VapidLapid
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2010
- Messages
- 4,272
Most of you know already that most of my projects have an abandoned state that goes on too long. This one is not that old, only a few months, but I do not have the time coming up soon to finish, and I think you will be amused, so I will share it in this unfinished state.
I had this piece of tourmaline rough that I wanted to cut. It was already square when I got it, and even tapered a little on the side that would become the pavilion. the opposite side that would be the table was roughly flat and perpendicular to the existing axis so orienting the stone was easy. I ground the end of a piece of square brass rod flat and perpendicular to the rod, then glued the tourmaline table side to the rod. In the photos you will see a flat granite counter top, a sheet of wet\dry sandpaper, a machinist's protractor, a block of graphite with all sides in square and castellations at the ends, a butcherblock on the counter, a piece of wood triangular 45º in cross section, water.
I wet the back of the sandpaper and stuck it to the counter, then wet the top side too. The stone over-hung the sides of the rod fairly equally, but needed truing up. The over hang was about 2mm each side. I used a piece of shirt cardboard as a shim under the back end of the rod, held that end down hard to keep the rod flat parallel with the granite while the stone end sat lightly on the sandpaper. Carefully maintaining that orientation, I move the rod forward and back to cut that girdle facet, the rotated it and did the same to the remaining four sides. Next I positioned the rod along the 45º side of the triangular length of wood. This allowed me to cut the corners of the girdle.
The first tier of the pavilion was more difficult. I put the graphite block castellated side up, and long side against the side of the butcher block. I place a flat side of the rod across the top of that, then measured the desired angle with my protractor on the granite. This set the stone on the wet sandpaper in position such that by gripping the rod very firmly against the top edge of the graphite AND against the edge of the castellation I could slide the graphite easily forward and back using the edge of the butcher block as a shuttle. And repeat three more times.
The second tier is where I got called away from my project and where I will pick it back up.
Pictures!
I had this piece of tourmaline rough that I wanted to cut. It was already square when I got it, and even tapered a little on the side that would become the pavilion. the opposite side that would be the table was roughly flat and perpendicular to the existing axis so orienting the stone was easy. I ground the end of a piece of square brass rod flat and perpendicular to the rod, then glued the tourmaline table side to the rod. In the photos you will see a flat granite counter top, a sheet of wet\dry sandpaper, a machinist's protractor, a block of graphite with all sides in square and castellations at the ends, a butcherblock on the counter, a piece of wood triangular 45º in cross section, water.
I wet the back of the sandpaper and stuck it to the counter, then wet the top side too. The stone over-hung the sides of the rod fairly equally, but needed truing up. The over hang was about 2mm each side. I used a piece of shirt cardboard as a shim under the back end of the rod, held that end down hard to keep the rod flat parallel with the granite while the stone end sat lightly on the sandpaper. Carefully maintaining that orientation, I move the rod forward and back to cut that girdle facet, the rotated it and did the same to the remaining four sides. Next I positioned the rod along the 45º side of the triangular length of wood. This allowed me to cut the corners of the girdle.
The first tier of the pavilion was more difficult. I put the graphite block castellated side up, and long side against the side of the butcher block. I place a flat side of the rod across the top of that, then measured the desired angle with my protractor on the granite. This set the stone on the wet sandpaper in position such that by gripping the rod very firmly against the top edge of the graphite AND against the edge of the castellation I could slide the graphite easily forward and back using the edge of the butcher block as a shuttle. And repeat three more times.
The second tier is where I got called away from my project and where I will pick it back up.
Pictures!
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