Lapidary 101 Part 3: Shaping and Polishing a Cabochon
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- In this tutorial I discuss the process of using a cabbing machine to shape and polish a stone cabochon. I'm using a Diamond Pacific Genie machine, and throughout the video I talk about several techniques used to properly form a cabochon and walk you through step by step to show you my process.
If you missed my first two Lapidary 101 videos check those out to see how I cut a slab from a large chunk of rock, then take that slab and trim it to create a cabochon preform. I have been using a chrysocolla, malachite and gem silica material, and in this video we come full circle from rough stone to polished cabochon ready to be set in jewelry.
Thanks for watching Lapidary 101! Instagram accounts are @eckel.lapidary and @SeanEckel.jewelry, please check those out to see more daily rock stuff and my jewelry work!
www.etsy.com/shop/SeanEckelArt
Cheers!
Sean
Nice video! You should think about a teaching career! Watched all 3 101's and enjoyed them!
I really like your videos.
Personally, I like to wear something like Acco Swingline Rubber Fingers since I kept grinding away my finger nails.
I also use lots of ear protection since the machines can get pretty loud.
I enjoyed your attention to safety and your commentary. Please make more videos.
Great videos Sean, clear, informative, safety explained, just darn good!
man it would be so cool to be ur apprentice!!
I was thinking the same thing
Great video. I have many rock polishing tools but now I see that I need a cabbing machine. Thanks for turning me on to this wonderful tool.
A dop stick is really good when the stone is very small. I also prefer to hold the rocks in my hands. Thank you for continuing to emphasize using goggles!!! If a newbie learns nothing else from these videos,and there is a lot of good information here, the importance of wearing goggles makes it worth it!
yeah i'm going to do some dopping soon(ish) for small ring size stones.. i just enjoy the tactile process with my hands, but when the stones get too small it's pretty tough to get even shapes without a dop stick. and yes, goggles always!
Nice job, you made a beautiful gemstone for another amazing creation!
What's the cost of those machines??
300th 👍🏼 for you! Happy New YEAR 2019!
Thanks for the reply. Alot of good advice. I just found a geology club in my downtown area, & they do lapidary work as well. I can't believe i didnt think of that. From learning over the past few weeks, I see i have a lot more lapidary tools to purchase. All good, I look foward to the process. Once i get a better idea of what i'm doing i will def send you a few slabs in hope that you will make a video of the process.TY again, keep up the good work. You create very infomative videos.
glad to hear you found a club that can help out!! best of luck with everything, and let me know if i can help in any way in the future :)
Wow..When I retired I joined a Lapidary club. I was never satisfied with my polish. The finest wheel they had was just over 3,000 grit and yours is 14,000. No wonder the shine is so good.
The way you're holding the stone against the wheel means you're cutting blind. In other words, you cannot see where the stone and wheel meet. Try working LOWER on the wheel, with your lamp clearly showing you the area where the wheel and stone make contact. That way, you'll find it much easier to utilize the best tool you have for cabbing: Your eyes!
Good luck.
thanks for the tip! i'm all self taught so it's basically trial and error for how i've learned to cab, but i do stand over the wheel enough to see where the wheel and stone are touching so i can measure my girdle height and even it out around the cab. but I will try to work even lower on the wheel.. thanks for the advice Sam!!
Love this! I just got this same machine and have to learn all over again (I forgot what I did know)
Your channel is pure gold. I have just gotten into lapidary although admittedly I did not know the term for what it was I had been experimenting with. I make knobcone pinecone pendants and have recently began sanding stones with various dremel attachments. Your content has helped me out quite a lot. You’re welcome to take a peek if you like. You can follow me on instant at instagram.com/PawCones
'Rocking' it sean!
Be honest jool tool to cut down some small stones I buy and are not up to par for silversmithing so some small gringing and clean up?! JOOL TOOL or bust?! Which other machines are better?!
Really enjoyed seeing these videos. Thanks for doing them.
A stick is a basic necessity. You spent (wasted) about 80 percent of the video compensating for no stick. You should perhaps make a video on how to dig a hole with a tiny shovel (because you like it more than a big shovel)
Thank you!❤ I always read comments as you can learn bits and pieces that way as well. Noticing some are using this as a hopeful dating site - ha ha!
Alligator tape huh? Might have to try that out. Just got my machine up and running last night and my fingers are feeling it!
Yea it works pretty well, but honestly I’d recommend dopping! I changed my perspective on it since making these early videos :)
Thanks Sean, just got my machine and can't wait to try it out, but needed some tips first
Awesome!! Also make sure to check out my video on using dop sticks, my now preferred method 🙌
Okay so I was interested in the band Full Service from watching your 101 vids and was researching them.
Bro I just read your story and explanation for leaving the band.
(No pun intended but) ROCK ON dude, if everyone was as enthusiastic and passionate about doing what is right with their soul, then the world would be a better place.
Looking forward to watching more of your vids.
thanks so much! i'm glad you checked out full service, that was a great chapter in my life.. however, using their music in my videos is causing me some frustration right now lol. had copyright claims on them even though i was in the band and have permission to use the music, sooo I'm working on redoing the audio but having some issues through RUclips. anyways, thanks for following along with my progress! best wishes.
Thanks. You are a good teacher.
Awesome videos. We really enjoyed them. I just ordered a highland park 12" slab saw and the same trim saw you have. Genie coming soon.
It's a great hobby...so much fun.
