cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 9, 2016 22:12:21 GMT -5
Jugglerguy here is my setup, a re-purposed fly tying vice. It allows for adjustment of all the compound angles, and i use spent bits for mandrels
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 9, 2016 21:25:45 GMT -5
nice work. I also make beads around the whole to get everything centered. I like the use of the saw. I have a similar setup on my 80 grit wheel.
would like to her about your grommet source and the size of the hole
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 8, 2016 10:21:44 GMT -5
Is it durable or are you having to nurse them ? pretty durable, I have broken 3 so far, less than 1 in 10. Breaks are mostly from my mistakes. On these small beads the wall thickness is 1/8"...if I center things perfectly (which I don't often don't do). When I get off center with the hole, the material gets thin really quick, and makes for fragile beads. I plan to finish these off in the UV10 tumbler, I am pretty sure they are tough enough.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 8, 2016 1:05:11 GMT -5
Remember candy bead necklaces @ cobblestones ? I have plenty more flat plate tumbles. Let me know. if you ground them to the shape of hard candies they would be very tricky to tell them apart. I remember those! the finished product should look something like that. I should have enough to get it done...as long as i dont break a bunch/
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 7, 2016 21:44:00 GMT -5
made more bead blanks today, have about 40 done now, and am more than halfway through the tumbles
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 3, 2016 0:43:57 GMT -5
captbob has it right. I am waiting to see some happy customers.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 2, 2016 16:13:59 GMT -5
Prices for grade A is $9.00 lb and grade B is $3.00 to $5.00 lb which pricse will reflect detail and coloring. Is that price for rough or slabs? Is it the $9/lb stuff in the pictures you have linked? What does the low end stuff look like? I may be interested in a box of your best rocks, but I am in wait and see mode now.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 2, 2016 10:40:21 GMT -5
your process really appeals to my inner engineer. Art and engineering together, bravo.
ETA: this is ready for the co2 laser cutter-could lead to fast production.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Feb 1, 2016 10:17:24 GMT -5
Awaiting with interest. Looks like the quartzite held up to the hole saw. Lots of plates in that creek that are like slabs. Probably going to work well for the bead operation. Slab shapes make the drilling operations easier for sure. This material was easy on the drill bits, did 4" of depth with one bit, which is about 4X the normal amount.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 31, 2016 22:11:50 GMT -5
jamesp was kind enough to send me some of the Alabama quartzite he had been picking up. really nice stuff, cool array pf colors. So, I selected a set of the tumbles that shaded from reddish to yellowish. The idea is to make a set of beads out of the tumbles below, ombre style. I will be using the core drill to make bead preformed. I got through 4 of the pieces in the photo above. Sorry for the blurry photo and here are the scraps these will be small beads, bout 8mm in diameter. so I will need to make a mess of them, stay tuned.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 29, 2016 11:06:15 GMT -5
Nice piece. It should stay in Oregon for sure. Looks like the stuff that comes out of the area northwest of Portland. Never know if these carnelians are 'sun burnt' or cooked through to the center. I can't stand not knowing, so I cut them all.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 29, 2016 10:58:52 GMT -5
Fine material there, I am really drawn to the first batch. Keep posting your finds, we are all loving the show
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 23, 2016 17:42:26 GMT -5
I was in DC for work last week, supposed to fly out yesterday. Will be stuck in a hotel room for a while I think till the mess is sorted out. Bored out of my mind, nothin to do.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 23, 2016 16:07:47 GMT -5
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 12, 2016 22:47:49 GMT -5
Sometimes I take a day to reduce rocks to rubble. I turned a 5 gal bucket of end cuts into cubes for marble blanks. Material is graveyard point agate, some red jasper, a few types of carnelian and some other misc things. also cut some blanks that will end up as beads, these will get drilled and shaped eventually and the leftovers, these will end up being tumbler folder for someone
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 12, 2016 17:43:55 GMT -5
reminds me of 'bead spinning' a way to hand make individual beads in stone by using the action of the grinding wheel to spin the bead on a mandrel. The process keeps everything round. Same principle just a larger scale. Cool idea.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 11, 2016 13:57:44 GMT -5
nice stuff. I am a fan of the tiger eye. Will have to get some to cab. That far right pudding stone looks like a finger
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 11, 2016 13:53:35 GMT -5
loads fast here. Can't set aside 30 minutes now, but look forward to watching the whole thing tonight
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 11, 2016 9:54:17 GMT -5
Really nice work! Thanks for sharing. Where did you find the kit used? unclesoska I got these from my local woodcraft store, endless variety in styles. Picked this one because it required the shallowest drilling.
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cobbledstones
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 482
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Post by cobbledstones on Jan 10, 2016 20:29:08 GMT -5
very cool post, liking that coral piece
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