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Post by Titania on Oct 13, 2008 19:30:28 GMT -5
I was thinking about what to do for Christmas presents this year, and I remembered that I had a piece of pet wood that my grannie and granddad (who died when I was really young) found 35+ years ago. It's been sitting in the bottom of one or the other of my fish tanks as a decoration for the 12+ years I've been keeping fish. Well, I fished it out...couldn't even really remember what it looks like. Here it is, still covered in some algae. It actually looks rather nice, I think. Definitely worth cutting, IMO. So, my thought is to take a couple of slabs off of it, yet still keep it mostly intact so I can have it as an heirloom. I would then like to make some cabs, one for my mom, one for my sister and one for my niece. I would like to mount them in some really nice pre-made mountings, I think...a matched set. I may even make one for myself. I've never done calibrated cabs before, and I'm hoping you all could offer some advice on how to get started.
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Post by Jurrasic Jonje on Oct 13, 2008 19:42:59 GMT -5
First find your mountings. That way as you work the cab you can check the fit every now and then.
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darrad
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2006
Posts: 1,636
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Post by darrad on Oct 13, 2008 21:37:32 GMT -5
Jonje is right on. Get your mountings first. Measure the bezel it will hold. They vary a great deal as do the space where the cab sits. I can not wrap - yet - and I am no silversmith so that is what I do with mine. Do not worry about it being the calibrated size so long as it fits nicely.
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Post by Titania on Oct 14, 2008 7:22:14 GMT -5
Wow, I would have figured the whole calibrated process was more complicated. I had envisioned needing to leave the stone 2mm oversized, so that it'd end up right by the time I was done grinding...I guess I was overthinking it. LOL!
I normally grind and polish the sides of the stone, as I'm working the dome. Should I finish the dome first, then work the sides, so there's less chance of making a mistake...I'm probably overthinking this again.
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rockdude
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2008
Posts: 187
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Post by rockdude on Oct 14, 2008 7:30:30 GMT -5
I grind the edge first, to within about a half mm. Then the final stages won't take off much. I do have an alternative tho, since I do silver work, I can make a mount to fit if I screw up, takes off the pressure at least, lol. Rio grande and ijsinc have some good calibrated pendants, just drop in and bend 4 prongs.
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Post by krazydiamond on Oct 14, 2008 8:08:54 GMT -5
the prong settings are much more forgiving than the cinch mounts. i make my cabs slightly larger than finished size, not paying as much attention to the edges. the edges will get ground down when you do the final sizing for the mount. grind a little and check the fit. repeat until it just fits and then polish the edges.
KD
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