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swap piece update!! |
pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
|  Posted: 2006-09-26 7:02 pm Permalink
thanks gap. i owe you an email. i'll get to it tonight.
i picked up some more pieces out of the bucket at work today. i'll post a pic of them tomorrow. maybe some of you can help identify it. it was bought as "jade stone" and it was very cheap. less than $18/lb i think. probably more like $4-6.
here is the piece backlit:
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GMAN
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2005
Posts: 2994
From: My Island
| Posted: 2006-09-26 8:31 pm Permalink
Hey PDrake, how are you doing? I just made my way through this post. I hope you are feeling better? That jade piece is looking great, a very impressive start. The pic with the back lighting really shows off the stone. I imagine that type of shot will be awesome once you get it all sanded and oiled. Keep posting and keep your chin up...it's never really that bad (take my word for it - you can trust me, I'm a professional).
-Gman
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2006-09-26 8:50 pm Permalink
thanks a lot gman, i really appreciate it.
it's coming along. a little more slower now that i've moved up to higher grits. my fingers are starting to prune up. does anyone wear latex gloves?
oh, and "oil". i guess i don't know how to finish stone. can someone fill me in on the process after i sand it all smooth? and what grit should i use for the final? i feel like i jumped into the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim. at least my dive was decent.
[ This Message was edited by: pdrake 2006-09-26 21:09 ]
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Tamapoutini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 30, 2006
Posts: 1529
From: Aotearoa (New Zealand)
| Posted: 2006-09-26 9:16 pm Permalink
Yep, the fingers must suffer... I imagine wearing latex gloves would kill a lot of the 'feel' of working your stone. (nice looking jade by the way! 'Nephrite jade' most likely, Wyoming? Californian? British Colombian?) After a while most jade carvers learn to 'feel' a shape through whatever tool is being used, as well as using visual clues (*watch how the light/reflections and/or shadows play over a surface as the piece is moved...)
If you sand up to about 1200grit you should have a decent pre-polish finish, at which point you can either polish with an electric buff & tin-oxide paste, or else call it finished & give it a light 'wipe on-wipe off' with baby-oil, leather wax or similar...
Im sure it will look great when done! Nice one! T3
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2006-09-26 9:46 pm Permalink
here's some more progress tonight after about an hour and a half.
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2006-09-26 9:52 pm Permalink
"nephrite jade"? i don't know squat about no rocks. like i said, our floral dept buys it in bulk. so, it is a real jade? can you tell me about the different types or should i just google it?
thanks.
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GMAN
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2005
Posts: 2994
From: My Island
| Posted: 2006-09-27 04:30 am Permalink
Pdrake,
Rub a little baby oil or canola oil on it before you take the next set of pics...you'll be suprised! 
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10309
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2006-09-27 05:49 am Permalink
PDrake, this guy is looking Really good, like he's coming to life. The moai inside is trying very hard to get out and you Almost have him freed. However you are doing it, continue on because it looks like you are Doing it right.
Here is some info I found about Jade:
Information about Jade from www.jadecarver.com
"There are two minerals legitimately called Jade: Nephrite and Jadeite
Nephrite was used in Ancient Chinese carvings through the 1780s.
In the 1780s a "new jade" was introduced into China from Burma.
This new jade was jadeite. Brilliant green jadeite is called Imperial Jade.
Nephrite Jade Properties:
Spot Refractive Index: 1.61 to 1.62
Specific Gravity: 2.95
Hardness: 6 to 6.5
Structure: Interwoven Fibrous
Chemical Composition: Ca2(MgFe)5(OH)2(Si4O11)2
Jadeite Jade Properties:
Spot Refractive Index: 1.66
Specific Gravity: 3.34
Hardness: 6.5 to 7
Structure: Interlocking Granular
Chemical Composition: NaAl(SiO3)2
Jade is found in many parts of the world:
In the United States jade is found in Alaska, California, Washington State, Oregon, North Carolina, and Wyoming.
Jade Terminology:
BC Jade: Jade mined from British Columbia.
Polar Jade: Jade mined from the Polar Mine in Canada.
