Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,967
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Post by Tommy on Sept 14, 2018 18:51:16 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 14, 2018 20:56:16 GMT -5
Those look good, Tommy. How do you drill your holes? Do you drill from both sides?
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,967
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Post by Tommy on Sept 14, 2018 21:11:03 GMT -5
Those look good, Tommy. How do you drill your holes? Do you drill from both sides? Thanks Rob! First of all I built a device that clamps down and holds the item flat in a tray of water - much easier when the pieces are flat like these. I start with a 1mm and drill it all the way through - then switch to 2mm and only go about half way before flipping the piece over and finishing the hole from the other side. Repeat the last step if I'm going up to 3mm with the hole. If it's a hard agate I'll use a burr to taper the hole before starting each larger bit. Drilling was always a big struggle for me until I built the device - now it gets easier with each one. |
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Post by MsAli on Sept 14, 2018 22:03:46 GMT -5
I like how you left the Baker ranch.
How heavy are they?
Great picture of the praying mantis too
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,967
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Post by Tommy on Sept 14, 2018 22:12:32 GMT -5
I like how you left the Baker ranch. How heavy are they? Great picture of the praying mantis too They are all pretty good size... I love me a big cabochon  I guess I can't really call these cabochons but we don't really have a category they fit better into. Grams are 21.6, 20.7, and 24.9 by order of appearance above. Edit: I did not weigh the praying mantis - I did however escort her out of the sure doom of my garage and on to a nice plant on which to have her babies. She was very thick in the tail. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 14, 2018 22:37:01 GMT -5
I really like how those Indian Paint Stone cabs turned out. Great pattern!
Praying mantis are one of my favorite insects (there aren't many). They eat the bad bugs, so they have to be good! Thanks for saving her and the babies.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,967
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Post by Tommy on Sept 14, 2018 22:58:01 GMT -5
Praying mantis are one of my favorite insects (there aren't many). They eat the bad bugs, so they have to be good! Thanks for saving her and the babies. You and me both! I love praying mantis. Definitely my favorite bug and I DO love bugs haha. We don't get a lot of mantis but it seems like I find about one per summer so I know they're around. I'm just assuming she was a she and she was gravid - I could be completely wrong but I've never seen one with such a wide ass obviously I don't know the correct bug anatomy so lets just call it her belly instead haha  |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 14, 2018 23:07:26 GMT -5
Praying mantis are one of my favorite insects (there aren't many). They eat the bad bugs, so they have to be good! Thanks for saving her and the babies. You and me both! I love praying mantis. Definitely my favorite bug and I DO love bugs haha. We don't get a lot of mantis but it seems like I find about one per summer so I know they're around. I'm just assuming she was a she and she was gravid - I could be completely wrong but I've never seen one with such a wide ass  obviously I don't know the correct bug anatomy so lets just call it her belly instead haha Definitely a she and she definitely looks ready to make that cool egg nest they make that looks like a big glob of foamy stuff.
Interesting fact about mantis: After they mate, the female eats the male's head!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 14, 2018 23:25:47 GMT -5
Definitely a she and she definitely looks ready to make that cool egg nest they make that looks like a big glob of foamy stuff. Interesting fact about mantis: After they mate, the female eats the male's head!
If she eats his head before mating, is that considered foreplay? |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 14, 2018 23:36:52 GMT -5
Definitely a she and she definitely looks ready to make that cool egg nest they make that looks like a big glob of foamy stuff. Interesting fact about mantis: After they mate, the female eats the male's head!
If she eats his head before mating, is that considered foreplay? Well for her, anyway!  |
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Post by fernwood on Sept 14, 2018 23:40:42 GMT -5
Cool Mantis.
And the cabs are great too. Nice problem solving.
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Post by parfive on Sept 15, 2018 0:33:29 GMT -5
Interesting fact about mantis: After they mate, the female eats the male's head! Crowning achievement for Homo sapiens when they got that shit in the right order. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 15, 2018 6:46:47 GMT -5
Great cabs! Yes, that stuff is a challenge to work. I LOVE praying mantises! Every year, I see several in the yard- including itty bitty cute tiny babies. My BIL has wheelbugs. Horrible insects that will give you nightmares. He saw a wheel bug and a praying mantis fight once. NASTY!  |
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,315
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Post by mossyrockhound on Sept 17, 2018 18:33:33 GMT -5
I really like the Indian paint stone cabs. Thanks for the drilling info and praying mantis pics.
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368 
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Post by goatgrinder on Sept 17, 2018 18:59:02 GMT -5
There is no shame in flat cabbing. I do it all the time and everyone loves my flat cabs as much as my semi-hemies. It's all good.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 17, 2018 22:04:10 GMT -5
I call them buff tops. Makes them sound extra special.  |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 18, 2018 0:32:20 GMT -5
Great cabs! Yes, that stuff is a challenge to work. I LOVE praying mantises! Every year, I see several in the yard- including itty bitty cute tiny babies. My BIL has wheelbugs. Horrible insects that will give you nightmares. He saw a wheel bug and a praying mantis fight once. NASTY! Yeah we have the Wheel bugs down here too. I got bit/stung by a Wheel bug nymph when I was a kid and will never forget it. It felt like I'd had a nail drove through my finger. Here is a photo of a Wheel bug nymph I caught snacking on an aphid on my deck railing a few summers back:  Larry C. |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 18, 2018 9:34:29 GMT -5
Nice material Tom... Most of my cabs are flat, easier to work with and get more material out the door.... Nice critters in your yard too....
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 18, 2018 9:43:49 GMT -5
Tommy, I keep coming back to this and wanted to ask- did you do these with wheels or laps?
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,967
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Post by Tommy on Sept 18, 2018 10:13:23 GMT -5
Tommy, I keep coming back to this and wanted to ask- did you do these with wheels or laps? Hi, for the IPS I used the 220 metal wheel and a 320 SiC belt to shape them but the rest was done on my flat spinners including polishing the edges. My step of grits on the flat sides was 120/200, 400, 600, 1000, followed by AO polish on carpet on my slow-speed spinner. To be perfectly honest about it, I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of finishing flats by hand so each one probably took twice the time as I could have cabbed them. Not the Baker of course - it's solid but it would have fallen apart and ended up a 30mm blob if I had tried to dome it. It was fun as a change of pace but I probably won't do a whole lot more of it. |
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I guess I can't really call these cabochons but we don't really have a category they fit better into.
obviously I don't know the correct bug anatomy so lets just call it her belly instead haha