A lady at my old club showed us how she would use a Sharpie and color the entire top of the cab at the second wheel. While holding it up to the light you can see flat spots...scratches...etc...she kept working that second wheel until the Sharpie ink was gone which ensured all scratches and flat parts were gone. Great videos. I was worried about your hair for a second. Cheers!
hey michael! so glad you've enjoyed the videos, thats a good idea to color the top of the cabs! thats the main issue i see with cabs is the top has not been fully domed and polished, and little scratches may end up there, so ensuring you go over the entire surface is really important. sounds like you'll have the tools you need for years of enjoyment, have a blast!! :D
Drop sticks are better than desensitizing your fingers. You might be protecting your fingers but you lose any subtlety with that as well.
Agreed! I’ve posted a follow up video with my dop stick technique I now use :)
I originally liked using my hands but found out it goes much faster and I get a better shape using a stick.
Yea I will eventually get into using a dop stick, especially for smaller stones.. but if I can avoid a step and the extra mess with all the wax then I like that. But I'm sure the stick makes life easier in the long run.
And there it is! The detailed 411 that I was hoping for, thank you so much, Sean! 🌺🌺🌺
Sean, what are the different polishing wheel grit numbers. I got the first machine, 80-220-280, but did not see the next side numbers mentioned except the 3000 wheel and 14000 nova grit disc. Thanks
After the 280 it goes 600, 1200, and 3000 normally. There are various progressions ppl use but this is kinda the standard.
@@SeanEckelArt Thanks, I did my first cab the other day, picture Jasper, looks cool but just not that shiny . waiting for the higher grit belt to show up for the wheel.
Thx for sharing, friend.
WOw its so beautiful!
So handsome and smart. Single?
Thanks for the fingers protection.... Because i always f..... My fingers nail
Thanks for a great video 😉
Thanks for the great videos. A side note - your respirator is not fully effective with a beard. You’ll not pass as respirator fit test.
This is Shap , polish, Cabochon The Price How munch?
Me gusta la talla de piedras semipreciosas y donde puedo conseguir un esmeril con las piedras adecuadas he hecho algunas talla pero no tengo la herramienta adecuada cuanto seria el valor de un aparato de esos
Do you like feldspars? Everyone seems to hate on the K-spar saying it looks like horsemeat or brain matter. But when you polish with the sheen layers facing out you can make a beautiful cats eye sheen on a more prounounced dome! Obv other feldspars are best for this, moonstone or labradorite (if you so dare) but i think the gem world underestimates the aesthetic value of the most common mineral on earth. What you think bud?
i haven't worked with much of the traditional feldspar, definitely a challenge to polish as it tends to flake and break off.. but i'm a big fan of labradorite! and i've seen some pieces of regular feldspar that are beautiful, so i'm not a hater.
love this video! looking forward to seeing your technique for making cabs with dopped stones. i like the way you explain your techniques and go step by step :)
Thank you!! I’ll try to do that vid soon :)
Can the dust be saved for inlay work
Would a vent hood {remove dangerous stone breathing stuff} and chip guard be something of an added safety?
Yea perhaps! I think if you ventilate well and wear goggles and a mask that should be plenty… But the more safety the better I suppose!
I learned so much from your videos,And everything I saw raised as many questions as it answered so I still have a long way to go!!But I think it is going to be fun(except the part where someone tells me the price of the machines involved).Many thanks for sharing.
hah yeah the prices are the least fun part about it all.. but well worth the investment!! let me know if i can answer any other questions for you!
They call that wall a girdle.. nice job 👍
Really appreciated the step-by-step layman's approach from this 3-part series. It's been helpful to see how you use your saws/grinders and why I'll need each one - it filled in a lot of holes ;) Thanks for putting this together!
my pleasure!! it's a fun process, and can be intimidating, but when you take it step by step it's fun and not too bad. thanks for watching!
I wish I could find a shop where I could use machines for things like this and have people who are experts help me. These lapidary machines are so damn expensive
I am making my own grinder/polisher! All I have to invest in is the wheels and a few other parts, using motor from a cooler. I made my rock tumbler, and next a slab saw. DIY saving thousands of dollars.
What’s the brand name of your cabbing machine, and where can you get it from,
Diamond Pacific Genie, you can get it via DP directly or through some online retailers. I think I bought mine from Ron’s Rocks on eBay
Im sorry, I know may told us before, but could you please tell me the name of the tape on your fingers. Thank you.
Alligator tape, he said. :D
I have a 24 inch slab saw for sale.
Thank you!
You’re very welcome! I just posted another video today on cabbing with a dop stick, which is my preferred method now, I hope you can take a look! :)
i think you took out too much of the blue
Thank you Sean! I’m so thankful for the tip on the Alligator tape!
Absolutely! I actually have changed my process and now use dop sticks to hold the stones, it saves my hands some wear and tear. I’ll post a video soon about this! :)
Where did you get those little pumps? Is there a link to getting one?
The pumps come with the Diamond Pacific Genie, and you can find them by searching for replacement Diamond Pacific parts online. :)
In a pan of water?
Can I carve into stones w/o fracturing them? W a foredom.
If you're using a flex shaft for carving stones you'll need a water drip supply probably, to keep the heat down. I've never used my Foredom for lapidary work, but I know some folks do so it can be done!
Really beautiful
شكرا لك وارجو مراسلتي 😄
more videos!!!
By 12 degrees he really meant 78 degrees 😁💖
Guess it depends on which side you’re measuring from ;)
videos pretty good
thanks!
Love watching the videos! You always seem so nervous so it seems like someone has probably said to you that what you were saying isn’t important but just know you’re awesome!
Haha thank you!! Nah I’m just an awkward guy sometimes, and it’s kinda funny talking into a camera with no one else around so I guess that’s just how I talk to myself lolll
Great video! One of the best ones I have seen so far. Keep up the awesome work and look forward to more!
Thanks a ton Mark! I'm all self taught so I can't promise it's completely professional advice, but i'm doing my best to show everyone the methods that work for me! I'll try to put out some vids on jewelry practices soon :) cheers!