doug shank

Nice rocks and very nice polish. I’m guessing they were all locally collected.

Sorry for the late reply. I do a lot of cabbing, but I still don’t think I have mastered it yet. There really isn’t a secret to getting a great polish on a cab. Generally you follow a standard of the first grind or shaping on the 80 grit hard wheel followed by further shaping and smoothing  and doming on the 220 hard wheel. Then it’s time to move on to the soft resin 280 diamond wheel. Here you will start to remove the scratches left from the steel coarse wheels. It is highly advise not to move from the 280 wheel until you have removed all the deep scratches. Next is the 600 soft diamond wheel where you will remove the scratches form the 280 grit wheel. The 600 is followed by the 1200 grit wheel. By this time most of the scratches should be gone, but if there are some that won’t come out, you will have to go back at least one wheel to remove them or back to the 280. It’s during the 1200 wheel when you will know if you got the scratches out or not. Don’t leave the 1200 until you are sure the scratches are gone. Now you’re ready for the 3000 wheel. Here you should not see any more scratches and you should start seeing  a very nice polish. You can continue with polishing on the 6000 grit, 14,000 and 50,000 grit wheels if you have them. This is a usual process, however, it depends on what type of stone you are working with. Some agates can be very tough whereas some really hard jaspers can be a breeze. That is where experience comes in play.

There is a monthly feature article in Rock & Gem magazine called, What To Cut by Russ Kaniuth. He always gives his method for cabbing each stone he cuts.

• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by doug shank.

Here are three of my latest cabochons (cabs).

This was just a rock in the tumbler until I pulled it out and made a cab out of it. Too bad the chalcedony on the top isn’t clear or it would have been really nice.

This is Biggs jasper with a quartz crystal seam. This was a very mishapen cabochon that I fixed and cleaned up. I think it came out better than expected.

This is called Idaho Seam agate. I bought a small piece of rough at a show for $30 because I have never seen or heard of it before. The bad part was this is the only good piece out of the whole rock. The rest was just cracked to pieces.

• This reply was modified 8 months ago by doug shank.

this is a before photo of the tumbler.

this is a Lortone QT-12 Tumbler.

WAMS Olympia Field Trip

Who:     club members and friends

Where:  RICE NORTHWEST MUSEUM OF ROCKS & MINERALS (map), (museum website)

26385 NW GROVELAND DRIVE

HILLSBORO, OR 97124

503-647-2418

SUMMER HOURS: WED-SUN 10AM-5PM (April-Nov)

Meet-up location: Martin Way Park N Ride Lacey, WA (park and ride)

Transportation Options: You can choose to meet at the museum if you want to drive yourself. We plan to meet at the parking lot by 10:00 AM.

When: October 5, 2024 9:00 AM

Why: “The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals exists to engage, inspire, and educate on the wonder and complexity of our Earth.”
Museum Info:  EMAIL: info@ricenorthwestmuseum.org

PRICES: $3 IF YOU HAVE AN EBT CARD AND VALID PHOTO ID.

FREE ADMISSION TO ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY

ADULTS $18

SENIORS $15 (60+)

CHILDREN UP TO 5 YEARS OLD, FREE

STUDENTS $15

Points of contact:

SANDY SKILL

360-214-1364

sandyskill6@gmail.com

DOUG SHANK

360-701-3769

douglas.e.shank@gmail.com

You might also be interested in- 

The Portland Regional Rock and Gem show will be happening on the same day if you would like to go it will be located at:

Westside Commons
Address:
801 NE 34th Ave
Hillsboro , OR 97124

That’s about 5.5 miles from the Rice Museum and takes about 13 minutes to drive there.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by doug shank. Reason: additional information
• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by doug shank.

The Washington State Mineral Council is sponsoring a field trip on July 20, 2024:

Location: Sweetwater

Time: 11:00 AM

Meet up at: Mansford Grange Hall, Darrington, WA (Darrington Rock & Gem Club Show)

Host: Darrington Rock & Gem Club

Material: travertine (A limestone consisting of a massive usually layered calcium carbonate (such as aragonite or calcite) formed by deposition from spring waters, especially from hot springs. Compare with tufa.)