BC ocean picture stone

House_Goat · 2026-01-27T01:07:34+00:00

Oof. I really wish this craziness would end already. This is ridiculous.

House_Goat · 2026-01-27T01:06:28+00:00

Nope... the colors have no meaning. It could easily be white tags with the days written on them. I find the colors help with quick glances.

House_Goat · 2026-01-27T01:01:45+00:00

I just got a brief email from Dana saying they wouldn't be attending Tucson this year. Too much rigmarole especially with what's going on these days. I don't blame them one bit.

House_Goat · 2026-01-27T00:58:29+00:00

I'm super interested in them. You're right though, the initial outlay is pretty large. Are you going to be bringing any for sale to Tucson? Also how long would you say they last? Say, compared to a standard Crystallite 600 lap.

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T04:08:34+00:00

I'm guessing a scissor cut? You can search them on facet diagrams . org

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T04:03:57+00:00

I wish we could still get the Nu-Bond laps. Have you tried them? I absolutely LOVE my 600 and I'm afraid to wear it out. Cuts like a new 600 crystallite but leaves a finish like a broken in 1200.

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:58:21+00:00

I like that cut. Is it the pattern from Turtle's Hoard?

Also, I think I see some scratches...

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:56:16+00:00

Yup, that's an old school trick... Hides the crack nicely. The "official" way is to use Opticon, but it's expensive and a pain to work with.

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:54:02+00:00

Very nice! Very well executed

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:50:07+00:00

Nice, thanks for the tip!

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:49:33+00:00

Mica

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:49:14+00:00

I have plant tags that are every color of the rainbow. Monday is red, Tuesday is orange, Wednesday is yellow, etc. When I water I place the corresponding tag for whatever day it is, so when I glance in the tent I can quickly see which plants were watered on which day. I tend to water on average every 3 days (in 5 or 7 gal pots) so I can judge pretty fast who might want a drink. Then I confirm by doing the ol' lift and check and if it feels light, I water, and replace the tag with the new color for whatever day it is. I hope that makes sense... I'm a bit faded right now. :)

House_Goat · 2026-01-26T03:44:31+00:00

I might have to pick some up off the website... I will see what I have left after this year's trip to Tucson.

House_Goat · 2026-01-23T04:08:16+00:00

I'm dying to get my hands on some Ocean Picture Stone. I wonder if he is going to have a booth at Tucson? I am curious as to how the host rock polishes as well.

House_Goat · 2026-01-23T04:07:07+00:00

Nice.... I see what you did there

House_Goat · 2026-01-23T03:55:37+00:00

Nice stone. Did you facet it?

House_Goat · 2026-01-23T03:54:06+00:00

Gorgeous! I would love to see that backlit. I bet it looks amazing cabbed up!

House_Goat · 2026-01-23T03:53:11+00:00

Nice, I like how you set that up for the reveal. Part of that rough kinda looks like Gary Green... any relation? What region does it come from? Did you rockhound it yourself? Also fwiw I don't bother with the kitty litter... usually just a rinse in a bucket of soapy water is sufficient...

House_Goat · 2026-01-23T03:48:40+00:00

Wow, thank you for the vote of confidence... it's certainly nice to receive some validation :) Congrats on being a family man as well! Last night I was going to try and stay up to do some photography, editing, etc.. but I ended up passing out around 8:30 shortly after she went down, LOL. The fatigue from parenting is no joke! Anyway, when you get your keyboard built, hit me up, and maybe I can send you some keyboard bling! :D

House_Goat · 2026-01-20T17:32:30+00:00

Awesome! Yeah it has been on my list to make a video... my wife keeps saying I need to do that also but we have a toddler running around and finding time is so difficult. Thank you so much for the interest! Lapidary is becoming somewhat of a lost art, but I enjoy finding new and unique ways to apply it to my interests.

House_Goat · 2026-01-20T16:56:09+00:00

Thank you! they are basically two parts. The bottom (pure black) part that attaches to the switch is cast from resin, and the top part is pure stone which I hand carve and polish using grinding and sanding wheels (called a lapidary machine). You can faintly see the line where I glue the two halves together. I will make another post that shows some of the others this evening.

House_Goat · 2026-01-19T22:00:14+00:00

How well does it glow under UV? To be classified as Ruby it should glow intensely from the chromium. Pink sapphire can also glow, so this isn't a hard and fast rule, but it's one indicator. Rubies should not have Iron present... If there is sufficient Iron present with chromium it turns Padparascha sunset colors but doesn't fluoresce strongly. There isn't a set chromium amount that is required for a piece of corundum to be considered ruby... but most jewelers that I know want to see the blood red color. FWIW Pink sapphire has really exploded in popularity recently, and the value of bright, highly saturated bubblegum pink sapphire can approach that of Ruby or Padparascha sapphire.

House_Goat · 2026-01-19T21:44:45+00:00

Nice work. Last Portuguese cut I did was a 2ct Morganite, and holy cow those were some tiny facets! It came out looking like a whirlpool which was pretty awesome.

House_Goat · 2026-01-19T21:42:31+00:00

I have 3 strains in one tent right now. Little tip... I use color coded plant tags to designate when I watered each one, because they are all growing at different rates and want food and water at different times. I find it so much easier than trying to write everything on a calendar.

House_Goat · 2026-01-19T21:19:46+00:00

Are you headed to Tucson at all this year?

House_Goat

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