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Post by mickey on Jan 18, 2010 19:54:25 GMT -5
 Thought I'd post my second attempt. From inside to out, opal, almandine(corners), obsidian, chrysoprase, almandine(corner), sodalite. The garnet corners didn't come out like I had wanted and there are still a couple of technical errors but I'm learning. |
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Post by HeadieRocks on Jan 18, 2010 21:19:06 GMT -5
Now that is BEAUTIFUL!!!
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Post by HeadieRocks on Jan 18, 2010 21:20:10 GMT -5
Keep doing what your doing...and posting pics of the results!
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Post by hydrogeologist on Jan 18, 2010 21:49:14 GMT -5
I'm a huge fan of the sodalite on the outside. It frames the piece well.
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sophia
Senior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by sophia on Jan 19, 2010 8:35:15 GMT -5
Mickey, that's good work! Are you using a flat lap?
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Post by mickey on Jan 19, 2010 12:03:00 GMT -5
HeadieRocks and hydrogeologist,
Thanks for the compliments. Sodalite cuts easy, has beautiful color and takes a wonderful polish.
Sophia,
I'm using an old hand made faceting machine that was built back in the late 60's or early 70's. It's not good enough for faceting anymore, but it works great for intarsia. I'm using old copper laps that I recharge with diamond powder.
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Post by earthnhands on Jan 19, 2010 12:19:14 GMT -5
That is so cool. Looks like a hawk's eye....and I especially love the opal in the center...creates movement with light and makes it look alive!
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Post by arappaho on Jan 19, 2010 16:08:59 GMT -5
What a creative use of an old faceting machine!
I love the sodalite, too. Great idea and keep up the fine work.
Joe
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Post by mickey on Jan 19, 2010 18:55:32 GMT -5
 Put another one together today. It's made of rutilated quartz, citrine and apache gold. It's not polished yet, but it will be polished on both sides. |
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sophia
Senior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by sophia on Jan 20, 2010 9:35:20 GMT -5
What a splendid idea! The rutile quartz creates a floating frame effect with the border stone.
I am going to paw through my old rutile quartz stones to see if I have something that would work in a similar way. Please post when it's polished.
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Post by gsellis on Jan 20, 2010 15:35:58 GMT -5
Mickey, are you coating the whole thing in glue? I see a bubble that hints at that. ?
Try CA (superglue) on some of the seams joins. Then for extra strength, use DevCon 5 min clear epoxy on some joints and the last layer. If you need a sealer, Opticon should not yellow and Hxtyl won't either (Hxtyl requires at least 5 days to cure, is $55 for the cheapest A-B, but is clear and does not yellow - the glue I use for composite facet material)
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The trick you may be missing is wax paper. I learned from Richard Kors and I start with 100% alcohol cleaning joins. I then apply CA and press them together on wax paper on a flat surface.
But it that is already what you are doing, never mind.
Looking good!
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Post by mickey on Jan 20, 2010 16:16:21 GMT -5
George,
Thanks for the hints. I took this picture before I had polished the piece so the bubbly look you see is just water (maybe even spit). I'll polish it, but I wanted to know if you think sealing the piece would be a good idea considering the apache gold is rather soft and has pyrite in it.
Thanks,
Mickey
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Post by di66er on Jan 23, 2010 13:53:10 GMT -5
Very nice color combination on the first on ....great job Mickey
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Post by 4cornersrocks on Jan 31, 2010 17:53:28 GMT -5
Very nice work, I really like the color combos!
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