enough in my abilities to actually cut into it and see what I can do. It's totally an addiction, this rock cutting business and in a really good way.
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Post by lpl on Mar 18, 2018 17:30:43 GMT -5
I decided to take Friday off and play a bit. I need to do that more often! Clockwise from the top: aventurine Noreena sodalite pietersite dendritic opal crazy lace exotica/porcelain jasper Indian scenic zebra jasper sodalite charoite Back to work tomorrow. Heavy sigh... Thanks for looking!
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Post by lpl on Mar 6, 2018 13:50:13 GMT -5
Fantastic group! I really like the shapes.
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Post by lpl on Mar 3, 2018 18:07:15 GMT -5
There is a town called Agate in Colorado, along I70 east, maybe halfway between Denver and the Kansas border. I go past it often. I assume there is agate near there, with a name like that, but have never bothered to stop and look around. Perhaps I should. Very nice slabs!
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Post by lpl on Mar 2, 2018 15:19:20 GMT -5
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Post by lpl on Feb 26, 2018 17:18:25 GMT -5
Always inspiring (and sort of humbling!) to see your work. I really like the first one, the material from @hookedonrocks...that's amazing.
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Post by lpl on Feb 26, 2018 15:27:54 GMT -5
Wow!! Those are really nice.
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Post by lpl on Feb 22, 2018 14:50:43 GMT -5
Ivan, I happened to find a picture of the bottom of the carriage/vice assembly of my saw that I took when I was taking it apart and cleaning it. It's pretty gummed up, but maybe the photo will help you a bit. Attachments:
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Post by lpl on Feb 19, 2018 12:17:22 GMT -5
Amazing group of cabs! The chrysocolla and the Deschutes are the bomb! How do you get such nice photos if I might ask? Would you comment on your set up? Thanks! Sure, I use a light tent which you can pick up anywhere these days, color correct bulbs and a good camera with manual settings. I do use a post production program (adobe elements) to whiten the back ground a little. The light tent allows me to capture the character of the stone, but it doesn't do much to show the polish- for that I take them outside. Thank you!
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Post by lpl on Feb 19, 2018 10:31:06 GMT -5
Amazing group of cabs! The chrysocolla and the Deschutes are the bomb! How do you get such nice photos if I might ask? Would you comment on your set up?
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