johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Mar 28, 2011 19:59:32 GMT -5
I finished polishing the cap on an 89lb Nooksack River spiderweb jade I carried out last fall. Here is the before: And here is the same view after polishing to 800 grit using a rotary diamond polisher: And a couple more angles: I didn't know if this type of jade would look good polished but I like the finished stone quite a bit. I'm hoping to do another soon. Johnny ;D
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Post by kap on Mar 28, 2011 20:09:45 GMT -5
That's way cool! :drool:
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Post by Toad on Mar 28, 2011 20:51:50 GMT -5
That will take quite a shelf to hold that monster. Nicely done
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Mar 28, 2011 20:57:21 GMT -5
that is some beautiful jade!
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Post by tntmom on Mar 28, 2011 21:16:40 GMT -5
That is very cool!!!
~Krystee
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Post by gr on Mar 28, 2011 21:47:17 GMT -5
Grande- by any other name! biggest cab I've ever seen. lol
gary
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Post by tkrueger3 on Mar 28, 2011 21:55:04 GMT -5
Johhny, I don't suppose you've noticed that in the last picture, there's a terrier puppy sitting up and begging, have you? Or am I just weirder than usual? LOL!
That's one big puppy of a jade rock! Are you going to polish it all the way around, or leave it natural on the sides?
Tom
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Mar 28, 2011 22:53:49 GMT -5
Tom - I DID notice the dog in the last shot - I thought I was the only one who did! Since you noticed it too I zoomed in and adjusted the focus a little bit: His name is Ryley! I plan to leave the rest of the stone in original condition. For river run jade I think it is always interesting to see what the jade looks like in the raw form along with the polished in the same piece. The areas where the jade veins go over the eroded serpentine are pretty much impossible to polish well. Even when doing the cap I was tearing off some of the smaller jade veins and exposed holes in the serp. Glad to hear you and others liked seeing this piece. I have a 280# piece of blue/green striped jade that I want to polish but I can't get it onto my polishing table. When I get that one done I'll post some pictures. Johnny
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Post by tandl on Mar 29, 2011 8:59:39 GMT -5
Awesome ! Beautiful stone !
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chromenut
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2009
Posts: 1,971
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Post by chromenut on Mar 29, 2011 9:01:35 GMT -5
Those are beautiful. I have some very large stones/small boulders I'd like to polish up like that, what kind of pads are you using?
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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 Mar 29, 2011 9:44:19 GMT -5
This jade boulder looks amazing. You did a very good job on polishing it and leaving some natural surfaces also.
Adrian
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 29, 2011 10:37:07 GMT -5
Nice! How long did that take you?
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Post by tntmom on Mar 29, 2011 11:51:11 GMT -5
I see the dog now too! Ryley is a cutie, toy Eskie by chance?
Man, I drive over the Nooksack every weekend during Spring and Summer off of Slater Road going to Lummi Island. Never once thought of pulling off and scoping it out. What a great piece you found! Can't wait to see the 280lb'er polished!
~Krystee
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 29, 2011 16:06:07 GMT -5
Jade is a cool rock...
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Mar 29, 2011 21:18:24 GMT -5
Thanks for all the feedback.
Ryley is a rescue (found under a bridge - was chipped but owner contacted and didn't want him back). We don't know for sure what he is but we don't believe he is an Am. Eskimo. He's about twice the size of a Pomeranian - he may be an odd breed called an Italian Volpino - he does look like that breed and also fits the size perfectly. We have a Samoyed too that is basically a huge Eskie! Our third rescue is a Bernese Mt. Dog/Shep mix named bear. Enough on dogs - back to rocks!
Someone asked me about the tools I used. To start I used a regular angle grinder with a diamond cutting wheel to peel off the outer surface and get down to solid stone. BE CAREFUL with jade - use a respirator to avoid getting the fibrous bits of stone into your lungs - if possible always cut/polish with water. Once the outer layer is done I go with a variable speed grinder (in photo) with water to keep the disks cool and clean and also to allow me to take off the respirator. I start with 50 grit, then 100, 200, 400, 800. I can go up to 6000 but I find that with a lot of jade going above 800 results in the jade peeling badly. Also have to go slow with the higher grits. The diamond polisher I bought was very inexpensive (but works well). I bought it on ebay for about $50 along with a set of pads. The guy I bought it from was named Donny - he was great to work with. If interested you can give him a shout at donny2802@hotmail.com
Tell him Johnny U sent you - I have 2 of his polishers and have several sets of pads - he has low cost stuff but it works great. I did have to go to home depot and get a better water feed system - I put it together for about $7 and it works better than the one that comes with the polisher.
I really enjoy polishing the big stuff. I've done quite a few pieces of jade and also some serpentine and jasper - they all come out great. This piece took about 30 hours to complete.
Thanks again for all your feedback!
Johnny
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Mar 29, 2011 21:21:05 GMT -5
We were joking about seeing a dog in the jade (thanks Tom). I was joking with someone at work about Tom's comment and my reply with Ryley's photo. This person looked at the picture and said - that's funny - but did you see the skull in the jade. I was confused but sure enough - he pointed out what really looks like a skull in the photos. I clearly saw it and went home tonight and sure enough - it isn't a trick with the camera glare - there is a pretty clear appearance of a skull on the top of the jade. Does anyone else see this? ? Johnny
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