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In Part
1 we discussed turning our own rock collection into wearable
jewelry. Part 2 continued
with tips and some pictures of cabochon making. In Part 3, we will
discuss ways to finish your newly cut stones so that you can wear
them and show them off to your friends and family.
 Here
we see the folks at Otteson's Blue Dream Mining Co. in Tonopah
Nevada hard at work grinding some turquoise without dop sticks.
This process is the same as using a dop stick, but is faster as you
skip the dopping step. Turquoise is quick to grind and polish, as
opposed to agates and jasper which are harder. It only takes a
minute to put a great polish on that turquoise with Green Zam, a
commercial product available online or at your local rock shop.
These stones are being readied to go into rings, bracelets, pins and
pendants. Of course, they could just as easily be put into a nice
bolo tie, belt buckle, tie pin or cufflinks too. You can make any
size stone with this same process, as long as the slab you are
working up is big enough and fracture free. It helps to have a nice
slab with some "picture potential" as your rough material too. As
previously mentioned, your own rock collection will hopefully be the
source of this scenic slab, collected and cut by your own hands.
After all, didn't your spouse just ask you "when are you going to
do something with that pile of rocks"? Perhaps
you have a great piece of dinosaur bone on hand or some agatized
coral or silicified coral you have been wanting to work up. If you
are into silversmithing and have the equipment and silver stock
available, you can fabricate your own mounts and finish your stones
into wearable jewelry yourself. If not, you can send your stones
off to be mounted by someone else. Perhaps you have someone in your
local lapidary club who will be able to accomplish that for a
reasonable price. Or, you can find companies online who do custom
work setting your stones for you. These methods result in more
traditional mountings, used for standard cuts and sizes of
cabochons. There is a company who pre-makes mountings which are
odd-shaped. You purchase the mountings, then cut and finish your
own stones to fit the bezel.
Another way is to wire wrap your
stones---fast and fairly easy, with potential for some really
unusual results. Most bead stores teach classes in wire wrapping,
or you can teach yourself through a video or book---there are many
sources available for learning this way. If you attend a local rock
show, you most likely will find someone demonstrating this
technique. You might consider taking your stones with you to the
show and have them finished there for a fee. Of course, this same
show would be a good source for a nice chain for your pendant, and a
polishing cloth to keep it clean at home. Smaller finished stones
can be made into very nice rings, with tight wraps instead of fancy
loops and twists (used for pendants). I haven't seen any wire
wrapped bolo ties as yet, but they may be out there! Whatever you
decide to make, you will learn some new techniques, maybe make some
new friends, and for sure----you will have a lot of fun!
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Turning
Your Rocks Into Jewelry Part 3