Chrome Jade: Jade with brilliant green specks.
Chatoyant Jade: Jade that has a tiger eye effect in the stone.
Botryoidal Jade: Also known as bubble jade. Jade shaped like clumps of grapes.
Siberian Jade: Jade from Siberia.
Wyoming Jade: Jade from Wyoming.
Vulcan Jade: Jade from California with a golden brown skin.
There are many other terms that are used in describing jade.
Sculpting Jade:
Jade is harder than steel. Therefore jade is not carved, it is ground and polished. Jade is ground wet because it gives off an asbestos like fiber dust when worked that can be harmful to the lungs.
Jade is primarily worked with either diamond or silicone carbide tools, papers and abrasives. Jade is worked with successive finer grades of abrasives. Some of the grits available are 36, 80, 100, 120, 220, 400, 600, 1200.
After the 600 or 1200 grit the jade is ready to polish. Polishing can be achieved using very fine grades of diamond pastes on media like felt or with chrome oxide mixtures or other compounds on leather. Polishing techniques and compounds are closely guarded secrets by many jade sculptors.
Some jades polish with an orange peel look. These jades require a lot of work and "know how" in the final polishing process. The better jades, like Siberian jades, usually take an excellent polish even for novice sculptors. Since jade is very time consuming to sculpt and polish we recommend that you always start with a quality piece of jade rough."
Seems I heard someone looking for info about "Imperial" Jade recently, there you have it!
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Paipo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 22, 2006
Posts: 1886
From: Aotearoa / NZ
| Posted: 2006-09-27 2:23 pm Permalink
Looks like it could be the Chinese "New Jade" or bowenite, not a true nephrite jade but a metamorphosed serpentine and a much cheaper alternative. Very commonly used for factory made carvings in Hong Kong and mainland China these days. It's a bit softer than nephrite and will take a better polish.
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2006-09-27 9:49 pm Permalink
thank you very much for the responses. no carving tonight on the jade. i did do a little on my maple, though. it was a rough day.
here's a pic of the jade i picked up at work and my piece oiled up. i've actually started sanding it.
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GROG
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jun 21, 2006
Posts: 6255
From: Tujunga
| Posted: 2006-09-28 12:10 am Permalink
Hey Pdrake,
You're piece looks good all oiled up.
Aw, dammitall! Not again.GROG just can't catch a break!
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Paipo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 22, 2006
Posts: 1886
From: Aotearoa / NZ
| Posted: 2006-09-28 12:36 am Permalink
Now you've posted pics of the rough I can see it is indeed Chinese bowenite, which is always sold as "jade" but technically isn't - only nephrite and jadeite have that distinction. These are most likely factory offcuts that have been put through a tumbler.
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2006-09-28 7:49 pm Permalink
well, i guess i should get some real jade then if i'm going to put in the time to carve it.
is this a good deal?
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-SIBERIAN-NEPHRITE-JADE-BARS-7-X1-1-2-BY-1-8-THICK-RAW_W0QQitemZ320032125908QQihZ011QQcategoryZ10231QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Tamapoutini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 30, 2006
Posts: 1529
From: Aotearoa (New Zealand)
| Posted: 2006-09-28 8:22 pm Permalink
Gidday. Hard to tell the quality by that pic but the clean-ness of the slabs would suggest decent 'tight' stone. (youll probably find nephrite a bit harder/slower to carve than that Chinese bowenite...)
The price seems pretty reasonable. I have heard of NZ stone selling for $250 per pound or more, though more commonly $30-100lb. Your best bet would be to get some British Colombian stone. We can get it here in large amounts for as little as US$10lb. Great quality, perfect for learning with.
Hope this helps. T3
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GMAN
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2005
Posts: 2994
From: My Island
| Posted: 2006-09-28 8:25 pm Permalink
pdrake,
I can't speak to the value of the ebay auction, but I just wanted to chime in and tell you that I have enjoyed watching you work on the Moai. Wipe the oil off so you don't get a glare in the pics and give us some nice macro shots of it as you get it sanded and finished up. Nice job.
You doing ok?
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