Marble Sphere
Nantahala Quarry
Nantahala Gorge, NC

Photos by: Rick Jacquot
Sphere cut by Phil Daly

I collected this 100+ pound hunk of banded marble in 2005 at a MAGMA Club dig. It sat outside in my rock garden for years. I took it to my friend Phil Daly several months ago and asked if he could make a sphere out of it. He had cut a smaller sphere for me previously out of Graves Mountain lazulite and it turned out great. Phil said he could do it, so I left it with him. I visited a few times over the following months to check on the progress. It burned up one of the motors on the machine that needed to be replaced. I got a call in late October that it was finished. I picked it up on November 3rd, 2018. It is fantastic! Thank you Phil!!!

100+ pound rough marble fresh from the Nantahala Quarry in 2005.

After a lot of cutting and trimming, Phil was able to get the rough sphere on the machine to begin the long tedious work of grinding and shaping. Spring/Summer 2018.

More grinding to be done. The right side motor burned up and had to be replaced during the process.

The finished sphere! Measures: 8 1/2" diameter. Weighs: 34 pounds. About the size of a ten pen bowling ball. Colors: pink, purple, blue, yellow, green. November 3rd, 2018. Modeled by Little MoJo.

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