Did a little cutting/polishing recently

[gunsil]

Getting a little cold for my older bones for detecting. Time to get back to the saws and grinder/polishers. I love ocean jasper, such superb orbs, patterns, and takes a great polish!! Cut and polished these over the last week, have enough rough material to go for a couple of years!!

 

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[gunsil]

A few more, blue lace agate, montana agate, pietersite, petrified wood, variscite, fossil coral, mookaite jasper, limb cast agate. Man, I love rocks and stones!! Will sell some, use some for my jewelry designs and creations. Gotta get back downstairs, just heard the 10" saw shut off, slabbing a nice size chunk of lapis.

 

[DiggerGal]

What do these look like before they are polished? These are stunning!

 

[Buckshotnc]

Man, I'm impressed, those are beautiful, that was one heck of a week's work there.

 

[BurntBear]

Very impressive cuts and material. I would love to see a few shots of rough material as well! Maybe just a few before and afters. Absolutely beautiful material! Thanks for sharing. -Luke

 

[gunsil]

Thank all of you for your compliments on my work!! Here are a few pics of raw slabs and rough rock before cutting and polishing. The first one is a piece of ocean jasper showing the trim saw cuts I made from the slab and the finished cabochon that came from the cuts. The next are slices or slabs of montana agate, blue lace agate, and pink Oregon limb cast agate. Then a large chunk of rough blue lace agate that I have cut some slabs from, a slab of mookaite jasper from Australia, and some variscite slabs from Lucin, Utah. They all look dull since they have not been polished. If you spray water on them you can better see what the finished stones will look like. I am cleaning saws and changing water in grinders this weekend, next time I cut and polish I'll try to remember to take a few pics of progress from slab to finished stone.

 

[gunsil]

Here is a large slab of high grade ocean jasper, although it has a lot of fractures in the best part which is on the top. Then there are two pics of the same slab with a strong light behind it showing the beautiful translucence and the famous "floating orbs" high grade ocean jasper is known for. Last pic is another slice, showing that ocean jasper comes in many colors and patterns. It was discovered on the coast of Madagascar around 2000, and sadly the deposit has been mined out and it is very hard to get any more of the best quality stone. Most of what is available these days is opaque and the orbs are not as well defined, although there is opaque material that is superb as seen in the photos of my finished cabs. Some of the slabs are slabs I purchased as slabs, and some are ones i cut myself from larger pieces of rough material.

 

[DiggerGal]

The craftsmanship and artistry that you perform is absolutely spectacular! Thank you for sharing!!!

 

[yakker]

Those stones, the stories/explanations behind them, and your work are all a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Thank you for all of it! Can't wait to see what you show us next! Yakker

 

[ecoast]

excellent!

nothing like the satisfaction of creating/fabricating something with one's own two hands; man after my own heart.

Thanks for sharing!



ps- you're not that old, and it;s not that cold--- hitting a couple holes over here today.

 

[Machinist]

Beautiful work and intriguing read!!! Thanks for posting and will look for more!

 

[Eu_citzen]

Nice! You enjoy the chalcedony group eh?

 

[CMan1]

Very nice freeform cabs. Nice to have a large slab cutter.
Your getting my interest up to turn on my Diamond Genie.
Excellent lapidary your a fine artist.

 

[gunsil]

Nice! You enjoy the chalcedony group eh?

Yes, I like the chalcedonys, nice hard high polish material with a seemingly endless variety of color and patterns. But I also do fool around with softer stuff like malachite, variscite, lapis. Regarding the Polish flint in my other post, yes it is a fantastic flint, I've seen it sold here in the USA for several years now, but never saw it before then. Fantastic patterns, I got the slab shown on ebay, you may find some there occasionally.

 

[gunsil]

excellent!

nothing like the satisfaction of creating/fabricating something with one's own two hands; man after my own heart.

Thanks for sharing!



ps- you're not that old, and it;s not that cold--- hitting a couple holes over here today.

Thanks John, I love making things, will turn a lot of these stones into jewelry during this winter. I also build my own fishing rods and make lures for squid fishing. There were a few warmer days there last week, and I did think about getting out, but I also had to get some late yard work done and grab some firewood out of the woods to help heat my studio when the real cold sets in.

Best, Gene

 

[pczim]

Completely awestruck. Such beauty. Well done