How I Select The Pattern And Shape For A Cabochon

[Taogem]

When I'm preparing to cut a cab I look at the rough for a distinctive pattern that I want to include or feature in the cab.

This is me too.. I completely orientate the size, shape and height of dome based upon the pattern/grain that a particular area that the slab offers.

It is not uncommon that I will discard a good portion from the remaining slab if there is nothing that appeals to me for another cab.

Frequently the planned shape or size will change as those pesky unrepairable flaws pop up!

Also not uncommon especially with picture type Jasper is the ever changing patterns as we shape them.. I can see from looking at both the front and back of the slab just about how much a pattern may change, but nothing is written in stone..... !

[akansan]

I'm a combination templater and freeformer.  When I first started cabbing, I did freeforms just for the sake of doing freeforms.  I lost the art of placement.  I switched to templates then, to work on my "vision" - to make each of the cabs worth looking at rather than just a bland stotne.

I tend to look at a slab, find the area that strikes my interest, grab my templates, see if I can capture it, and if not...it's on to the freeform.  I have scores of slabs that will probably never be cabbed unless for a wirewrapping class. 

And Mark...a coder who can't do math!?!?  You better get that checked out.

[Bluesssman]

Mark, I tried slapping the stone to get it to shut up, but I cut my hand. So I grabbed a big hammer to threaten it, but ended up smashing my thumb. After I finally caught up with it rolling around on the floor laughing, I put ear plugs in and took it to the saw. I think the cutting oil finally subdued the little agate!!


Gary

[RareRocksAndGems.com]

Cal:
Very nice choice of pattern.  And the oval shape fits it very nicely.

[pancdca]

My rocks talk to me. I take it to the trim saw cut out what it tells me to and from there I cab it. I get some weird shapes that way, but they are unique and special. Some I can wire wrap others just sit on my display waiting for that day when I take up silversmithing and make them into bracelets or pendants for necklaces. I have a very nice blue Tiger eye waiting for that day. I just drilled a hole in some Wavelite and one of the few Chrys' that will go onto a necklace. The Wavelite is extremely beautiful and will look nice around someone's neck. With an emerald my wife and I found at York Beach on our honeymoon I cut and made her half into a half moon like cab and found someone to make a ring for it. My half I wire wrapped and wear as a necklace.

As soon as I find my cam, I'll put the pics on here.

[Mark]

I was just noticing, how great it is to laugh.  Gary, thanks for the good one.  Hope the oil calms that mouthy little agate down.  That's a thought, I'll accidentally drop some mouthy cabs into the muck at the bottom of my slab saw tank, that'll shut em up.  Or even worse, the buckets of old oil and sludge that I haven't figured out what to do with yet.  I was thinking that if i poured enough concrete powder into the buckets of oil and sludge and could get them to harden, maybe in a couple of millions years they will be some really cool stone, kind of like Cal Silica or something to that effect.  Come to think of it, they already have a ton of concrete in them.  I make concrete logs about 10" x 4 " x 4" and embedded small chunks in them that were terrible shapes for clamping and too small as they were.  Then i put the logs in the slab saw and it worked great.  When i would get a slab it would have a rim of concrete around the slab of stone and I just tapped it with a wrench and it would all fall off and i had a nice cab.  Only problem was all the concrete gunk in the oil when done.  I finished almost all my logs before i had to change the oil and now i have the buckets of that oil and stone and concrete sludge.  Yuck.  Hi akansan.  I really strain my brain at work.  They are never happy here unless we leave work half dead and stupified.  When i get home I go out of my way not to think hard.  That's probably why i get along so well with my kids and watch cartoons and movies with them all the time.  I love the Scooby Doo movies, old ones, new ones, and non animated ones, along with Shrek and so many other "kids" movies.  I think i am most relaxed laying in my closet reading and looking at my rock magazines and books, or cabbbing, or vacuuming.  Vacuuming is really relaxing and you can just zone out.  Well, at work, surprisingly I have hardly ever used math in computer programming, oh i may have to set up something to do something x amount of times, but very little math in my weapons programming.  Well there was the one program gravity and altitude and all kinds of math, i learned a lot of things and that was one time i actually used some of the millions of years of math from school.  But yeah, at home, call me Shaggy and I got my bid dog Scooby, actually he's a 90 lb short haired collie, but he makes a good Scooby.  Mark at work - smart, Mark at home - dumb.

[akansan]

lol - gotcha.

A very different kind of software coding than what I expected! 

[bobby1]

Some slabs/cabs almost require using a template to establish the cab shape. This particular slab of Brazilian Agate has a pattern that limits the cab shape considerably.

Here I am using a drafting template with circles to define the shape of the top of the cab.

For the bottom of the cab I'm using a large oval (elipse) drafting template.

This is the shape that resulted from the templates.

Here is the finished cab. It is 1 1/4" high, 2 1/2" wide.
Bob

[bobby1]

OOPS! I forgot to attach the photo of the finished cab.

Bob

[The Polished Pebble]

Another beauty, Bob.

Connie

[Taogem]

Killer cab Bob !

Quite a pile of preforms there too ! 

[Raqy]

Man! Thats a nice looking bunch of pre forms, Sir.  Don't you live near me?    The finished cab is amazing too. Thanks for the lesson.

[bobby1]

Here's another one. Its a small Montana with a curvy scene.

Ground to the sketched lines.

Fully shaped and ready to polish.

The finished cab. I have a plan for a jewelry piece that I was looking through my rough for just such a pattern. The size works perfectly, too
Bob

[CMan]

I try to save as much as I can out of the slab after searching for design in slab.

Sometimes the cab may break so I just make something different.

Some slabs I can't even cut had to mount them for display.

Thanks,
Cliff

[thewrightthings]

Bob, you're cab cutting and shapes are beautiful.  Can hardly wait to see that Montana agate in a piece of jewelry.