kellyj
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 100
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Post by kellyj on Dec 24, 2014 18:10:03 GMT -5
Hello,
Please keep in mind I have never used a wheel before ...but what do you use to hold the stone in place as you grind? My one book says its a dapping stick...I did a search on the internet to find where to purchase one but didn't have much luck. If I use the technique in this book by Jack Cox: "Cabochon Cutting" (it was written in 1986) is there a certain wax that you need to get that has dop cement already mixed in? I got the book from amazon because it had good reviews....but I'm sure the lapidary world has changed since this book was written .
Also when I had got my wheel I thought it would come with something to hold the stone in place....silly me... but why do they not tell you when you are buying it that you need certain things to go along with it?
I think I'm also a little frustrated because I want to start using my wheel right away.
Any advice is welcome, thanks for your time.
Kelly
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Post by adam on Dec 24, 2014 18:54:20 GMT -5
Well good luck with figuring out your wheel, the only experience of seeing one are in videos. They always got to be wet and you don't need to press to hard against the wheel whilst grinding people say.
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Post by captbob on Dec 24, 2014 19:03:54 GMT -5
Try dOpping stick
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Dec 24, 2014 21:28:55 GMT -5
Hello,
Please keep in mind I have never used a wheel before ...but what do you use to hold the stone in place as you grind? My one book says its a dapping stick...I did a search on the internet to find where to purchase one but didn't have much luck. If I use the technique in this book by Jack Cox: "Cabochon Cutting" (it was written in 1986) is there a certain wax that you need to get that has dop cement already mixed in? I got the book from amazon because it had good reviews....but I'm sure the lapidary world has changed since this book was written .
Also when I had got my wheel I thought it would come with something to hold the stone in place....silly me... but why do they not tell you when you are buying it that you need certain things to go along with it?
I think I'm also a little frustrated because I want to start using my wheel right away.
Any advice is welcome, thanks for your time.
Kelly Cabochon Cutting by Jack Cox has a copyright of 1964 and not much has changed in lapidary since then other than the use of diamond tooling over silicon carbide. Once you've had a chance to spend more time w/ your book, things will become more clear. Any lapidary supplier has green dopping wax, which is what most people use, but it requires a heat source known as a dop pot,also covered in the book (best $6 you'll spend.) Also do a search on here for dopping, as I think some folks have had varying degrees of success with super glue and its variants, which would save needing a dop pot. As for using your wheel right away, select a stone big enough to hold between your thumb and 1st finger of both hands and practice gently touching the stone to the wheel, minimal pressure using plenty of water. Maybe I missed it, but perhaps you could post a photo of your new wheel so we know what we're dealing with.
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 24, 2014 22:59:59 GMT -5
I don't dop... You will know how hard to press when the time comes... some you can press in hard others not so much.
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Post by roy on Dec 25, 2014 12:07:59 GMT -5
dop stick ! wood dowel you can get at any hard ware store you can use dop wax and a dop pot or you could use super glue myself i use a simple bolt and super glue keep the wheel wet at all times and use light pres!
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Post by kap on Dec 25, 2014 18:15:01 GMT -5
I use 5 min. epoxy and golf tees it works great!
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Post by gingerkid on Dec 26, 2014 0:42:44 GMT -5
Congrats, kellyj! What grit is the wheel? (pics, please! ) The book you have is a good one! He wrote another book that you may want to check out, too. I think it's called "Advanced Cabochon Cutting." Another one you may want to read is written by John Sinkankas called "Gem Cutting." The second edition by Sinkankas is pretty good. You might can find it at your local library. Then there's "How to use Diamond Abrasives to Cut Gemstones" by Arthur L. Riggle. Lelande Quick has written a couple of great lapidary and gem books, too. Are you going to cut and cab your LSA collection? Just kiddin' with you. The welos that you shared with us would be fun to cab. Everyone has given great examples of how to dop and what to use for dopping. In most grocery stores, please see if you can find the wooden skewers. They work pretty good for smaller cabs. Bamboo works pretty good as dop sticks, too. Some people use double-stick tape, but I haven't tried using it. I usually use the black wax or super glue on wooden dop sticks, and have used clothes pins, lol. Sometimes use Elmers glue and then coat it after it dries with clear fingernail polish to dop opals. You may want to buy a dop pot or manofglass has instructions on how to make your own dop pot. Have fun!! edited to add... Kelly, you may want to get a pair of safety glasses to use while cabbing.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 26, 2014 17:12:19 GMT -5
Congrats!!!! I can hear the excitement and irritation in your words. I had a million questions when I got mine, too.
