Lapidaryforum.net
General Category => Contests => Topic started by: hummingbirdstones on October 02, 2016, 04:52:09 PM
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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!!! :toothy10:
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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
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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
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Very very beautiful! Great job.
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Great job, low domes can be very challenging!
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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):
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Yep that's HALLOWEEN FOR SURE!!!
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Well, I guess I will jump in too, with some Fall colors. Marra Mamba from Australia.
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Ok this is getting vicious! #
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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.
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Excellent !!!
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Love it! :hello2:
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Oh that's so good!
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Great cabs so far! :headbang:
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?
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Great cabs so far! :headbang:
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
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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
The double dome is aesthetically very pleasing, but does it serve any real purpose other than to look good for the collector? Not bashing, just curious. I've never seen one.
Beautiful cab, by the way and great pictures.
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There are some really great cabs posted already. The bar is RAISED!!!
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"The double dome is aesthetically very pleasing, but does it serve any real purpose other than to look good for the collector? Not bashing, just curious. I've never seen one."
Beautiful cab, by the way and great pictures.
[/quote]
The Trent seems to wind up in collections a lot. :dontknow: I have found that many of my custom orders come with a request for a two sided polish. The material works so well back-lit and I think it helps move light around the sagenite crystals.
It is so rare, I want to do my best to create something of lasting value when I work with it. I do not do many other cabs with a double dome but this stuff is different.
Best, Bill
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Stonemon, I was completely unaware that Trent contains arsenic when I posted my comments about arsenic with my Bumblebee contest entry. I hope they weren't interpreted by you or anyone else as being snarky about your very fine entry. They certainly weren't intended that way: I was just making an attempt at humor.
I'm a strong believer in personal choice in all things. I was poking a little fun at what I think are overblown concerns about the dangers of cutting occasional stones like malachite, other copper minerals, Bumblebee etc. But I was speaking only for myself. If someone has an opposite view I respect that. Certainly if one is cutting large numbers of potentially dangerous stones protection is essential. I often think about the fate of poor Congolese who probably are poisoned from making ashtrays and other tourist items from Congo Malachite day in, day out. But I think we get more arsenic in our EPA-approved drinking water than we do from cutting an occasional Bumblebee cab.
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Stonemon, I was completely unaware that Trent contains arsenic when I posted my comments about arsenic with my Bumblebee contest entry. I hope they weren't interpreted by you or anyone else as being snarky about your very fine entry. They certainly weren't intended that way: I was just making an attempt at humor.
I'm a strong believer in personal choice in all things. I was poking a little fun at what I think are overblown concerns about the dangers of cutting occasional stones like malachite, other copper minerals, Bumblebee etc. But I was speaking only for myself. If someone has an opposite view I respect that. Certainly if one is cutting large numbers of potentially dangerous stones protection is essential. I often think about the fate of poor Congolese who probably are poisoned from making ashtrays and other tourist items from Congo Malachite day in, day out. But I think we get more arsenic in our EPA-approved drinking water than we do from cutting an occasional Bumblebee cab.
No worries, no offense taken sir!
I often sit down and cut Trent for hours at a time. I used to cut without protection. I am still here!
There is a lapidary person in Eugene, an hour west of here who said one of her good friends died after a long run of cutting Trent and she would not even touch the stuff.
I may be overly cautious but I believe it was Clint Eastwood who said "dying is no way to make a living"
Arsenic is bad news if you get over-exposed and Trent has a bunch.
One will not kill you. One thousand might! :dontknow:
Best, Bill
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Arsenic.....Used to treat MS in the old days. Carefully dosed the patient has a nerve death that stops the pain. Arsenic in most wells that also have slkslinoutvwest. Arsenic common in old days rat poison. Arsenic used in a green dust for tobacco worms and cotton boll wevils. Can't remember the name of it. Also used in commercial tomato production for tomato hornworm. So the spaghetti had arsenic in it, the wster had arsenic in it, the bed sheets snd clothing had it, we smoked it with cigarets. The rats pissed and pooped it all over our grain. Therefore care fully Trent cutting not gonna hurt ya.
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"The double dome is aesthetically very pleasing, but does it serve any real purpose other than to look good for the collector? Not bashing, just curious. I've never seen one."
Beautiful cab, by the way and great pictures.
The Trent seems to wind up in collections a lot. :dontknow: I have found that many of my custom orders come with a request for a two sided polish. The material works so well back-lit and I think it helps move light around the sagenite crystals.
It is so rare, I want to do my best to create something of lasting value when I work with it. I do not do many other cabs with a double dome but this stuff is different.
Best, Bill
[/quote]
Thanks, I was just curious. I've done some Trent, too, but not nearly as nice as yours. :drool:
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Here we go! Mushroom Rhyolite, it's kinda has hallowed color. This is some of the boot off a recent sphere. I was told it was petrified mushroom but in usual fashion members of the forum corrected me as to being mushroom rhyolite. That's what makes this forum great, someone somewhere knows exactly what each stone is!
This has a couple vugs in it, I had to keep the top a little wider than my preform as I was drilling a hole for my daughter to take with. It's nice material to work with.
I didn't realize how bad the finished picture was until my wife told me to look at it! I must have hit one of the picture modes when I was cropping the photo, my bad :occasion14:
I had my daughter bring it back for another photo.
