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theimage1
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« on: June 14, 2009, 07:51:13 pm » |
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Started with a thin seam of Owyhee Jaser - 1.) glue up two pieces of thin black jade  2.) trim off extra and add two more pieces of thin black jade  3.) trim off black jade and glue up two pieces of white marble  4.) trim off white marble - glue up two more pieces - white marble is overly thick because it crumbles easily when in the trim saw. It also can easily be ground down to a thinner width easily after gluing.  5.) Thin down white marble - glue u first two thick black jade  6.) trim up first black jade and add two more thick pieces  7.) trim off extra black jade and glue to thin black jade backing  8.) trim off excess backing and clean up edges on flat lap. FInally the glue-up is ready for normal cabbing.  9.) after cabbing the final cabochon.  |
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« Last Edit: July 11, 2009, 05:50:14 pm by Taogem »
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akansan
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« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2009, 09:14:54 pm » |
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That's terrific! I've always wondered about the really thin borders. I never thought about thinning it down after it's already attached to the piece.
I absolutely love that final piece!
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Raqy
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« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2009, 09:15:48 pm » |
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Looks like a framed work of art. Beautiful!
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Taogem
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« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2009, 09:32:11 pm » |
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Tripple Wow !!  What a treat to see these steps! What a stunning combination cab ! Another super tutorial ! Pinned !!!  |
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bobby1
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« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2009, 10:51:17 pm » |
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What a stunning frame for a fantastic slab of Owyhee!
Bob
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Bluesssman
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« Reply #8 on: June 15, 2009, 09:11:51 am » |
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Well here comes my WOW!! Breaking it down into steps really helps to understand how something was done. Thanks!!!!
Gary
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travelerga
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« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2009, 02:59:34 pm » |
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Very nice. I love Owyhee!
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IN Vino Veritas
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Mark
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Ron that is beautiful. I would have never figured that one out in a million years, ok, maybe 300,000, but not a day less. So between pics 8 and 9, you just lapped the sides down to flat with the Owyhee? How long does it take to lap flat (me not being a lapper)? Mark
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Rumplestiltskin ( AKA Mark )  |
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theimage1
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After cutting the backing off from step 7, it leaves a small rim of the thin backing material around the edges. I don't cut with the trim saw exactly down the edge. I have done it before, but sometimes the saw cuts into the frame and messes things up, so I trim the backing leaving about 1/16" of excess still attached. I use the flat lap to grind this back to the edge of the frame.
Some of the frame is a bit thicker than the main stone, and I sometimes use the flat lap to grind it back to nearly flat. In picture 7 you can see that the two shorter ends are sticking up slightly above the plane of the Owyhee, I used the flat lap to get them even again. It took about 1-2 minutes. My flat lap is 100 grit and very aggressive.
Also the flat lap is my sacrificial lap. I buy them for about $20-$25 as seconds and they are very thin (must be backed by a thicker lap plate for use). Some of the grinding I do on the composite stones also removes some built-up epoxy from the gluing steps. This ends up on the flat lap. The amount of glue in the joints is negligible, and it doesn't seem to show up on the Genie during the cabbing process, but the glue along the edges during the rough gluing can be substantially more. I try to remove as much as I can with a razor blade (one of the one sided blades), and then put the stone to the flat lap. In the old days I used to just grind all the epoxy off, but it really can build up on the flat lap, so now I cut it (scrap-it might be closer to true) off first.
The tie it takes from going from step 8 (final glue up) to a cap depends on the size of the stone. This one is about 2.5" x 1.5" in size and about 6mm thick at the center. It took me between about 90 minutes to complete From 120 grit wheel to polish. I stopped on the back at the 1200 wheel. I rarely take the time to completely polish the backs. Assuming I keep the cab, it will be set in silver, and the back will disappear.
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Mark
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Wow, not too bad. For some reason I thought it would take days and days. I started out with a tumbler, but that didn't last too long. I may be patient sometimes but usually I like immediate gratification. I tumbled about 3 barrels and that was it. Gotta get me a lap. Got my nice slab collection, but most need to be polished up. Lap, lap, lap. Yeah. Probably could put some pads on top of the washer and dryer and use them for the vibration. Mark
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Rumplestiltskin ( AKA Mark ) |
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Taogem
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Probably could put some pads on top of the washer and dryer and use them for the vibration. Mark
Great idea ! Maybe offset the legs so it really gets to shaking !  |
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ozbod
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Absolutely awesome
Dave
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Rough Rocks BlogRocks are what you make of them, they don't need to be the well known ones, it's what you put into them in the end that matters.
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