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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 29, 2009 12:03:15 GMT -5
An aquaintance of mine visited me the other day and couldn't have been more of a "non-lapidary" person. her idea of stones was a diamond encrusted pendant in the shape of a palm tree hanging around her neck on a gold chain.
So i showed her my Rock Domain, the saw, the grinder the tumblers, the rocks, the slabs, the dop pot and sticks and the preforms and some finished cabs. needless to say, she was pretty much blown away by the complexity. i think she thought i bought preformed stones and just polished them or something.
anyway, at the end of the "tour" she asked me what was my favorite part..........i think my jaw just hung open a minute before i answered her. which gave me the idea for this poll.
let me characterize the above stages:
AQUISITION - whether it's going out and collecting rocks, buying stuff on eBay, winning a box of rocks or simply having a bocks of rocks show up in the mail.
DESIGN - selecting the stones for your next tumble, deciding just which part of the slab you are going to cab or figuring out how you are going to wrap your stone, set it, etc.
PROCESSING - slabbing, cabbing, drilling, vibe-ing/changing out your tumblers.
FINAL RESULTS - taking your photos to post to show others, selling or giving your creations away as gifts.
maybe next poll will be your least favorite things about this hobby.....
KD
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bambooprincess
spending too much on rocks
I call him Foo Foo...
Member since April 2009
Posts: 318
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Post by bambooprincess on Jul 29, 2009 13:42:39 GMT -5
I can tell you right now what my least favorite parts are. Broken stones, rock snot and ground up fingers/ fingernails.
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Post by texaswoodie on Jul 29, 2009 18:44:56 GMT -5
No doubt about it, going out and finding them. The search, the hunt, the treasure is what it's all about for me.
Curt
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Post by Bejewelme on Jul 29, 2009 20:47:18 GMT -5
I love the sharing! I love getting a total surprise box from someone or even ones I purchase from friends, and then I label them, and then when I take them out again it makes me smile thinking about the great people on here, and I love to make cabs for others! Finding them is fun, cutting sucks, tracing shapes is fun, shaping sucks, final wheel---bliss!!!
Good poll!
Amber
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Post by NatureNut on Jul 29, 2009 22:08:47 GMT -5
The creation process rocks! The initial conception and visualization, trying out different designs and building a design plan... then turning that concept into a reality! Oh yes, there are bumps in the road to reality, but that only requires creativity again to overcome them or work around them! That's the thrill for me!
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Post by akansan on Jul 29, 2009 22:52:47 GMT -5
I was just thinking about this the other day! I love the design process. I love looking at a slab and thinking about how I'd use it. I love looking at a cab and thinking about how I'm going to set it. I'm not as fond of the actual working of the cab or slabbing of the rock...or even the acquisition of the rock. But the design gets me every time.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 29, 2009 22:58:19 GMT -5
I love the finished products but man, for me it's all about the thrill of the hunt especially if I find something totally new to my experience or an exceptionally patterned example of a familiar type....Mel
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Post by deb193redux on Jul 29, 2009 23:56:16 GMT -5
Thats why I do so much virtual cabbing, and buying so much rought, or slabs - I like to think about its potential. Takes me a lot longer to actually do something.
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Post by Woodyrock on Jul 30, 2009 2:32:08 GMT -5
I am like Mel...the search, and thill of finding a dirty, or muddy piece of rough that will become a thing of beauty when finished is paramont, but I do enjoy all aspects from rough to finished. Woody
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free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
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Post by free4rms on Jul 30, 2009 6:23:17 GMT -5
Well, since finding anything useful for lapidary on the coast of S.C. is about nil, the collecting aspect of aquisition in not a choice for me. I hit eBay a lot, but that is not the most fun part. For me, the processing is where it is at. So much of grinding and polishing is like the old "cabbing is like a box of chocolates..." analogy. You can lay out your design all you want (I usually do mine in my head rather than drawing a design on a slab) but you often never know what the end result will be. The fun is when your original shape and design goes out the window when you start grinding. So often when you start removing rock, a hidden pattern or color just beneath the surface is revealed and you have to change your whole game plan to take advantage of the new discovery. So, final product may end up looking nothing like you had planned at first. This "suprise factor" when you are grinding and polishing is what is the most fun for me, hands down.
Vance
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Jul 30, 2009 6:56:17 GMT -5
For me it's aquisition (especially finding the rocks by myself, but I also enjoy exchanges or boughts) and the final results. I like these two steps not only separately, but also by comparison - where did a rock start from and how it looks after it's finished.
Adrian
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Jul 30, 2009 6:58:28 GMT -5
...especially if I find something totally new to my experience ....Mel Mel, bearing in mind your expertise, that rock shurely would come from Mars or such! Adrian
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 30, 2009 8:37:23 GMT -5
Wow Adrian! Can you even imagine how cool it would be to be the first rockhound on another planet? I could daydream about that for hours! *S*.....Mel
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jul 30, 2009 9:07:29 GMT -5
From best to worst ...
#1 - Thrill of the Hunt Self-collecting in beautiful, remote, challenging and somewhat dangerous conditions gets the heart racing.
#2 - Thrill of the Saw Is there anything better than slicing a dirty old beach rock and discovering a treasure inside? It gets better when every slice reveals something different.
All the other stuff
2nd Last - Vibratory Tumblers They are TOO slow.
Very Last - Rotary Tumblers They are 1/10th the speed of something that is already TOO slow.
Darryl.
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Post by Titania on Jul 30, 2009 9:09:07 GMT -5
Tough question. I'd have to say my favorite part is acquisition. I don't live in an area where I can easily get rocks either, but I LOVE opening a box of rough/slabs I bought or going to shows and scoping out great finds. I also love the design aspect.
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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 31, 2009 12:06:02 GMT -5
so far, this has proved to be very insightful!
KD
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RockyBlue
fully equipped rock polisher
Go U.K.
Member since June 2006
Posts: 1,719
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Post by RockyBlue on Jul 31, 2009 17:22:43 GMT -5
The hunt! then when their finished you can look at them and say,"looks better than i thought would"
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Post by krazydiamond on Aug 1, 2009 20:39:30 GMT -5
just bumping this up, when the poll is revealed i think we will all go "yep"
KD
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Post by krazydiamond on Aug 6, 2009 16:12:54 GMT -5
interesting results, if i do say so myself.
thanks for participating and your opinions!
KD
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Gem'n I
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2008
Posts: 980
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Post by Gem'n I on Aug 6, 2009 20:49:05 GMT -5
Great question...for me it's the thrill of the hunt but a close second is processing what I've found into something I would be proud to have someone else wear with great amazement on "you did that"...
Larry
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