World Jade Symposium – Pendant Creation
Getting Started | The Tools | Pendant Creation | Finished Pendant | Sculpture Creation | Finished Sculpture I started with a slab of Wyoming Nephrite Jade and a black opal from Lightning Ridge, Australia. I’d cut this opal a long time ago but at that point I didn’t have the setting skills required to use it. I recognized this as a very special stone so I tucked it away for later use. Here’s the initial layout Here you see the pre-cut along side the planning sketch. And here is the initial preform. After this I proceed with the final revisions and grinding. Click below on Finished Pendant to continue. Getting Started | The Tools | Pendant Creation | Finished Pendant | Sculpture Creation | Finished...
Read MoreWorld Jade Symposium – The Tools
Getting Started | The Tools | Pendant Creation | Finished Pendant | Sculpture Creation | Finished Sculpture As I began working on my jade I quickly discovered that my lack of tools was fast becoming a hindrance. Bits only reach so far and provide even cutting an inch was beyond it’s limits. Getting mass removal of material was going to take years it seemed. So I began my search for tools. Now, if money were no object this task would have been MUCH easier. LoL So I searched high & low, started down many paths only to find dead ends, but finally, FINALLY, I managed some success. I found a 14″ Lortone Drop Saw. This baby cuts the larger pieces into slabs. AND as a side benefit you feel mighty cool running one of these. Something about a 14″ blade dropping onto something is a rush! This machine uses oil as a coolant. Next on the list is a cabbing machine. You can see this in action in the video toward the bottom. This is an old Sears Craftools Cabbing Machine with attached trim saw. The trim saw for for working on smaller cuts after a piece is slabbed. Then this machine has two grinding wheels and bull wheel at the end for polishing. I hooked up an aquarium pump to the tubing for a constant drizzle of water to keep the wheels cool. After playing with this I realized that I wanted something a bit more aggressive then the silicon carbide wheels that came with it. And I wanted something shaped a bit differently to help with carving instead of just making cabs. So I picked up some convex diamond carving wheels along with some various diamond bits. Eventually I want 1 or 2 more machines. I’d like a 2 wheel machine that has easier access to swapping out wheels as there are misc. other wheels in various grits that I’d like to have. Then I also want a full 6 wheel cabbing machine for actually making & polishing cabs. Finally I added this little beauty. This is an NSK Z500 Micromotor. This is actually a dental tool. It offers far more precision and less vibration on the hand. However, I found that this only take bits with a 3/32″ shank with is very limited. While I’m glad I have this and really do appreciate it, I do want to add either a Foredom or a fixed point carver that will take 1/4″ & 1/8″ shanks as well, mostly for the bigger surfaces. Then I’ll leave this for the detail work. I made a short video of this in action. Next post will be my actual entries. Click below on Pendant Creation to continue. Getting Started | The Tools | Pendant Creation | Finished Pendant | Sculpture Creation | Finished Sculpture...
Read MoreSweet Story about Jade
I was at my local Gemstone & Mineral Society meeting tonight and because of the my carving entries into the World Jade Symposium I had a lot of people talking to me about jade. One woman showed me a beautiful two sided flat carving of white nephrite jade. When she was a young woman she would cool it and would let her babies teeth on it. She carries it everywhere as now in her later years both of her adult children have passed. It has become her token memento to keep their memories close at hand. Later in life she had the piece appraised and found out that it was from the Han Dynasty! And yet, despite its financial value, the discovery only brings a keen twist of interest. To her, it’s value as a memento makes it priceless. Simply a beautiful touching...
Read MoreWorld Jade Symposium – Getting Started
Getting Started | The Tools | Pendant Creation | Finished Pendant | Sculpture Creation | Finished Sculpture Vancouver, BC Nov 21-23. This is my journey. It was a LOT harder than I expected and I spent WAY too many hours and too much $$ on this. LOL But I am a artistically driven fool so… 😉 I ran by my local lapidary shop and found a nice supply of some old nephrite jade from Wyoming, US. The owners father collected these a long time ago. Even the stickers were yellow with age. I lost track of time browsing through the treasure trove there but luckily I was able to find a few pieces that I deemed worthy before they kicked me out. 😀 The next day I grabbed a few of the smaller pieces, started up my Dremel flexshaft and got to work testing out the material. Let me tell you, I really like working in jade! I’m a very tactile and jade fills my senses. It’s visually beautiful. It has a luxurious feel to it. AND it has a very delightful chime sound when clicked. I was hooked. Then I set them and posted them to Etsy. Next I wanted to try my hand at carving so I made this wing. (Also on Etsy) I love my wing. It worked great and let me know that I really COULD do this! BUT, once I pushed my attempts further I run into the limitations of my tools. The problems I ran into was that the Dremel creates a lot of chatter on the stone making it difficult. It also has less torque than is recommended for lapidary work creating unrealistic time requirements for me. But most importantly was that it seriously limited me on size. I mean, think about it. The largest cutting disk I could find was 2″. That means I’ve only one an inch before my cut is stopped by the mandrel. It just wasn’t going to work. So I began my search for tools. Click below on The Tools to continue. Getting Started | The Tools | Pendant Creation | Finished Pendant | Sculpture Creation | Finished...
Read MoreFish Gemstone Carving, Lightning Ridge Black Opal
$150 | Fish Gemstone Carving by KJ Montoya Lightning Ridge Black Opal 1.55 Carat, 14mm Long Email: info@KJOFineArt for purchase...
Read MoreOpal in Copper – SOLD
1.5 carat Opal wrapped in copper wire on 18″ chain by KJ Montoya Copper Wrapped Opal 1.5 Carat Welo Opal SOLD Contact Info: kjofineart@cox.net Item...
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