These little gems are about 6mm across. These cabochons are dichroic fused glass. I finally got a chance to dop these little beauties and channel them for wire wrapping.
A little over a week ago I made the trip form Bend through Madras to the community of Willowdale to visit Richardson's Rock Ranch and pick up a compound called "Starbond" (gel) and Accelerator which they recommended to me for use in dopping. I have never dopped a stone before and found it to work quickly and easily!
Clean the top of the cabochon, apply a drop of Starbond gel, put dopping stick on (dowel) and spray with the accelerator to make the glue set quickly. Wait a few minutes and I was ready to channel the cab. Afterwards I put it in the freezer. Once chilled the glue becomes brittle and the cab can be snapped off the stick and any remaining residue scraped off.
I managed to do these four pairs of cabs before I had to teach class. They are in the kiln getting firepolished as I write. Come morning they will be ready to wrap with wire. This definitely appears to be a wonderful, simple way to channel these little gems for wire wrapping eliminating the need to glue on findings. This helps me to upgrade the quality of my products as I have wanting to do.
