hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 14:23:48 GMT -5
I have been slow to photograph some of my finished tumbles (in addition to being slow at tumbling...) but took some time to catch up on a few batches. I finished this batch of Quartzite a few months ago or so. I know some may not find Quartzite too interesting, but I find some varieties to be very appealing. I love some of the colors that can be present. [Click for larger] Image 1: Group photo Images 2-5: Close-ups
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Post by velodromed on May 5, 2023 14:45:00 GMT -5
Very nice shine on those! Iโve been collecting quartzite for the last couple of months and have enough for the 17lb tumbler, when it eventually comes available that is.
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Post by Son Of Beach on May 5, 2023 14:59:50 GMT -5
Those are cool, I like the muted colors and texture
I'm guessing you took extra care with that batch?
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 15:46:53 GMT -5
Very nice shine on those! Iโve been collecting quartzite for the last couple of months and have enough for the 17lb tumbler, when it eventually comes available that is. Thank you! I look forward to seeing yours as well!
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 15:48:41 GMT -5
Those are cool, I like the muted colors and texture
I'm guessing you took extra care with that batch?
Thank you! Yes, I made sure there was plenty of 'cushion' to help avoid the roughed up edges that seem to plague quartzite tumbles (at least in rotary, which is all I have). I believe there was more ceramic media in the barrel than rocks.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on May 5, 2023 15:54:25 GMT -5
Beautiful tumbles. Great job!
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chris1956
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2022
Posts: 1,266
Member is Online
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Post by chris1956 on May 5, 2023 16:05:53 GMT -5
Great polish! Whenever I polish quartzite from around this area (northwest Missouri), it is always a gamble whether it will polish well or not.
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Post by Son Of Beach on May 5, 2023 16:18:25 GMT -5
Those are cool, I like the muted colors and texture
I'm guessing you took extra care with that batch?
Thank you! Yes, I made sure there was plenty of 'cushion' to help avoid the roughed up edges that seem to plague quartzite tumbles (at least in rotary, which is all I have). I believe there was more ceramic media in the barrel than rocks. Can I ask your cushioning secret?
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 17:17:58 GMT -5
Beautiful tumbles. Great job! Thank you!
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 17:19:26 GMT -5
Great polish! Whenever I polish quartzite from around this area (northwest Missouri), it is always a gamble whether it will polish well or not. Thanks! Yeah, quartzite seems to be highly variable and surprisingly sensitive.
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 17:26:59 GMT -5
Thank you! Yes, I made sure there was plenty of 'cushion' to help avoid the roughed up edges that seem to plague quartzite tumbles (at least in rotary, which is all I have). I believe there was more ceramic media in the barrel than rocks. Can I ask your cushioning secret?
I went back and took a look at my notes. Turns out, my process was a little different than I remembered.
I usually don't use ceramic media for stage one; wouldn't be any different here. For the 'Medium' stage, I just used rocks and ceramic media (maybe around 50/50).
For the 'Fine', 'Pre-Polish', and 'Polish' stages I filled the Lortone 3A barrel as follows: Rocks to 1.5", flexible tile spacers to 2.5", and ceramic media to 3". The 3A barrel is around 4" inside, so that makes it around 75% full (which is my standard fill).
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,595
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Post by dillonf on May 5, 2023 20:37:35 GMT -5
Can I ask your cushioning secret?
I went back and took a look at my notes. Turns out, my process was a little different than I remembered.
I usually don't use ceramic media for stage one; wouldn't be any different here. For the 'Medium' stage, I just used rocks and ceramic media (maybe around 50/50).
For the 'Fine', 'Pre-Polish', and 'Polish' stages I filled the Lortone 3A barrel as follows: Rocks to 1.5", flexible tile spacers to 2.5", and ceramic media to 3". The 3A barrel is around 4" inside, so that makes it around 75% full (which is my standard fill).
Looks like your method is spot on! Stones have a great shine. Lots of nice colors in that batch!!
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 5, 2023 20:54:24 GMT -5
Looks like your method is spot on! Stones have a great shine. Lots of nice colors in that batch!! Thank you! I had some subpar results with quartzite before and thought I would experiment a little; I am happy with the results.
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Post by jasoninsd on May 6, 2023 0:41:32 GMT -5
Your experiment paid off big time! Great results...and great pics too!!
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,751
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Post by khara on May 6, 2023 11:01:20 GMT -5
Those are really pretty. I love the pastel shades. Those would look good in a little display bowl. I like the texture within the green surface especially.๐
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Post by kate_foundlings on May 6, 2023 11:05:42 GMT -5
Wow those are stunning!!
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 6, 2023 15:09:10 GMT -5
Your experiment paid off big time! Great results...and great pics too!! Thank you!
Yeah, I have a tendency to fiddle around with things. It has really slowed down my tumbling output, since I have been in the process of re-polishing/tumbling a few batches of rocks.
Although, I don't know that I can say 'slowed down' when I was slow to begin with ๐.
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 6, 2023 15:12:27 GMT -5
Those are really pretty. I love the pastel shades. Those would look good in a little display bowl. I like the texture within the green surface especially.๐ Thank you! I really love the colors as well. They look really nice mixed together, but the green and orange colors are probably my favorite in this batch. It is interesting how some of them look textured even though they are mostly smooth. One of them (in the first close-up) even looks like it has a hole in it, but it doesn't! (it is just a clear bit of rock)
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 435
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Post by hypodactylus on May 6, 2023 15:14:25 GMT -5
Thank you, I enjoyed the process!
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Post by nowyo on May 9, 2023 9:49:37 GMT -5
Those turned out nice. That can be a finicky material.
Russ
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