What wheel did you get?
I use a dop stick with the green colored dopping wax. Dopping wax also has shellac in it which is sticky as hell, but the wax and the shellac are brittle. I really don't have many problems with it, but a lot of people flat out hate it. You can't use it if the water is cold. Also, if you store some dopped up pre forms in your cold garage or whatever, they'll come off- either right there or while you're grinding. Been there, done that. You don't need an expensive dop pot to heat the wax, but I did buy one because I'm lazy. It has a heated edge to heat the stone before you dip your stick into the hot wax and adhere it to the stone. Truly, it will only take you one time to figure it out. Easy stuff, just not knowing sucks, I know. Using a dop will save your fingernails. I like it, too, because I have short, fat, arthritic fingers.
Bottom line- you either love them, or hate them. I love them.
I buy dowel rods of different diameter from the hardware store and cut up a bunch. I make mine about 3 3/4 inches long, but some people like them a little longer.
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Post by broseph82 on Dec 27, 2014 9:27:35 GMT -5
If you like eBay you can find dop wax.
Wooden dowels are great
A $10 electric hot plate and a .50 tuna can (emptied and cleaned out) works great as a dop pot. Just remember to keep it on low because the wax can and will burn
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Post by Peruano on Dec 29, 2014 18:46:43 GMT -5
Our lapidary classes are taught to use cheap super glue (the black and yellow tube from Walmart are preferred) to attach your stone to a nail (preferably one with a somewhat large head (depending on size of your stone). Make sure stone and nail are dry and clean and allow it to dry 15 min or so before grinding. I like to push the nail into a wine cork which makes a great handle. You can glue directly to a roughened wine cork for big stones. To remove, from nail just heat the shaft of the nail slightly with a match or candle - not much heat and you can pop off the stone with your hands. From the cork you will want to shave off the cork with a knife. Either way you probably will want to remove the residual glue from your stone with a quick touch to the grinding wheel (any grit will do). Don't reuse nails because glue does not like to stick to glue and if you do have to reglue a stone, clean it of the residual glue and dry before regluing. Works faster and cheaper than dopping with wax which does not work for me in winter as my shop is sufficiently cold that wax releases an inopportune times. Cheers. Tom
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Post by phil on Dec 29, 2014 21:11:46 GMT -5
Here are a few excellent websites full of how to make a cabochon information. If you read thru all of them, things will start to make a lot more sense... www.inlandcraft.com/howto/cabbing/cabbing.htmwww.rockhounds.com/rockshop/oplc_cab.shtmlwww.gemsociety.org/article/fundamentals-of-lapidary-part-4-cabochon-cutting/In the winter I use 2.5 inch long, large head roofing nails and Stupid glue (super glue) and in the summer I use wooden dowels and green dop wax. I've been told to try that hot melt glue on a dop Stick (dowel) but I haven't tried it. I think those 3 website are going to do you a lot of good. Also, if you send me your email in a PM, I can send you a detailed step by step I used to have my better students read. Not all students got a copy, only those with "natural skill". You'll have to keep it confidential tho... I don't have the right to distribute it other than on a very limited basis.
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,975
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Post by victor1941 on Dec 29, 2014 23:06:22 GMT -5
A good company to check out for green dop wax is Thunderbird Supply. The price for 10 lbs. is less than $12 a pound + shipping.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 23:18:29 GMT -5
To start with I would recommend that you just pick up a few different rocks and grind on them for a while to learn pressures, angles and movement. Pick rocks that are big enough to hang on to but not so big that they are a burden or hard to see around. It takes a while just to get used to the grinding and there is no sense in using good stones or being greatly disappointed right out of the chute. Jim
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