JC
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 107
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Post by JC on Oct 24, 2004 12:20:30 GMT -5
Another in my string of newbie questions. You guys always mention about discarding or re-tumbling rocks with fractures. Enclosed are some pictures of my current aquamarine tumble. These have just come out of the second week of 80 grit tumbling. Some definite fractures are visible. Here are some questions: 1. Do I continue to tumble at 80 until the fractures disappears or are smoothed out? 2. Do I attempt to break the rock at the fracture points? 3. At what point do I truly discard the rock? 4. Do I attempt to Dremmel out the jagged fractures or just tumble? The majority of my tumble is at the stage, from a newbie perspective, that I think is ready for the next grit level. I'm perfectly willing to discard but just wanted some expert opinions and practical experience help. TIA JC
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Post by docone31 on Oct 24, 2004 12:27:32 GMT -5
Ok. What I do, either tumbling or faceting with fractures that size is soak them in CA. I like the real thin CA and I just soak them. The surface adhesive will be either faceted or tumbled off. The fractures that will fall off will in either medium. Let it soak for a few days in a small container of CA. I get mine from the fleamarket. It comes in packs of five for a dollar. I get about ten packs, put them in a small polyethelene container. I then set the stone in the CA so it is completely covered. Cover the container and go away for a few days. What can be sealed will be. I have saved more than a few stones that way.
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JC
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 107
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Post by JC on Oct 24, 2004 12:33:56 GMT -5
Okay...
1. What is CA?
2. Do you seal before the first tumble or sometime after that?
Thanks!
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Post by rockyraccoon on Oct 24, 2004 15:14:13 GMT -5
yeah doc what is CA? interesting.
kim
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Post by docone31 on Oct 24, 2004 16:12:45 GMT -5
Cyanoacrolate ester. Crazy Glue.
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Post by krazydiamond on Oct 24, 2004 16:30:27 GMT -5
i've heard of using Krazy Glue, but those fractures look pretty serious, JC....i'd run'em again, and keep running them until i got those a little better.....some rocks are just prone to fracturing....depends on what your end use is....i've taken some fairly useless rose quartz that was terribly fractured and used it as dunnage in many a load and every now and then i let one go into polish stage it is so smooth. course it started out life as a big rock and ends up as a teeny one....
KD
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Oct 24, 2004 17:22:15 GMT -5
If they were my rocks, in the 2nd and 4th photos I'd take a chisel and try to chip off the raised part surrounded by all the fractures. I'd tumble the big parts of each rock and discard the chips.
In the first photo, that dark spot in the bottom middle might be some softer material that extends deep into the stone (hard to tell from the photo). If that is the case, I would break the rock at that point with a chisel, try to remove any softer material, and continue to tumble both halves.
In the third photo, it doesn't look bad so I'd keep tumbling it as is until it is completely smoothed.
When would I abandon things?...when it looked like the fractures or pits were too deep so that it would take excessive tumbling to remove them, or when I hit a soft inclusion that went deep and was just going to keep pitting the more it is tumbled. Never tried the dremel option myself, and I find a bench grinder so tediously slow that I don't use one.
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JC
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 107
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Post by JC on Oct 24, 2004 19:42:44 GMT -5
Thanks for the help Rollingstone, that was the kind of critique I was looking for.
