Today I had some extra time before going back to Milwaukee so I tried my hand at finishing one of those cabochons that I started. I selected this blank because I figured it would be softer than the stones that had quartz inclusions, and all I had to "dome" the stone was my Opa's old wetstone.
Honestly I had no idea if this would work or not, but I figured it was worth a shot, after all whats the worst that could happen?
This machine was constructed by my Opa to sharpen his tools for his wood carving.
A slow and steady drip from the top lubricates the wheel and keeps the particulates out of the air.
I turned the valve on just enough to see a drip of water hit the wheel every few seconds. I would frequently turn it down if I noticed that the wheel was getting too wet.
Then all I did was very carefully move the stone back and forth, side to side until the desired shape was achieved. Another reason to keep the stone moving around is to not develop a low spot on the wheel. If I eventually want to use this wetstone again to say, sharpen a knife a low spot would be problematic.
I did loose grip of the stone multiple times so i left the front cover off of the wheel just in case I needed to retrieve the stone from underneath.
Once I got the stone to a desirable shape, I knew from my metals classes that the next step was probably buffing (Remember I have never done this before).
So I placed an awesome grinder that I purchased from Chad Bridgewater into a heavy duty vise, applied some rouge, and started polishing the stone. To my surprise the stone polished up fairly nicely!
It wasn't too long after I put the camera down and continued buffing that I caught an edge of the cabochon on the wheel which took the stone from me and FLUNG it across the basement. This brings me to something worth mentioning, The importance of wearing safety glasses and understanding that buffing wheels LOVE to grab the edges of your workpiece and beat you with them. Caution should always be taken and NEVER, I mean NEVER, wear loose fitted gloves/clothes near a grinder, because you will probably be pulled in. Always respect your tools.
As you can see I did in fact find the stone again!
All done! That wasn't so bad for my crazy, hacked together, non-expert, clumsy method of getting to a desired result. Remember, No Fear! However, I am looking forward for Yvette to show me the proper technique next time! Hopefully it will save me the stress of almost getting pegged by a flying cabochon!
Stay tuned!
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