Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

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trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#41

Post by trland »

Since I learned how to make agate guides from this thread, I thought I would add to it with the method I've been using to make the bezel rings for the agate stone. I was struggling with making the rings using Dan's (Kermit) method of soldering a butt joint in a perfectly sized piece of bezel and then smoothing it and shaping it to get a nice looking ring that also fit the stone. I would usually have to do 2-4 rings to get one that fit and had a good solder joint...and it would take quite awhile! I'm not very good at soldering. I now make the rings in a lathe but everything else is the same as what Dan showed in the original post. I can knock off 4-5 pretty quickly and for me they are much better quality than I was doing before. Thanks again Dan for leading the way.

Here's the process with a few pics to illustrate:

Mount ~3” of 7/16” Nickel Silver bar in lathe
Face end & center drill
Use drill bit ~0.003” less than stone OD to drill ~1.5” depth
Check fit with pin gage or stone (snug fit)
Use 60° tool to turn OD to 0.016” over ID (0.008” wall thickness)
Part 4-5 rings ~0.050” wider than stone using 60° tool
Sand rings with 400 grit on sanding block to thickness of stone
Check fit of stone in ring (snug but not forced)
Clean stone & ring with denatured alcohol
Superglue stone in ring
Mount stone & ring on mandrel (Acro blind hole lap & spacer) in lathe
Roll both sides using roller tool on lathe at ~45° angle ("modified" router bit)
Polish both sides on lathe using progressively finer sanding sticks


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kermit
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#42

Post by kermit »

Nice...where there's a will there's a way.
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roycestearns
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#43

Post by roycestearns »

I was impressed 4 years ago ... still impressed.
Triand - excellent adaptation.

Cane Splitter
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#44

Post by Cane Splitter »

I also have been following Dan and inspired to make my own guides. It's not an easy process but the rewards are worth it.
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trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#45

Post by trland »

Cane Splitter, that looks really nice. Where are you getting stones? That looks a little thicker than the ones I've been using.

Cane Splitter
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#46

Post by Cane Splitter »

I buy slabs and locally, Ebay, Etsy and then cut my own rings. I use anything between 3-7mm thick and flat lap each to the specific thickness and size I desire.
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GrayHackleRods
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#47

Post by GrayHackleRods »

Came Splitter, more on how you lap the slabs to size please.
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Lee
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lee@grayhacklerods.net
Monument, CO
There is no greater fan of fly fishing than the worm.
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TimM
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#48

Post by TimM »

Very cool Cane Splitter - I second the slab cutting information request !

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kermit
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#49

Post by kermit »

This is some more information on cutting the slabs from raw stock. I bevel the inside using a diamond cone and then finish the inside hole with different grit abrasive grit cones to polish. Others have followed my process and made whatever mods to make it work for them. I'm very happy that this information is being passed on.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN ... dFeElYWTF3
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trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#50

Post by trland »

GrayHackleRods wrote:Came Splitter, more on how you lap the slabs to size please.
Yes, I’d like to hear your process too and see if you do things differently than others. I see the diamond hole saws in the pic and I already have some of those as I'm experimenting with them as ferrule station cutters. Those stones look great.

trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#51

Post by trland »

kermit wrote:This is some more information on cutting the slabs from raw stock. I bevel the inside using a diamond cone and then finish the inside hole with different grit abrasive grit cones to polish.
Are you polishing the inside in that pic of the stone mounted in the lathe? Is that a tool you made to hold it?
Also, I don’t understand the pic of the grinding wheel in the chuck and the stone in the tool post. What are you doing there? It seems like it would be hard to keep it round. Do you spin the stone by hand?

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kermit
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#52

Post by kermit »

Sorry, I can't post more photos of the process as the old Photo Bucket photos got things all messed up. Most all the holding fixtures were shop made. I turn the cut agate round using the diamond cutter in the chuck and the holding fixture on the tool post. I turn it by hand. It turns it very concentric. Others have followed and used this method but made improvements on my process, which is great.
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#53

Post by Cane Splitter »

I use 4" and 6" diamond disc that I mount to an acrylic disc that I use on my lathe. This acts in two ways to help get the agate to the right thickness and then again to turn to right diameter. I use a small spray bottle for water and usually my finger to hold and apply pressure for the agate on the diamond disc.


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penta-spey
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#54

Post by penta-spey »

Any idea where to get pre-cut agate rings these days?

trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#55

Post by trland »

I get mine from Etsy. Search for agate donuts. Colors are mostly limited to red, black, green. No banded agate that I’ve found. I may try cutting some using kermit’s and Cane Splitter’s methods.

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Wurmbunt
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#56

Post by Wurmbunt »

Hello,
this is a old thread, but it is a theme, which is always up to date, i think!
A argate stripping guide is simply the most common and most used guide for a classic bamboo rod. Some modern rings might be lighter, more durable, more resistent and cheaper as an argate ones - but...
First i also drilled my material out of argate slaps but - i m a impatient man. So drilling the stone, leades to a lot of cracks - a little bit pressure on the drillpress and the work of a hour was rubbish. Two of three went to the waste...
trland wrote:
05/30/20 07:14
I get mine from Etsy. Search for agate donuts. Colors are mostly limited to red, black, green. No banded agate that I’ve found. I may try cutting some using kermit’s and Cane Splitter’s methods.
Donuts are the best for me!
Shure - some grinding work is required - but making a existing hole bigger and reducing the outer diameter, is made easyer with my tools available in my workshop.
There are mini donuts available - 15mm outer diameter, with a 5mm hole and about 3mm thick. These are perfekt because you have to grind just a few material for your required dimentions!
Looking over the offers, you may see a lot of stones - not only argate... Why not try something else!
Be careful.
Some stones are simply too soft (argate is about 7 on the mohr's scale), some are very brittle because of their structure (microkristalline like argate, or even flintstone is best) amethyst is hard enough - but very brittle. Also softer inclusions, oftend seen in jasper, may disqualify the material.
Here are some guideinserts:Image
The upper line is the traditional argate Material.
Down there below is a ring out of carnelian.
The third line is tigre eye (hardeness 7 - like argate but a little more brittle. Be VERY careful applying the metal band) - the stone right is a seldom red variant.
Downstairs there is a amethyst ring - nearly Impossible to get it into a metalframe, without cracking...
Kind regards,
Andi

crowebeetle
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#57

Post by crowebeetle »

I wonder if obsidian could be used?

trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#58

Post by trland »

crowebeetle wrote:
01/19/21 19:49
I wonder if obsidian could be used?
Onyx is denser and harder than obsidian. If black stone is what you are looking for, onyx makes a nice stripping guide. I’ve made a number of them and they look nice with any wrap colors.

crowebeetle
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#59

Post by crowebeetle »

Onyx would look great on a Heddon Black Beauty

trland
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Re: Making agate stripping guides in the home shop

#60

Post by trland »

crowebeetle wrote:
01/19/21 22:09
Onyx would look great on a Heddon Black Beauty
Here’s one: viewtopic.php?f=66&t=129432&p=876791#p876791

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