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Anyone into lapidary? I didn't see a thread for it and decided I want to give it a shot to add some more materials to my skillset of...making bullshit. Perhaps small jewelry pieces or strips for wood inlay. I was recently in a great place for rockhounding and found a lot of cool stones, for example: (I think this is jade. i asked a geologist  )Saws and such are expensive so I've ordered some Dremel tools and a diamond wire handsaw (lol) to see if I actually like doing it. I'm also going to build something like this once my motor gets here too since making my own little bullshit tools is right up my alley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-RVquhDW_U Anyone have any tips, tricks, or things to show off? PokeJoe fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Sep 11, 2023 |
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Sep 11, 2023 21:01
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| # ? May 5, 2024 11:19 |
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yeah I polish rocks sometimes. used to roll my own jewelry for fairs and (mostly) cheap-fancy gifts, now it mostly goes into furniture and stuff That's probably the biggest single piece I've done so far, for an inset in this thing. All the yellow crap is sulfur so I guess the whole thing is, in a sense, a big polished rock  "proper" lapidary equipment is mondo expensive but all kinds of things will shape and polish rocks. I used to use a big Harbor Freight hand drill with some cheap diamond cutoff wheels for shaping and automotive sandpaper for finishing and it worked great, made the pieces below that way among many others. More recently I found a local lapidary guild with a bunch of really nice rock saws and genies and stuff but I'm slowly inclining back to the sandpaper method just cause I can do it while chilling out at home.  a lot of my material and most of my tools got lost recently but rn I'm working on some dinosaur bone knife scales. will update if they ever stop photographing like poo poo A Wizard of Goatse fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Sep 13, 2023 |
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Sep 13, 2023 02:58
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Heres some rock updates: I added a pulley and weight to my cheapo drill press so it can press itself  I also got my CNC spindle motor and mounted it to some wood w a switch and speed controller  I broke some bits drilling a few stones. My press is as slow as it goes without changing pulleys so I'm hoping maybe higher quality bits are more durable :/. Otherwise I gotta change the spindle pulley around for different sizes and I don't wanna 
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Sep 27, 2023 05:09
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I built my own rock tumbler "attachment" for my multi-tool motor thing from parts cannibalized from my old vacuum cleaner. Namely the shaft and bearings from the roller brush, the floor wheels, and an idler wheel. I bought a commercial tumbler barrel though because I don't feel like making something leakproof and quiet https://media.discordapp.net/attach...2ceec0dd0f3ba0&
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Sep 30, 2023 21:47
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Finished my rock saw attachment, It Works   E: my "jade" from the OP is actually serpentine 
PokeJoe fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Oct 2, 2023 |
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Oct 2, 2023 01:56
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It somehow never occurred to me to like, do anything with my rock collection. That looks amazing! 
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Oct 2, 2023 07:32
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Update: creating some jade plugs to make earrings(?) I think. Press auto feed works pretty well. Sometimes I have to add a little more pressure but that's ok.   Bonus thin section: 
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Oct 5, 2023 03:32
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PokeJoe posted:Heres some rock updates: Just now saw the thread. What kind of drill bit are you using to drill through it? I do mostly gem faceting but I'm the technical engineer for Crystallite so I can probably help troubleshoot drilling.
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Oct 10, 2023 04:23
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I solved my bit problem by switching to tiny hole saws. I was using diamond coated twist bits which I think was the worst possible workable choice. Post your faceting machine pls
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Oct 10, 2023 05:52
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PokeJoe posted:I solved my bit problem by switching to tiny hole saws. I was using diamond coated twist bits which I think was the worst possible workable choice. Post your faceting machine pls I'll try to remember to post pics once I'm home. I've got a Sterling handpiece style machine.  Also there's a lapidary thread in a totally different section https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3894756 Diamond coated twist bits aren't necessarily bad. It's everyone defaults to "hey stone should cut like glass right? right? " *Asterisk for later* the "proper" cutting RPM for any diamond bit is faster than your drill press can go. For most softish stones (Softer than 8 mohs hardness) you want to run about 5000~6000 Surface Feet per Minute (SFM) Rough napkin math, that's ~750000~900000 RPM (no my cat didn't add zeroes) That later Asterisk Glass ALSO should be cut that fast. However most people's setups aren't ridged enough OR have too much runout in the bit and the side forces wind up cracking the glass.
