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Post by realrockhound on Oct 24, 2022 17:34:26 GMT -5
Turning over a new LeafAutumn Oak Leaf "Carveochon" Rainbow Petrified Wood It just seemed logical at the time the "Autumn theme" for the contest was announced to make a new leaf, or maybe since it's fall, it should be an old leaf. I mean what else do you think of in autumn.  I did come to doubt my sanity on that decision, as it took me all month (in my free time) to actually carve AND polish it. I did it completely with my mounted flex shaft & water mister- Carving with silicon carb wheels, & diamond burs, and polishing with silicon carb sandpaper, and diamond paste with felt buffs (it was very tedious). I don't own a vibratory tumbler so that option was out (but I really did consider it a couple of times). What I learned was never to take my cabber for granted, there's a whole lot of work carving a hard rock by hand. There's no quick back-to-the-last-wheel to do a clean up, with this kind of thing.
Now, I don't know how other people would carve a cab, but my take on it was to approach it much like I would to make any cab, and mark my girdle, and start grinding the angles, and then round it off, carve the veins, sand & polish, polish, polish. Finished, it JUST makes pendant size - a little under 3" (2 7/8") X 1 1/4". I think it's going to have to become my Thanksgiving pendant this year !
My slab and preform that I cut with my diamond bandsaw
Grinding with Various Diamond Burs
Sanding with a split mandrel and SIC sandpaper to smooth out the diamond burs & get rid of scratches
Finally polishing & polishing some more- diamond paste & hard felt bobs- 220 - 60,000
Obligatory Art Photo - Among the leaves
Entry Photo
Entry Side View
Thanks for the challenge (I think) 
Patty
Damn… that’s pretty freaking cool. Now I need one of those setups if this is how these contests are going to be played 😂 |
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Post by liveoak on Oct 24, 2022 17:45:13 GMT -5
Damn… that’s pretty freaking cool. Now I need one of those setups if this is how these contests are going to be played 😂 You called it "Autumn" This is just my interpretation 
Patty
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Post by realrockhound on Oct 24, 2022 18:06:59 GMT -5
You called it "Autumn" This is just my interpretation
Patty
Well played 😂 seriously cool cab |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 24, 2022 20:47:05 GMT -5
Dayam, Patty liveoak! You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?  |
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Post by fernwood on Oct 25, 2022 3:51:45 GMT -5
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 11,812
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Post by Tommy on Oct 25, 2022 13:36:04 GMT -5
Damn… that’s pretty freaking cool. Now I need one of those setups if this is how these contests are going to be played 😂 As usual, jasoninsd started it with his purr-fect creation back in the December contest. A lot of work they are no doubt, and I don't want to diminish from their beauty, I personally wouldn't call them a traditional 'cabochon'  That being said I get a lot of feedback that what people like about this contest is that it's not being micro-managed so I'm not going to change that now  At some point it would be fun to have 'carved feature' as a theme but I'm afraid that maybe three people are on that level that could accomplish it, myself excluded. |
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Post by liveoak on Oct 25, 2022 14:19:21 GMT -5
I will officially withdraw it, as I don't want to inhibit the contest or anyone else in any way.
It was never my intention.
Patty
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Post by realrockhound on Oct 25, 2022 14:22:28 GMT -5
I will officially withdraw it, as I don't want to inhibit the contest or anyone else in any way.
It was never my intention.
Patty
I don’t think there is any need to withdraw. But that’s just me…. |
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 11,812
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Post by Tommy on Oct 25, 2022 14:39:52 GMT -5
I will officially withdraw it, as I don't want to inhibit the contest or anyone else in any way.
It was never my intention.
Patty
Aww! I didn't mean for anyone to take it that way. Please leave it and let us enjoy it. It's not inhibiting anything that I can think of. When something like this contest is not rigidly defined then it leaves room for artistic interpretation and that's not a bad thing. |
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Post by liveoak on Oct 25, 2022 15:02:12 GMT -5
As I said no worries Tommy- I'll sit this one out.
The thing is, I got into this hobby late, and I don't have that fabulous 20-30 year accumulation of material to choose from for a cab.
And so I try to approach these contests in a different way, but you probably noticed that.
Anyway, I deleted my post & I withdraw my entry.
Patty
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Post by realrockhound on Oct 25, 2022 15:10:25 GMT -5
As I said no worries Tommy- I'll sit this one out.
The thing is, I got into this hobby late, and I don't have that fabulous 20-30 year accumulation of material to choose from for a cab.
And so I try to approach these contests in a different way, but you probably noticed that.
Anyway, I deleted my post & I withdraw my entry.
