Finished my cabachon last Saturday (don't have an updated picture because I can't find a USB cord though..)

So, here's a picture of it when it was half-done :

I joined a rockhounding group, which is pretty fun. I'm going to the Saddle Mountains in April for petrified wood, and the Owyhee Creek/Succor Creek area in Oregon in May to collect gemstones. Pretty excited to be able to get out of the house, but I have to carpool with somebody there (gonna pay half of gas probably) because I don't trust my old car travelling that far from home.

.... xD I see nobody cares about my dumb rock, oh well; I will (not) have vengeance!

whats a cabachon?

The Adli Corporation wrote:whats a cabachon?

pretty sure it's some form of cut rock or gemstone. i know you find them in fantasy games and MMOs.

Lol Frost

Yep, Ante has it right. It's a form of cut stone/gem; it's not really faceted, but more-so cut and polished. It was actually a lot of fun to make. It's a Holly Blue Agate, which I was really surprised they were nice enough to let me use for my first stone, because they are currently extremely rare as far as getting new ones goes.

ahh cool. what do you use to shape the rocks?

Well, first I had to cut the rock using a larger saw; it looks kinda like a mini-rotary saw, and the edges are made of diamond, to ensure they can cut through any mineral, and you get really wet because they have to be constantly cooled by a water/oil. So you cut out a slab about the thickness you want, then you take it over to a slightly more precise saw to cut the shape. After that, you then go to an 80 grit lapidary grinding wheel, and shape the rock, then you do the 220 to finish off all the flat spots, then 400, 600 (for smoothing it out), then polish it to finish. Much easier said than done.