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OK, i feel obligated to get an entry in this month. I'm not confident in this one as a decent contest entry, but it goes with the Halloween theme. It is snowflake obsidian that I collected in Utah. I call it "The Witches Heart".
I have a love/hate relationship with obsidian. It is so beautiful when it comes out well, but it is completely unforgiving. I had to drop back a wheel multiple times while working on this one, even after drying and carefully inspecting between stages. And still there are imperfections that bug me now. But it is fun to cut and I have gobs of it to play with. And it demands a lot of me so my skill will only grow as I work with it.
The slab is here amongst many that I have cut recently.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/ToTheSummit/The%20Rocks%20Album/2016/slabs_zps4jkc9zgs.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ToTheSummit/media/The%20Rocks%20Album/2016/slabs_zps4jkc9zgs.jpg.html)
Preformed, ready to hit the wheels. This ended up being the back side.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/ToTheSummit/The%20Rocks%20Album/2016/whpreform_zpsenyrkuaj.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ToTheSummit/media/The%20Rocks%20Album/2016/whpreform_zpsenyrkuaj.jpg.html)
Finished cab. Another reason I struggle with obsidian...photographing it is nearly impossible!! Every tiny imperfection or speck of dust shows up.
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Wow, some fantastic entries this month! Tothesummit, was that batch of material from your recent Utah trip? As for the cab the form on the heart is great! I love that it has such a high dome, it gives it a nice pillow effect and really does well. I haven't done much cutting this month but just finished a few cabs the other day and took till today to photograph them.
I love Crazy Lace, so many patterns, shapes and colors. I got my hands on some great noriega and found a stash of Large pieces with the dogtooth patterns in them. This piece obviously is not from either of those finds but had a sagenite spray in the original slab that I couldn't resist making the focus of the cab.
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Those last two entry's are really nice, maybe I should have deleted mine instead of reposting lol
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Heck no, all the entries are nice and I like your cab. I wish all the members would post more. I picked up quite a bit of the Mushroom Rhyolite a couple years ago when the guy lowered his price to a buck a lb. at Quartzsite. I still have yet to cut it (shame on me) so it is great to see what it can be.
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It's a battle!!! WOW what great entries! I am proud of this forum, it's members have skillz!!! Now me....I rule where scratches and flat spots are concerned!!! LOL
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have been gone for a while I sure miss these great cabs
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It's a battle!!! WOW what great entries! I am proud of this forum, it's members have skillz!!! Now me....I rule where scratches and flat spots are concerned!!! LOL
Just a side note on the scratches etc. Years ago I put some cabs into CFMS competition and had several with druzy pockets in them and I got down graded in judging for "pits". My wife suggested I put in a full case of them and name the display "This case is the pits"
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I haven't participated in some time - never think of having a camera close by - I was cutting some kaleidoscope jasper today and had my phone close so photographed the steps from slab to completion. Interesting material, the rough is kind of on the softer side and fractured but cuts some good looking cabs. The red of my bench is kind of harsh, but the cabs colors complimented well with the green algae and fallen willow leaves on my deck. There are so many other great cabs here I don't think i have a chance to win, but I hope you still enjoy.
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Man that's sweet looking, I was looking at some on eBay almost bought some maybe I will now.
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Just a side note on the scratches etc. Years ago I put some cabs into CFMS competition and had several with druzy pockets in them and I got down graded in judging for "pits". My wife suggested I put in a full case of them and name the display "This case is the pits"
As an artist I don't consider druzy pockets to be pits. I just consider them a natural part of the stone.
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This is some of the gold sheen obsidian we just collected from Glass Butte, OR. I figured the perfectly round form double sided was a good challenge.
Slab
Preform
Edge of finished cab
Side one and then side 2 - I plan to mount with both sides showing.
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Hey Greg, to bad that you can't do a video so you could really show the sparkle in the sheen.
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Hi All
Wow I am not sure that I should enter. But I am, I was able to work on 4 stones this last Saturday at our clubs annual show. All 4 came from Neil or John. Sorry guys I could not keep the piles seperated with my little one running in and out. This one just talked to me. Even tho it has some fractures it is going into my display.There is enough rough left that I can probally get some stones with no fractures :headbang:
O and what is it?
Bless
Shawn
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> to bad that you can't do a video so you could really show the sparkle in the sheen.<
Challenge accepted!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wxTLeFUn3g
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That's what I am talking about! Now people can see what the sheen looks like. I have made arrowheads out of gold sheen from Davis creek
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Shawn, is it Indigo Gabbro?
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Hi ileney
I have no idea. I got it from John or Neil. I am hoping that when they see it they can tell me what it is. I do know that it is softer than agate or jasper. It took a far better polish than I thought it would. I also wonder if using my metal wheels in pre forming are what caused the fractures. I plan to use my soft flat lap wheels to see if it shines up more. My genie only goes up to 3000. My "soft" flat laps go up to 50,000 micron. I also need to learn more about taking picture because the pic I posted does not come close to showing how nice it really is :Bash:
Bless
Shawn
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See if you can get a better picture. I don't remember what I put in the box. Is it a agate or jasper? If it is agate it my be from the Cady mountains