To follow up on the making of the Ostrich cabochon I am in the shop using a roary tool to cut down the shell. First I mounted a diamond cutting wheel in the Dremel.

 I hold the Dremel against the bench pin and rotate the shell against the bottom side of the wheel. I use the bottom as it throws the ground off bits away from me.

 After cutting very close to the line traced on the inside of the shell with a sharpie, I have switched to a fiber cutting wheel as it is less aggressive. I check frequently the fit with the bezel as I sand it down. Finally it fits easily into the bezel.
Lots of labor and the result is a bit bland in this bright light. But the natural opalescence of the shell will show.

Ostrich Egg Shell Cabochon

 I bought an Ostrich egg to make a slump mold for my ceramic work. After casting the inside of the thick end of the egg, I had lots of material to do something else with. I immediately thought of making a cabochon.. I traced around the outside of an open back bezel with a sharpie.

 Next I cut through the line with a small rotary diamond wheel. Any rotary tool with a diamond bit can handle the thick egg shell quickly.

Now I have a rough and slightly oversize oval about 30x40 mm. This will get pared down to fit the bezel. Next time I will show how I complete the shape.

 Hi Folks. Been a while. I have found many things to keep me busy and I have felt bad about not posting for so long. Last May 26 I had a stroke which made my eyes work very poorly, not together. I had to retrain them to see well enough to read. I learned to walk with a walker for a while and still have balance and dizziness issues. And tremors. For a jewelry maker, the tremors are the most time consuming condition. I can spend a minute trying to close a jump ring. So to force that away I chose to start doing more beading. Crazy , right? But when I run into a challenge I work hard to work around it. And that has carried over into my photography. I found a new camera that has 5 way image stabilization. That suppresses the tremors quite well.

 I shot this Eagle in a tree near the nest. Handheld 600mm in a high wind. You can see the feathers in disarray on the eagle.

 Part of the practical application of my self therapy is making earrings. The challenge is to combine a few elements into an interesting presentation. To this end I have been shopping at https://www.bsueboutiques.com/ Where I can buy quality components from the B'sue by 1928 section. The pewter wings are from there. The beads also are from Bsue. You can find great quality and a massive selection of interesting components for your art.

I also mix natural stone beads with jeweled roundels and vintage glass pearls.

Pewter bunnies and Czech glass components make designing both fun and profitable.

I hope to post more often in the near future.
My collection of mostly one of a kind jewelry is available at

www.etsy/shops/oscarcrow

I also carry vintage components and antique dolls from around the world.