Diggingd 36 Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Hey guys I need some advice for a cut I want to do. I have a piece of labadorite that has some amazing top color, but pretty much no color any where else, I've wanted to for a bit now cut the diamond shaped piece of it off of the rest of the stone. My main concern is I dont know how it will affect the color or if it will shatter the whole thing while cutting it, any advice would be much appreciated. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
d_day 331 Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 Whether you can cut it without it breaking depends on whether or not it’s fractured badly. Generally speaking labradorite is pretty solid. Keep in mind that the thinner you cut it, the less color you’ll have. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diggingd 36 Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 Thanks d-day Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stillweaver hillbelli 273 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I almost bought a slab over 6 foot high and 9 feet long of the stuff ,, was going to be an island and sink counter tops. Color will depend on the ambient light,,sunlight is fine for greens/ blues that makes it amazing , but soft white LED(2000-3000 KELVIN) doesn't work as it is loaded more yellow and red. Think halogen for display lights or 5k-6k leds. The slabs here in San Dago, loaded w Lab,lite cost between 3000 and 4000$ per slab for one that dazzles . I settled on a relatively boring,by comparison, quartzite slab. . 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,962 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 I don't cut stones and I don't know squat about it. But I do know fractured moonstone and labradorite can be cut by doing a "doublet". They flatten one face along the plane that shows the color and then cast that side in epoxy. Black casting epoxy makes a sweet backing and holds the stone together. Then a slab is cut off and polished. The black backing makes the blue schiller in moonstone really stand out. I have seen labradorite and turquoise done like that too. It really helps to hold that fragile material together. You can vacuum stabilize it fairly easily too. I have been using heat activated resin on all sorts of materials including moonstone. It seems to work great for tumbling stones. I bet you could slice cracked stones after they have been stabilized and get great results. Combine stabilization with a resin backing and you could turn a lot of marginal stones into nice slabs or cabs. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diggingd 36 Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 Thanks a ton, Bob I did end up cutting the piece and it didnt come out quite as well as I wanted, but I can see how doubleting them could be a good idea I will try that next, also I will have to look up how to vacuum stabilize that seems like something that could definetly help out with setting labadorite. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
23XLive 17 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 7 hours ago, Diggingd said: Thanks a ton, Bob I did end up cutting the piece and it didnt come out quite as well as I wanted, but I can see how doubleting them could be a good idea I will try that next, also I will have to look up how to vacuum stabilize that seems like something that could definetly help out with setting labadorite. I would love to see what it looks like after you cut it and are done with it. I've never seen the inside of labadorite before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diggingd 36 Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 I do have one piece finished cut, it's not the best, but I'll get some pictures of it tonight when I get off work. Its not polished, but is sanded down to 2000 grit so I'll wet it so you can get a better idea what it would look like pre polish and post. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diggingd 36 Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 So my plan was to cut out a smoothed out piece from another chunk of labadorite I had (a bit smaller and less pretty) and the grind out everything to make it to the shape I want (still have yet to do that) some things I've noticed with this piece of labadorite is that it shatters on the edges very easy to it's hard to get a right angle from what I've seen. by adding water the flare is a lot more lively when cut and all the cloudy blue areas have a nice blue tint when wet. Again apologize for the poor cut was just interested in trying out some new tools only way to learn is to try. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
23XLive 17 Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Thank you for sharing that picture! I don't feel that you should apologize for the cuts of the rock. I am of the belief that rocks have a very particular shape and feel that they want to be and that only by working with it do we find out what that shape and feel is. It's one of the many nice suprises that it holds in store for us! It's beautiful! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diggingd 36 Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 Well from this point I can turn it into anything that can fit into that shape there, its definetly beautiful, it doesnt have quite the same color play as before, but at the same time new color play that wasnt there before with the blue tint (not the same as the flare), I'm excited to see what types of colors it will have as I start to grind pieces away 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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