Here is some blue plume agate I found in Quartzite this year.  It's mixed with some moss, too.  I'm not sure what the matrix is, but it is essentially black.  It would make a great contrast to the blue and clear, but it's completely friable and doesn't want to stablize well.  Oh well.  This material still makes great cabs, but the more I look at this particular slab, the more I'm inclined to keep it as is.  What do you think?

Christopher, unfortunately it will probably be a month or so before I can get to the slabs to cut them, so I thought I'd ask around in the meantime.  When I do cut them I will post the results.

Amanda, some people do use a vacuum pump, especially when stabilizing large batches.  But I don't have one, and they are expensive, so I am looking for a process or product that doesn't require one. 

Tim

Ever on the lookout for better (i.e. easier & faster) ways to stabilize material, I was interested in an epoxy someone recommended called Stone-Weld by American Synthetics.  It is made for the granite countertop industry, and comes in various thicknesses for different purposes.  A cabber I spoke to at a recent show swore by the stuff, and said it was easier, better penetrating, and not nearly as obnoxious-smelling as either Opticon or 330.  Sounded great, so I decided to give it a try. 

I purchased the “Penetrating” type, which is advertised as a penetrating sealant for hairline fractures in installed granite.  That sounded promising, as obviously you can’t stick a countertop in an oven or wait two weeks to use it like some other products, so it must be easy to use, right?  I bought some online and it’s a bit pricy; the cheapest price was about US$50 for a 24-oz kit.  It says right on the box “ultra-thin epoxy” so I’m imaging something nearly water-thin. It’s mixed 2:1, and comes in three 8oz bottles with a super handy measuring spout built right into the top of the bottle.  I’ve mixed lots of epoxy, and this was about the best method I’ve seen yet. 

So I prepared (no preheating, yeah!) some small slabs of lace amethyst with some poorly-knit crystals and mix up a small batch of Stone-Weld.  As my acquaintance advertised, it has a noticeable epoxy odor but nothing that will knock your socks off like Opticon.  But right away I’m a little worried, after the mixing and settling time recommended in the instructions, about 2 minutes, it’s already the thickness of cream, not what I would call “ultra-thin.”  It’s a small test batch (not very deep) so I dunk the small slabs in and use a popsicle stick to scrap the epoxy over the surface and into the cracks.  After about 5 minutes it’s the thickness of heavy cream, and at the end of the working period, 10 minutes, it’s like honey.  I set the slabs aside—still no heating needed!—and waited 24 hours for full curing as the instructions noted.  Well, it actually took about 2 days for a full cure.  At 24 hours the material was still soft enough I could stick a pin in it.

Some things have come up so I have not had a chance to do anything with the slabs yet.  At this point it’s impossible to say for sure if the Stone-Weld actually penetrated the way I had hoped, but given the thickness of the mix I am very skeptical that it went much past the surface.  I am quite certain I mixed it correctly, and the ambient temps were well within the range suggested in the instructions.  I do not have a name or contact info for the person who suggested it.  Has anyone else tried Stone-Weld?  What were your experiences?  I have searched this forum as well as a few others and did not find much, my apologies if I missed a previous discussion of this.

Tim

Are there no reputable jade dealers online, or is the issue just the Chinese dealers?

Hi,

Living in Phoenix makes it possible to visit Quartzsite every year.  I always find interesting stuff, but I think this year this was easily the best deal:



(I have no idea what the specks were.) 

TC

Sorry for the newbie question, but I could not find a forum or FAQ that covered how to upload and post an image in a forum.  Any advice?  Thanks!

TC

Hello everyone!

I have been an occasional lapidary for some time now, but now that the kids are (mostly) out and on their own I am finally able to spend more time on it.  I'm also a member of the AZ Leaverites mineral club here, altho I don't often get to the meetings because of my work schedule.  I am always looking to improve, so I wanted to join an online community that is passionate about lapidary, and this is forum seems to be the place.  I hope you don't mind thousands of questions.  :-)

I am also the proud owner of a c. 1950 Highland Park Model E12 grinder/saw/polisher combo, serial #0005. I found it on Craigslist a few years ago and have been slowly refurbishing it.  I know that someone has re-started HP and I have seen some of their stuff in person (it's fantastic), but so far anyway nothing they make would apply to my machine.  If there are any fellow E10/E12 owners out there, I'd like to hear of your experiences in refurbishing.

I look forward to being here.  Thanks!

Tim