Patty
Patty noooooooooooooooo!!!! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 25, 2022 16:37:57 GMT -5
Tommy liveoak realrockhound - and anyone else who has a dog in this hunt... Well, here's my two-cents. The month that I did the "catachon", one of the parameters set forth in that challenge was: #4. Cabs made of any material if the shape of the cab resembles a cat. So...I went for it. It didn't help as I didn't win the dang thing! LOL - But it was a fun way to challenge myself with something new. I feel Patty's leaf did the same thing for her. And aren't we all looking for growth and assistance with pushing the envelope for our current skill set? These are meant to be FUN contests! I have NO issue with anyone entering anything they want to enter...even if it doesn't follow the parameters of the challenge...or "stretch the boundaries" of the challenge. It's up to the people who are voting to determine if THEY feel it does or does not fit the criteria. It's not up to anyone (in my opinion) to exclude anyone's entry...if the people who are voting don't feel it fits the criteria, then they won't vote for it. Patty, in my opinion I feel you should repost your entry. There's really NO reason not to enter it! 
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 25, 2022 17:12:34 GMT -5
I'm with Jason. We showcase A lot of skills on this forum and share our best and new stuff on this contest. At the end it's people's choice, and the people will decide what they like best, but I think that for most of us who can't stay long enough to read every new post in every sub-forum it's also a good way to share what we did to personalize the theme we're given, and share the ways we're growing our skills. BTW this "cab" won awhile back, it does not have a flat back. Now, there were only 4 entries, so there was that.   |
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 25, 2022 18:43:21 GMT -5
liveoak Patty- we used to argue a lot here - way back when - about what a cab actually is. It came down to a flat back and a domed top (unless it was a buff top). Soooo, does yours have a flat back? Does it have a domed top? It appears to have both. You have my vote to bring your cab back.
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2022
Posts: 1,185
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Post by rockbrain on Oct 25, 2022 19:33:35 GMT -5
Entry Requirements:
Participants are asked to follow the contest theme in the creation of a hand-shaped, jewelry-ready cabochon or set of cabochons. For the purposes of contest consistency, a cabochon should have a visible dome on top and a flat backside. Variations on dome heights and girdle styles are permitted and ultimately it's up to the voters to decide if the contest criteria has been met. Entry cabochons must be made entirely by the member, within the contest month and feel free to let us know about the piece including how you shaped and polished it, and what challenges it presented. Please identify the material if you know what it is or let us know if you don't. Alternative materials are allowed as long as they are in keeping with the theme (ie: "agate" theme = agate material), and the material is such that it requires lapidary skills to transform it into a cabochon. Cabochons may have a hole(s) drilled but nothing attached to it.
It's jewelry ready, has a visible dome and a flat backside and takes lapidary skills to transform it into a cabochon. It meets all the criteria. I was actually going to do something very similar was just going to go more towards a maple and less oak.
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Post by realrockhound on Oct 25, 2022 19:51:45 GMT -5
If liveoak doesn’t put her cab back in, I’m turning this thread around. |
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 11,812
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Post by Tommy on Oct 25, 2022 19:55:17 GMT -5
liveoak please accept my apology and give me a do-over on this and re-post the stone for the contest. After all the hard work you put into it, not to mention what Tom had to go through, the least we can do is get to enjoy it in the contest. I'm embarrassed and wishing I didn't say what I said - it started off as just poking fun at Jason then was all down hill from there as it usually is. In fairness to me I did say they were not a "traditional cabochon" and that part is true if you think about it. What I did not say is didn't fit the definition of the the contest.
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 25, 2022 20:57:44 GMT -5
I’m not against the oak leaf cab entry, but I do think that spending tens of hours adding carving details to a cabochon could discourage community participation from members without the time and the tools to compete on the same playing field. I don't know about that. Think of all the people who enter "common" material and have to go up against some of the gemmier stuff. Or, a person who wants to dremel form a cab and go up against those of us with machines. We all have our own deficits we work with and it hasn't seemed to stop a lot of people.
I usually stay out of the contest and commenting on it. I have watched for a long time. I've seen a lot of cabs that don't seem like regular cabs or cabs that obviously take a long time. Think of Rockoonz 's intarsia. Not everyone can do that, either, but people still enter against them and the intarsia didn't exactly walk off with the win. So, I think there is room for everything. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 25, 2022 22:00:46 GMT -5
Okay, here's mine. The slab is Mahogany Obsidian with almost no black AKA Pumpkin Obsidian.  Preforming and preforms   I made those dops to use double stick tape and fit in the chuck of a drill.  The contest cab shot  Side view  How big? I would have to come up with an equasion using punkin Pi. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 25, 2022 22:04:01 GMT -5
How big? I would have to come up with an equasion using punkin Pi. Good one Lee! LOL Good lookin' cab by the way!  |
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That being said I get a lot of feedback that what people like about this contest is that it's not being micro-managed so I'm not going to change that now 
that takes the cake
