Trim/Slab Saw Done...Rebuilt

Today I am posting some photographs of the Trim/Slab Saw that I said I was rebuilding and promised pictures when completed.

 

 

It all started when I was repairing a thumb screw that had broken off that holds in place a thickness plate...I had to drill out the screw and re tap the hole to put in a new thumb screw.

 

I was using a small hammer to move the thickness plate and accidentally hit the 10" Diamond blade and broke off a piece of the Diamond on the blade.....so....this meant I had to order a new $100 Diamond blade.

 

While waiting on the ordered blade to arrive i decided to completely rebuilt this faithful old saw (have had it 42 years and it has served me well ), so I proceeded to completely disassemble it and strip all the paint off and make a new gasket out of a cork sheet I had to go on top of the tank that holds the coolant and then prime the whole machine with special primer for aluminum and finally coat it with a coat of tough green paint to restore it to it's original appearance.

 

Sorry I am so long winded...lol...click on any photo below to enlarge for a better view.

 

 

Saw and stand in original shape before rebuild.

 

 

Base of saw with new cork gasket I made and new paint job.

 

 

Top rebuilt and painted and drying.

 

 

 

Saw Rebuilt with new paint and new Diamond Blade , also note, I made a Plexiglass splash shield to keep coolant from getting all over me while cutting.

 

 

 

All finished..good as new.

 

 

 

Rebuilt Saw and Rebuilt stand..I even made a new plywood top for the stand and painted the stand and top..all ready to go to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



More Crowded Work Shop #2

This post I will show mostly some of the gemstones I have been making during the past couple of weeks.

 

I will start with the display on my Desk/Workbench..click on any photo to enlarge.

 

 

 

Overall view of desk/workbench Gemstone display

 

 

Top row left to right

Australian Opal, Lightning Ridge Black Opal,Apache Gold ( 3 stones )

Second row L to R

Palmetto Picture Jasper,4-Apache Gold..far right-Picasso Marble ( Jasper )

 

Top row L-R

Chrysocola,2- Palmetto Jasper..3-Apache Gold

Second Row L-R

Bacon Opal ( Utah )4- stones,2 more Palmetto Jaspers,1-Rhodocrosite - Pink stone

( Sweet Home Mine Utah)

Next row down..more Palmetto Jasper 7 stones.

Far left last row- Spalarite ..Far Right 2- Montana Agate, below that- 2 Peruvian Dendritic Agates.

 

Far left 3rd row-Agatized Wood,Vezuvian Druzy (Ural Mountains of Russia ),just under Palmetto Jasper is 2-Jasperoid stones, 1Jasper ( light green), Blue/Gold Tiger Eye, Petowskey stone ( Michigan ).

Next row down L-R 6- Apache Gold, 5- Royal Imperial Jaspers ( very Rare )

Next row down L-R 4-Dendritic picture Agates, 3- Royal Imperial Jaspers, 4- NC Petrified Wood.

Next row down L-R 4-Arizona Petrified Wood,3-Picasso Marble/Jasper,2-Turquoise.

Stones on far right in next photo.

 

Stones from Far Right

7-Picasso Marble/Jasper stones

 

 

Next 8- stones, Picasso Marble/Jasper

 

 

Close up of Dendritic Picture Agate..top row

Second row..close up Arizona Petrified wood ( 3-stones ) 2-Kaleidoscope Jasper ( Oregon).

 

 

 

Redish/Pink stones close up- Royal Imperial Jasper ( very rare )

 

 

Next to pink/red stones--3-NC Petrified Wood, below those..2- Picasso Marble/Jasper, 2- Turquoise stones.

 

 

Top Row..close up 3-Montana Agates

Next row down 2- Peruvian Dendritic Agates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Crowded Work Shop/Never Big Enough

I decided to take you on a tour of my Work Shop that I built about 10 years ago.

As many of you probably find out..there is never enough space when having 4-6 projects going at once, such is my dilemma.

 

As usal , click n any photograph to enlarge.

 

Warning, this is going to be a Long post with many photographs.

 

 

Work Shop I built 12 x 14 ft.

 

My work desk with some of my recent work on it

 

Just above the desk, a photo of a Scrimshaw I did many years ago on Plexiglass

 

Just down the wall into the corner

 

In the corner,on top of the sound system, a rearing horse I carved from Black Walnut, and a Dance stick beaded and made from a Buffalo Rib Bone, and not quite seen, a buffalo carved from Black Walnut also. A Bison Skull an a peek at a couple feather fans I beaded and am in process of finishing.

