Creative Process

Cutting the Stone --> Shaping the Rock --> Wrapping the Stone

It all starts with the rock. If it wasn't for the rock, I wouldn't be making jewelry. So that's where each piece begins for me. You have a piece of very rough (or sometimes fairly smooth) rock. The first step is to get the rock down to a manageable size to work with on the grinder. To do so, it must first take a trip through a saw.

I have had a few saws - ranging from a 14" Lortone lapidary drop saw, a 7" WorkForce wet tile saw, a 4" MK trim saw, a few 16-18" saws of various brands I was never able to get running... but the main point is, you need saws. Technically the Workforce saw isn't a lapidary saw, but it fills its purpose in my workshop. Eventually I might replace it with an actual trim/slab saw, but I'm kind of fond of it right now. The 14" saw will easily cut parallel slabs of a rock up to 4 1/2" tall. I use the Workforce for slabbing rocks that are under 1 3/4" tall, as they are generally also smaller in size and not worth the time to set up in the proper slab saw. Common slab widths range from 3/8" to 5/8" thick - it's a personal preference. When purchasing slabs off the Internet, you'll generally encounter 1/4" slabs, as that's right in the middle. My own personal preference is 3/8" slabs, as I generally prefer a low-dome. If I want to double-dome (a dome on both sides of the cab), I'll cut the slab 1/4" or 5/8" thick.

Once we have a slab of rock, I have to decide what I want to highlight on that slab. At this point, I need a general idea of shape and final form I want from the slab. Using either a template or freehand, I'll draw the shape of the future cab on the slab using either a pencil or a fine-point sharpie. Some slabs will give multiple cabs, and some slabs will only have one waiting for me. If I see multiple cabs in a slab, I'll also mark how to cut the slab so as to not ruin any of the others. If I like the pattern on the rock, but no set shape calls to me, I will mark a blank - a circle, square, or rectangle to cut - leaving the actual shaping to the grinder.

Next, I have to cut the future cabs from the slab. For this, I fire up my small 4" saw (technically 4 1/2", but it's running a 4" lapidary blade). The thin lapidary blade slices through the slab, allowing a fair amount of precision when cutting out the future cab.

Now you have the preform (future cab) and you're ready to actually start shaping the stone.

Cutting the Rock --> Shaping the stone... --> Wrapping the Stone...