How Many Licks?

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

Accidental discovery - the rock that looks like hard candy that's been sucked on a bit then spit out. Uses... carving a snail and need that foot to look almost sickly wet next to the rest of it looking jussssst wet... carving a pool of honey and want it to look like - you know honey! etc etc...

Got to 600 grit and realized I lighthanded the 180. "It's just a skinned Montana for the garden...", I tell myself, "nobody is ever going to find it much less examine it". Okay, really I was just tired - I did the entire thing using the Krystee 'little circles' method and my arm was about to drop off (how DOES she do that!?) so I gave the 600 a twice over instead, reverting back to the inexperienced grasshopper who hasn't yet learned that doesn't usually work out so well. What I got was orange peel at 600, which looked more like wavery lines than orange peel. Cool - I plunged forward and did the 1500 twice over. Still wavery but smoothery. Then, and here's the kicker, I polished the living snot (as opposed to...?) out of it. I mean I really went over that thing again and again and again and all the time with a lot of pressure. Funny thing as this usually, for me at least, results in a realistic orange minus the color - yes that bad. But for some reason the prior steps and perhaps the pressure and super-extreme over-polishing (at 14K grit) were the secret? I'll have to do it a few times to be sure. Anyway, not sure how it looks in the pictures but this might be the shiniest thing I've ever made in my life. However, rather than a glassy appearance it truly looks wet, like spit-out hard candy. It's the slight wavery-ness left from the 600 over 180 grit double prep, worn down a bit by further over prep at 1200. If I ever carve an octopus I know how to make it look slimy now.

Anyway, here it is --

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This recipe brought to you by TIRED, thanks for looking.

[asianfire]

WOW, that was certainly worth the trouble. What a finish!

Now, got a picture without the shine to see the actual cab?   

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

I don't know Kurt, I got to thinking about that honeycomb you did with the dripping honey while I was posting this - you definitely have me beat in the sweet-toothy rock arena

[asianfire]

Nahhh, The honey-combs where nowhere even close to this finish.
That must be within the top two finishes I have ever seen.

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

Coming from you that means a lot, thanks Kurt!

[RockIt2Me]

really nice Frank.

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

Thank you Nancie!

Hey how is your knee? Back to doing the jitterbug yet? I do the hokey pokey myself - and I also have a special dance for when I drink too much lemonade and there is a line to the restroom. I don't know if those count really though

...still jealous of your expando

[Helene]

That's, that's almost a dysphoric Mania episode, maybe brought on by dumping a whole box of Lucky Charms on the table, picking out all the moons, hearts, diamonds stars, clovers and now the added bluish horse shoe.  Then discarding the cereal and eating every little crunchy marshmallow in one sitting.  If you had a sibling around a sure prelude to a fight.   Some of you out there I know have done it.  Really not talking from any personal experience.

Your Montana agate is huge, what an undertaking. 
Pause.....going back to look at your Montana....

Seriously, beautiful finish.  You will have to bring out the windex, because if you set it out for show, your Montana will be like a siren beckoning us to touch.

[lithicbeads]

 In production faceting 14,000 diamond is very special as it produces a good polish but it is also quite aggressive so that you can sand a bit with it and clean up mistakes. I am not saying it is good faceting policy to use 14 K this way as it can easily lead to over cutting facets but it probably indicates that we are under using it for cabbing applications.

[hulagrub]

Frank, WOW!

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

Heh heh, I was kind of surprised this post got any responses, I'm glad to it's as freaky to others as it is to me

Frank, I think you are so right. I kind of wonder if I could not even have rid myself of some of the orange peel I'd gotten sometimes in the past if I'd just bit the bullet and pressed down hard and continued a bit longer. Hard to do when you see something looking scarier and not better, but I am a believer now that the light cutting ability of 14K would have smoothed things down had I persevered. Also, while I'm not of a mind to argue with anyone that heat may help in polishing, I myself try very hard to keep things as cool as possible just out of a belief that anything that can be polished can be polished without heat (exceptions would be things like acrylic or glass that are heat polished of course). I never let this thing go beyond warm.

Helene, so right - there were lucky charms fights on a regular bases in my childhood. Nobody fought me for crunchberriers though - fools, if they only new how good those things were...

Believe it or not that thing is only palm size - but definitely bigger than a non-bling cab. Skinning it was the hard part - I gotta get some cheap blades for stacking. Ever since I read Frank's post of that I've been drooling on the idea because I like to grind my way through a lot of things rather than trim.

[Ajo]

That is really impressive.  That is a lot of work. What a shine! Eric (Ajo)

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

Thanks Eric!

[39don]

Doggoneit Frank, between the reflection of the sky, the suroundings and the camera with your hands I can't see the Montana. It's gotta look outta sight!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazings things happen during the polishing stages. Remember when you asked me why I polished with 50k, then tin on felt, then 50k again. I don't know why it works that way but it works that way for me.

39don

[3rdRockFromTheFun]

 

Thanks Don, and yes I do (I love hearing everyone's fave recipe) and I'm all for the 'if it works...' campaign!