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[hummingbirdstones]

Rules:
1) Cab must be made by you.
2) Cab must be made within the time period of this contest.  Contest begins on the first of the month and ends on 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the month.  NO pulling old cabs from your storage baskets!
3) As long as the basic shape is considered a cab it's golden.  You can enter intarsias and carved top cabs such as cameos etc.  After all, this is the OUTRAGEOUS cab contest!  We love free form cabs!  Pull out the stops and give us the best you have!
4) One entry per person please!
5) Please show photos of your slabs and preforms if you can so we can see your thought process and how you did things.
6) No finished jewelry pieces.  Just the cab.
7) Cab sets are OK.
8) This is only for bragging rights and your cabochon photo posted up top in the forums unless someone posts a lapidary related prize and wants to ship it to the winner of the contest.

Let the games begin!!!   

[Stonemon]

Pretty quiet here..... I guess I will get things rolling.
The storms have me back in the shop. I put on my gas mask respirator, body protection and jumped into the Trent Agate today.
40x30x7 mm approx. More realgar than almost any I have ever cut. This is a left-over from some slabs I made a while back for a custom set for a client on the east coast.
Two sided cab with a double tapered girdle. Faces are very low dome.
Bill

[Stonemon]

The rest of the pics... The light is not so good. If I can get some better pics, I will trade them out.
Enjoy!
Bill

[ileney]

Very very beautiful! Great job.

[Orrum]

Great job, low domes can be very challenging!

[gemfeller]

It's October and Halloween is coming so I thought I'd enter a cab that's color-appropriate for the holiday.  This is Indonesian Bumblebee "Jasper" but as most know it's not real jasper. 

This piece was fairly soft and handled more like a grainy calcium carbonate on the wheel.  My hands still smell of sulphur after several washings and the stuff is reputed to contain some amount of arsenic.  I didn't use a mask, gloves or other protection while cutting so if I show signs of illness, someone please call 666 (it's Halloween, right?)

I couldn't get an accurate image of the rough slab (photographed dry):

 

[Orrum]

Yep that's HALLOWEEN FOR SURE!!!

[olgguy]

Well, I guess I will jump in too, with some Fall colors. Marra Mamba from Australia.

[Orrum]

Ok this is getting vicious! #

[yukonjade]

 
      WHILE SLABBING PURPLE SAGE I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY
    TO GET A CAB OUT OF THE FRACTURED HOST ROCK.

     THE RESULT IS MY OCTOBER CONTEST ENTRY.

[kent]

Excellent !!!

[ileney]

Love it!

[Orrum]

Oh that's so good!

[Enchantra]

Great cabs so far!   
I'm loving the Trent agate with the Realgar in it.  Odd question here as I know Realgar is an arsenic ore - So is it wearable in this form or is it still somewhat toxic to be against the skin?

[Stonemon]

Great cabs so far!   
I'm loving the Trent agate with the Realgar in it.  Odd question here as I know Realgar is an arsenic ore - So is it wearable in this form or is it still somewhat toxic to be against the skin?

I do not know if anyone has done the work on that Amanda. Most of the Trent I cut winds up in collectors hands and does not wind up being set.
I take a lot of care when working with the stuff, respirator, gloves, goggles and smock and I try to do the slabbing outdoors on a breezy day when the risk of inhaling the arsine gas coming off the rough is minimal.
That being said, I also handle the polished pieces with my bare hands and do not worry as the realgar seems to be fairly stable. Here is a link to a fade test done by an forum member.     http://www.finegemdesigns.com/trentagatesuntest.htm
That result would have me believe that not a lot of arsenic is getting away when you are not cutting or grinding the material.
Any other thoughts out there?
Bill