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Oct 10, 2023 14:02
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Thanks for the link, never thought to even check ask/tell  Ive cut more ceramic than glass for stuff like plant pots, etc so I drew from that knowledge. Using a masonry bit just exploded the test stone I was drilling though. Interesting that the speeds should be that much higher, my twist bits were failing because the diamonds were wearing off the tips very quickly so I assumed they were overheating from the speed.
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Oct 10, 2023 15:48
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PokeJoe posted:Thanks for the link, never thought to even check ask/tell Most likely no. too low of a speed and you're twisting the diamonds out of the plating layer holding them on.
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Oct 10, 2023 16:27
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Hmm, so you're saying the bigger hole saws in my drill press should work better, not worse since they should have a higher speed at the cutting edge? 🤔
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Oct 10, 2023 20:37
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PokeJoe posted:Hmm, so you're saying the bigger hole saws in my drill press should work better, not worse since they should have a higher speed at the cutting edge? Cutting wise? yes. it starts to approach the other issue of setup rigidity starts to come in.
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Oct 11, 2023 04:47
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I made some cabs. Cabochons. Shaped rocks. w/e. Anyway I hot glued some stone discs to dowels and then chucked them in my drill. Then I spin them against a flatlap disc in my drill press. Results: pretty dece imo. I'm gonna throw them in the tumbler to actually shine them up. Also made a ring to see if I could.  
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Oct 14, 2023 21:37
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From PYF Bad Homes https://i.imgur.com/jyihbZT.mp4
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Nov 8, 2023 01:29
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a sexual elk posted:From PYF Bad Homes Lol I upgraded my rock saw. After getting the blade jammed in my workpiece a few times I made a pulley drive so the motor can slip instead of overheat. Link belt kicks rear end 
PokeJoe fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Nov 15, 2023 |
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Nov 15, 2023 06:53
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I got some neat fossil material so I've been making this nice pendant for the gf
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Dec 16, 2023 02:53
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I have only ever read settings out to my grandpa while he worked the faceting machine but he had a modest specimen collection and dabbled in (far as I can tell) all the cutting and polishing aspects as well as a bit of jewelry making. I definitely soaked up the general interest though, it’s on my list of things to try sometime. I could post a couple things he cut if that would be if any interest?
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Dec 17, 2023 15:25
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Post away otherwise this thread is just my blog My friend asked me to make him a wood jewelry box for his wife and I suggested a stone mosaic on top. Here's where I'm at so far (she makes wine for a living) 
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Dec 25, 2023 06:38
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I may have a few chunks 7" square x 1.125" thick of labradorite soon from a miscut on a countertop. I have no rockworking knowledge, but a fair bit of woodworking knowledge and was wondering if my normal HSS woodworking lathe tools would be able to (slowly) cut it? I was thinking of turning some coasters or little lamp/planter bases on the lathe. I could also get carbide scrapers. Or is in general rock cutting done more through abrasives than steel?
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Dec 26, 2023 16:59
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Theoretically possible but it's going to wreck your tools. You really want abrasives and something that can keep everything wet as you work, to keep the tooling and material from cooking and the silicosis out of your lungs
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Dec 26, 2023 17:04
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A Wizard of Goatse posted:Theoretically possible but it's going to wreck your tools. You really want abrasives and something that can keep everything wet as you work, to keep the tooling and material from cooking and the silicosis out of your lungs
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Dec 26, 2023 17:37
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Get diamond grit tools imo, they aren't expensive. dont gently caress around w hss especially if you have 0 lapidary experience or its gonna be a big headache
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Dec 27, 2023 04:00
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PokeJoe posted:Get diamond grit tools imo, they aren't expensive. dont gently caress around w hss especially if you have 0 lapidary experience or its gonna be a big headache Yah I posted in the A/T thread and they all convinced me that this potential endeavor was not going to be at all worth the hassle and I have abandoned it entirely.
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Dec 27, 2023 16:30
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I still cut rocks but I haven't posted about it in a while. I sliced a bunch of stones today to make little slabs for cabs and magnets and inlays and such  
PokeJoe fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 23:30
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