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Rock Art => Cabochons, Intarsias, Cameos => Topic started by: adovbs on February 15, 2015, 12:51:17 PM

Title: Next three projects, roughly roughed out! Yard rocks and some WA jade
Post by: adovbs on February 15, 2015, 12:51:17 PM

It's a beautiful day today, so I spent part of it out on the porch cutting and roughly shaping up my next three cab projects.  I'm getting confident enough in my shaping technique that I am not so focused on the possibility of ruining something, especially when I know I still have a nice chunk of that particular stone left to try again if I do. 

My goal is to work on learning how to do a wider variety of shapes and sizes, so for each new batch of projects, I'll add something new - either a variation on a shape I've already tried, or a brand new shape.  This batch will have two rounded bottom triangles, and another paddle shaped cab like the one I made with the rainforest jasper last month.  The green rounded triangle is western WA jade from, I believe, the next valley over from us, and the other two are some slabbed "yard rocks" that Jim found and cut for me, and which seem to have the stability and fine grain needed to survive the shaping and polishing process.  The jade has a lot of lovely shimmery chatoyance that I'm looking forward to seeing in the final pendant.

I probably won't get much time to do more than do a bit more finer "roughing out" on them this weekend, but will take it back up again next weekend if weather and chores allow. 

Title: Re: Next three projects, roughly roughed out! Yard rocks and some WA jade
Post by: drnihili on February 15, 2015, 02:35:15 PM

If anyone has thoughts on ID of the two yard rocks (outside two in top picture), I'd be happy to hear them.