I have my Imahashi, now the other half has her new toy... a VERY happy little bunny 
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- Thread starter Dihusky
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Hall Xtra Cadet. Came as a good kit from a guy who was giving the game away.
Cheater was stuck solid, so went over the machine, freed up the cheater and lubed, then found the main spindle bearings were knackered so replaced them and the machine now purrrrrrs. She's loving it!!
I'm taking the Imahashi out of service so I can put a variable speed DC motor on it and alter the spindle setup a bit, while that's happening and the new parts being machined I might try and have a play with the Hall as well, but I am not liking my chances
Oh well... as they say..'Happy wife, happy life'
Cheater was stuck solid, so went over the machine, freed up the cheater and lubed, then found the main spindle bearings were knackered so replaced them and the machine now purrrrrrs. She's loving it!!
I'm taking the Imahashi out of service so I can put a variable speed DC motor on it and alter the spindle setup a bit, while that's happening and the new parts being machined I might try and have a play with the Hall as well, but I am not liking my chances
Oh well... as they say..'Happy wife, happy life'
I've had a large (200gm) piece of Brazilian Smokey quartz sitting in the 'rough' drawer for a while, time to have a play so cut a 45ct hunk off the end:
Had a ragged corner and preforming ended up with a 30ct rough, spent most of this weekend cutting the pavillion whilst trialing the new addition to the machine line up; a Hall 2000.
Never realised how challenging working with a very dark stone is , it's so reflective you can't see the quality of the polish without changing globes, plugged in an LED globe and 8.( . But I am amazed at how accurate the 2000 is when one wants to go back to a facet, dial it in and it's spot on with almost no cheat!!
The stone is 14mm across so will probably end up being around 15ct.
Had a ragged corner and preforming ended up with a 30ct rough, spent most of this weekend cutting the pavillion whilst trialing the new addition to the machine line up; a Hall 2000.
Never realised how challenging working with a very dark stone is
, it's so reflective you can't see the quality of the polish without changing globes, plugged in an LED globe and 8.( . But I am amazed at how accurate the 2000 is when one wants to go back to a facet, dial it in and it's spot on with almost no cheat!!The stone is 14mm across so will probably end up being around 15ct.
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Yeah, dark stones tend to throw a lot of reflection off the surface. Jeff Graham's "Lighthouse" has been successful for me in darker stones, including dark smokey quartz. Can't tell for certain from a photo but that piece does look quite dark. I remember a bloke who joined my club coming in with a smoky crystal he found in Tassie, it was virtually black and needed strong back-lighting to see into - instructor gave him a piece of colourless quartz to start playing with instead.
Looks like it's going well though, looks nice and sharp :Y: What's the design?
Looks like it's going well though, looks nice and sharp :Y: What's the design?
Design is Hexagional Barion Brilliant by Bruce White, picked the Brilliant based design to hopefully get a bit of light into the stone and retain the 'bling'. At angles one can see the golden brown base colour start to come in, so hopefully will end up being an interesting stone in the end. 'Sharp'.. thank you, I always strive to achieve this with good meets, kind of give myself a hard time with my standards of acceptability. Our instructor is also a Gem judge so he gives both mine and my wife's stones a very critical eye.
Been a while, but been having fun with the new toy. Here is the result of the Smokey, still very dark until in sunlight but then it's a fine balance between mirror like reflections and the coffee colour working it's way through. Ended up at 10.1ct and 13.5mm. Very happy with the final result but I thing the next stone I cut from the hunk of Brazilian quartz will have to be smaller to reduce the density and let more colour come out.
This is the reason it took so long to get the smokey finished: Accepted a challenge from the locak AFG gang to cut a 'Heart' for the October meeting, had a piece of Padpradasha CZ in the drawer, then picked an Arkavan design which he admits is very time consuming, damn... he wasn't wrong! One whole A4 page of cheats to pull this one off and even then there are a couple of missed meets, not that you'll find them without a 10x {)
4.6ct finished, and it dances... :inlove:
This is the reason it took so long to get the smokey finished: Accepted a challenge from the locak AFG gang to cut a 'Heart' for the October meeting, had a piece of Padpradasha CZ in the drawer, then picked an Arkavan design which he admits is very time consuming, damn...
he wasn't wrong! One whole A4 page of cheats to pull this one off and even then there are a couple of missed meets, not that you'll find them without a 10x {)
4.6ct finished, and it dances... :inlove:
I love the roll top desk and the stone is beautiful.
Mackka
Mackka
The desk was a Gumtree job and it works a treat for storing all the bits and pieces, is now the dedicated dopping station as we picked up a big variable height desk, ex-gov ( damn they waste stuff!) from a neighbours garage sale.
It's getting a work out this wet weekend! Hope you missed the hail that was around your area!
Appreciate your comments on the stone, thanks
It's getting a work out this wet weekend! Hope you missed the hail that was around your area!
Appreciate your comments on the stone, thanks
Well done Dihisky, nice to see a cheater victorious
Never thought there was praise to be had for good cheating .....I keep saying to myself, when you have mastered the art of cheating Grasshopper, then you will be ready to take the big stone from the ground. Didnt find a big one in the hole I dug this week, so will need to keep improving. :8
(cheating = the manipulation of angle and rotation to make multiple razor edged facet points to meet other facets, simultaneously)
Never thought there was praise to be had for good cheating .....I keep saying to myself, when you have mastered the art of cheating Grasshopper, then you will be ready to take the big stone from the ground. Didnt find a big one in the hole I dug this week, so will need to keep improving. :8
(cheating = the manipulation of angle and rotation to make multiple razor edged facet points to meet other facets, simultaneously)
Hi Dihusky, no hail here mate, all good.
Love the variable desk too mate a great asset.
Mackka :Y:
Love the variable desk too mate a great asset.
Mackka :Y:
Wally69 said:Well done Dihisky, nice to see a cheater victorious
Never thought there was praise to be had for good cheating .....I keep saying to myself, when you have mastered the art of cheating Grasshopper, then you will be ready to take the big stone from the ground. Didnt find a big one in the hole I dug this week, so will need to keep improving. :8
(cheating = the manipulation of angle and rotation to make multiple razor edged facet points to meet other facets, simultaneously)
Thanks mate, as Confucius say: "Never give a Sword to a man who cannot dance"
Lefty said:Great work there Dihusky! Especially love that heart
:Y: Thanks Lefty.
Re the Gov't waste.
When a manager was "promoted" to elsewhere in Telstra I walked into her office and said "You won't need that chair will you"==I went home with a beautiful Executive office chair and it still sits in my radio room. I have had to replace the gas lift.
Worth many $100's
Jaros
When a manager was "promoted" to elsewhere in Telstra I walked into her office and said "You won't need that chair will you"==I went home with a beautiful Executive office chair and it still sits in my radio room. I have had to replace the gas lift.
Worth many $100's
Jaros
Jaros, I can understand exactly what you are talking about. When I first got my radio license,I mentioned it to my boss and he gave me the owners Captains Chair, leather, rocked back and forward, no lift and it was in my radio room for years, many a happy hour talking and sleeping. Wish I had it now.
Mackka
Mackka
That turned out well Dihusky..... I think you need some Amethyst now... Just to try of course. practice stones..
LW.....
LW.....
LoneWolf said:That turned out well Dihusky..... I think you need some Amethyst now... Just to try of course. practice stones..
LW.....
Sounds like a good idea, just finished a Ruby, so looking through the collection of rough and wondering what to cut next