 

On back wall, Display cases I built etc.

 

Farther down the wall into the corner, more Stuff, also showing some of the Wood Flutes I make.

 

A close up view of a BIG Powwow Drum I made and also an Eagle I hand carved( all one piece) from an Apple Tree( took 7 months to hand carve), and some of the Gourd Art I have done, and more Wood Flutes I made.

 

On the back wall, some of the Gourd Art I have done.

 

A closer view of some of the Gourd Art.

 

Two of the Diamond Saws I have, the largest on the right is a 14 inch auto feed with cross feed Diamond Slabing Saw, the one on the left is a10 inch trim slab diamond saw( have had this one about 42 years).

Both are Highland Park Diamond Saws..the Ultimate in Diamond Lapidary saws.

 

 

I see I am goin to have to present this tour in several posts, so I will break here and continue the tour with the next post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Sunset

Tonight I went out and  captured the first good Fall Sunset....we have been having some rather uninteresting sunset so far this Fall...but tonight was "Special".

Click on any photograph to enlarge for a better lifesized view.

 

 

 

Butterflies and Flowers

 

I thought I would share with you that follow this blog, some photographs of our beautiful Butterflies that visit us here in Summer and Early Fall.

 

These photographs were taken with my IPhone and not my good Nikon SLR camera...surprising how great they can come out with an IPhone.

 

Click on any image to enlarge for a better view.

 

 

Butterfly on a Butterfly Bush Bloom

 

 

Butterfly on a House Leek Bloom

 

 

Same Butterfly on a House Leek Bloom

 

 

 

 

 



Challenge- Photographing Peitersite Gemstones

A self challenge..to photograph some Peitersite Gemstones that I recently cut and polished.

We went to the Local Gem show here on Friday and again on Monday....on Friday I purchased 3 nice pieces of Rough Peitersite...brought them home and cut them on Sunday and Monday.

Now the challenge..to photograph them so the wonderful colors and choyancy would show( IE the Schiller effect of the Blue and Gold colors ).

This Peitersite has within it much the same type of Gold colors as does Tiger Eye, except instead of ordered bands of color..the bands are bent and twisted into swirls or colors and it also has the very desirable Blue ( hard to find ) along with Black,Reds.

I set the camera up on my tripod and started photographing them on a black background, and following are the results.....However...I didn't quite get the effect that I wanted, so I will try again tomorrow...using a different approach....and will post the results.

Click on any image for a larger view.

A 68.5 Ct. Finished Piece

 

Another view..hand held

 

Another view turned the other way-hand held

 

Now turned upside down view.

 

 

A 58 Ct. Piece

 

Same stone..turned..hand held

 

Same stone slightly turned..hand held

 

A 27.5 Ct. Piece

 

Same stone Slightly turned..hand held

 

 

Now you see the challenge of photographing shiney Gemstones...have to have the light source filtered so it does not make a flash arcoss the stone...am working on it..and will get it figured out.

 

 

Try again tomorrow...and then post the results....wish me luck...lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gift from a Friend and working my Magic

Today I would like to share with you a gift I recieved from a friend.

A friend of my Lady that we met in online chat from here in NC met with us for lunch several times and became friends with both of my Lady and I.

On a recent meeting this friend brought along several pieces of NC Petrified Wood Logs, they are petrified Palm Wood, rather odd ugly looking on the outside, but pure Magic inside.
She gifted me three of these logs and I recently cut into them and started to slab them up and proceed to make cabachon gemstones from them.

I will show you in photographs below, the rough form of a portion of one of those logs and then a couple of the finished gemstones I cut from it.

I will also show a few other pieces of gemstones I have been working on lately.

Click on any photograph for a Larger view.

 NC Petrified Palm Wood ( part of a log )

 

 A Slab cut from the log

 

 Two finished pieces cut from the slab above

 

 

Next: showing some of the other stones I have been working on.

 

 

 A Rough chunk of Picasso Marble ( Jasper )

 

 A slab cut from the above Picasso Marble Rough ( Jasper )

 

 A very nice Cabachon of Bloodstone from India that I cut.

 

Very Rare-Royal Imperial Jasper Cabachon

I cut this from some old stock I had..this material has long been mined out..no longer available.

 

 

A Dendritic Jasper Preform ( waiting on final shaping and polishing)

 

Another Jasper Preform

 

#2 Jasper Preform

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was cut from a Gold Mine Core Drill in Arizona

Note the small flecks of Gold in it

 

 

Another stone resembling Apache Gold

it is high grade Pyrite in Black Matrix

Makes a stunning stone.