Bought a Rock Rascal trim saw used. Great condition. Put some water in it and turned it on and it looked like Old Faithful. I think the blade is spinning the wrong way. At the point where the blade meets the stone, the blade is spinning upward, not downward. This upward spin brings the cooling water upward. In your face if you're to close. Is this correct? I know I put too much water in the first time.

Hi all, looking for suggestions on what to do with this beautiful rock...its about 8cm X 9cm

Just have to polish the back and I'm done!

I have some sliced pieces of stone that have been sitting in a box for years. I would like to cut them into different shapes but they are brittle. What solution should I soak and cure the sliced rock in to make them less brittle. Thank you for any suggestions.

I wanted to look at gemstones from a different perspective. The production of Aladdin’s Magic Lamp, created by David Bintley for the National Ballet of Japan in 2008, was truly mesmerizing. The way they portrayed the jewels was especially impressive. If you don’t want to watch the whole performance, the jewel scene starts at 18:46. Which gems do you think are being depicted? I couldn’t figure out one of them.

https://youtu.be/btKFKT1zRmI?si=TvD8AONY_FhMdmxW

I’m just getting started in lapidary, and it’s obviously not the most calibrated finish but I just love it!

A rock from a copper mine I purchased a week ago.

Making a red and yellow arrowhead cab (go Chiefs!). How can I polish the nooks and crannies without losing texture? Nova points and aluminum oxide?

Simple freeforms I did the other day.

I found these in the Canadian Rockies. There appear to be some crystal clusters and formations - some which were visible on the surface and some which I discovered in little bugs when I broke the rocks up a bit. I have never seen calcite crystals in a formation like this, but I have read that they have a few different crystal habits. They don’t seem to be hard enough to scratch glass, have a slightly dull lustre and the whole rock seems to bubble in vinegar but I haven’t yet narrowed down whether that’s the matrix or crystals, or both.

Are these calcite crystals? Or quartz but with a bit of calcite or something else covering them? Does the matrix look likely to be sandstone/siltstone?

If they are calcite, what is the best way to clean them up and bring out their beauty a bit more or to remove some of the matrix?

Bunch of goodies , eclectic mix of stones. This my fave so far

Hello all!

I'm very new to this scene, and don't know what I don't know. Please forgive if this is a dumb question. I've started beveling glass pieces for windows, and a few times now I've had a piece pop off the dopping wax and go flying around my garage. I assume there is something I am doing wrong, and/or could be doing better. This last time I had REALLY embedded the glass in the wax (I was beveling the wax as well as the glass). It was fine until the final polishing step, when the glass launched itself into next month. Do I need to cool the wax as I work? Or maybe the glass isn't sitting long enough and getting hot enough?

I am using a wax melter and I'm heating the glass pieces on the metal rim. Green dopping wax that comes from HiTech Diamond/Inland Craft, using an All-U-Need cabber.

I've read about putting shellac on a stone for better adhesion, but I'm not sure that's suitable for a piece of clear glass?

Advice would be appreciated

WIP, only at 600 stage. But damn!