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Author Topic: Another lantern  (Read 1731 times)

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Kaljaia

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Another lantern
« on: September 10, 2019, 06:18:04 PM »






"found it on the ground while hiking" agate in a little Michael's Craft lantern. It's a bit tiny to be safe with a candle, but I don't have any white LEDs yet! If I seal the slabs with a clear finish they'll probably transmit light better, but that'll have to wait until LEDs come. The slabs are very thin and I'm afraid I'll snap them if I try to polish. Either way I am hooked and planning lots more of these!
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- Erika

I rock hunt in the Antelope/Ashwood area of the John Day river basin in Oregon.

lithicbeads

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Re: Another lantern
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2019, 07:27:47 PM »

Polishing very thin slabs was a bit of a specialty years ago.There was quite a bit of iris agate around  some of the slabs were fairly big. They have to be extremely thin and obviously would be too fragile to work normally so folks use water glass to glue them to thicker slabs and worked away.the thicker slab acted as support and a heat sink.Soak it off , flip it and repeat. Yes it was alot of work but all cutting is the day of sic was work.years ago and
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Kaljaia

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Re: Another lantern
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2019, 08:23:43 PM »

Polishing very thin slabs was a bit of a specialty years ago.There was quite a bit of iris agate around  some of the slabs were fairly big. They have to be extremely thin and obviously would be too fragile to work normally so folks use water glass to glue them to thicker slabs and worked away.the thicker slab acted as support and a heat sink.Soak it off , flip it and repeat. Yes it was alot of work but all cutting is the day of sic was work.years ago and

Huh, never thought of that and am definitely going to try it now! I haven't had great luck polishing flats on the wheels but will experiment with it.
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- Erika

I rock hunt in the Antelope/Ashwood area of the John Day river basin in Oregon.

lithicbeads

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Re: Another lantern
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2019, 06:01:04 AM »

Flat laps can be a pain as most of the sanding - cutting is done on the uphill edge where the cutting surface moves into the stone.To counter this  you have the choice of a flat vibrating lap which also has a learning curve or resort to an expando drum with sic belts. Realistically you will end up working dry on the bigger pieces or they can take forever. Working dry works well with sic if you takes the usual health precautions and use a very gentle touch and rotate through pieces to allow them to cool.I have seen  the best dry sander in  the country dry sand to fix big faces on quartz crystals from Brazil, 5x5 inches. With a loaded 100 grit sic belt he could sand and then polish with the same belt. The results were amazing .
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peruano

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Re: Another lantern
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2019, 06:34:25 PM »

I think your lanterns are cool ways to look at rocks. It may sound hooky and a bit crafty but I like to take a cool agate slab (thin) and make a night light out of it.  It gives you an excuse to look at the intricacies of an agate on a daily if not hourly basis.  I gave one to a friend who had recently been diagnosed with a serious illness and told her that I knew she was destined for  some sleepless or fitful nights and I hoped the beauty of the agate would be therapeutic.  Even tho its a bit crafty, everyone I have given away has been lauded.  Go figure.
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Combining a love of bikes (pedal and otherwise) with hiking, hounding, lapidary, and the great outdoors

Kaljaia

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Re: Another lantern
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2019, 08:57:15 PM »

I think your lanterns are cool ways to look at rocks. It may sound hooky and a bit crafty but I like to take a cool agate slab (thin) and make a night light out of it.  It gives you an excuse to look at the intricacies of an agate on a daily if not hourly basis.  I gave one to a friend who had recently been diagnosed with a serious illness and told her that I knew she was destined for  some sleepless or fitful nights and I hoped the beauty of the agate would be therapeutic.  Even tho its a bit crafty, everyone I have given away has been lauded.  Go figure.

Oh yeah, it's a fun way to enjoy and display agate. Don't think less of it for being "craft" instead of "art." I almost never wear jewelry as my lifestyle doesn't lend itself to cords or strings around necks or limbs, and I can't wear anything containing copper, brass or nickel and I can't afford the sterling alternatives, so I'm always trying to find ways to surround myself with beautiful rock that don't involve string or metal! And agate has a different character when transmitting light versus reflecting light- it's something you can't get in jewelry. My mom is bugging me to make her some slabs to include in stain glass work. It'll take a level of precision I'm not quite at yet to fill that request, but am working towards it. Once enough lanterns are done, I'll head that direction. Keep making night lights, they will bring folks joy in a very different way from a necklace or ring.
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- Erika

I rock hunt in the Antelope/Ashwood area of the John Day river basin in Oregon.
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