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Post by connrock on Oct 24, 2004 20:04:29 GMT -5
HI JC, You've got some good advice from the others but i'd like to add my 2 cents anyway. I don't want to dissapoint or offend you but if all of the aquamarine looks like the 4 photo's I don't think you will be satisfied with the results you'll get. You WILL seal some of the fractures but the major problem that I see is that you didn't prep the rough before you started tumbling it.If you start over again and trim off all of the loose material you'll stand a much better chance of getting it to polish. That being said,aquamarine is not the best material for a "newbie" to try to polish.The norm would be agate or jasper.These materials can be much more forgiving and DO polish up as if they were wet. I can't tell you to trash the aquamarine as I know that would be foolish but I would say to trim it up and start over again.Even if the pieces are small as long as they are preped right they WILL shine up for you. Tom
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JC
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 107
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Post by JC on Oct 24, 2004 20:11:54 GMT -5
HI JC, You've got some good advice from the others but i'd like to add my 2 cents anyway. I don't want to dissapoint or offend you but if all of the aquamarine looks like the 4 photo's I don't think you will be satisfied with the results you'll get. You WILL seal some of the fractures but the major problem that I see is that you didn't prep the rough before you started tumbling it.If you start over again and trim off all of the loose material you'll stand a much better chance of getting it to polish. That being said,aquamarine is not the best material for a "newbie" to try to polish.The norm would be agate or jasper.These materials can be much more forgiving and DO polish up as if they were wet. I can't tell you to trash the aquamarine as I know that would be foolish but I would say to trim it up and start over again.Even if the pieces are small as long as they are preped right they WILL shine up for you. Tom Cool, I get what you mean. What specific tools do you use in prepping the rocks? When I first looked at the rough rocks I figured it would be easier to tumble the mass for a couple of weeks in 80 grit to see what would happen instead of trimming the lot up front. I take it you prep all the rocks to as close to final rough shape BEFORE you even do the first tumble? I don’t hold any illusions to the final outcome at this point. I’m just having some fun and learning new things. Thanks for the help.
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Oct 24, 2004 22:55:10 GMT -5
I have a couple of agates in coarse tumble. they are there so I can get a little more of an idea on what is inside them for color. when I take them out I might cut them and tumble again only this time all the way through to final polish.
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Post by connrock on Oct 25, 2004 19:20:03 GMT -5
JC, Well now your learning something.You can see just how long it takes to get rid of the "junk" on the rocks!!A little preping can go a long way. You don't have to prep the rough to perfection.All you have to do is get rid of any cracks,pits,sharp edges,deep holes and any concave areas that are at a sharp angle. A lot of this can be done on a steel plat using a chipping hammer and or a sharp cold chisel. The hardest thing to remove are the sharp concave areas.The only way to get rid of them is either by cutting with a diamond saw or by grinding.Some people use a common bench grinder and others use silicon carbid or diamond wheels. In this hobby you can spend as much or as little as you want to get the job done.It's all up to you. Another good technique was mentioned by Warren. Sometimes it's hard to tell just what to trim until you can get a better look at the rock.As warren suggested,you can rough tumble your rocks for a week and then choose which need trimming and which rocks are ready to go. In any case,in order to get a perfect shine on your rocks you MUST rough them until they are free of any imperfections. I hope this helps a little and good luck,,,,,,,,,, Tom
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Post by connrock on Oct 25, 2004 19:21:35 GMT -5
JC, Well now your learning something.You can see just how long it takes to get rid of the "junk" on the rocks!!A little preping can go a long way. You don't have to prep the rough to perfection.All you have to do is get rid of any cracks,pits,sharp edges,deep holes and any concave areas that are at a sharp angle. A lot of this can be done on a steel plat using a chipping hammer and or a sharp cold chisel. The hardest thing to remove are the sharp concave areas.The only way to get rid of them is either by cutting with a diamond saw or by grinding.Some people use a common bench grinder and others use silicon carbid or diamond wheels. In this hobby you can spend as much or as little as you want to get the job done.It's all up to you. Another good technique was mentioned by Warren. Sometimes it's hard to tell just what to trim until you can get a better look at the rock.As warren suggested,you can rough tumble your rocks for a week and then choose which need trimming and which rocks are ready to go. In any case,in order to get a perfect shine on your rocks you MUST rough them until they are free of any imperfections. I hope this helps a little and good luck,,,,,,,,,, Tom
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Post by connrock on Oct 25, 2004 19:23:29 GMT -5
JC, Well now your learning something.You can see just how long it takes to get rid of the "junk" on the rocks!!A little preping can go a long way. You don't have to prep the rough to perfection.All you have to do is get rid of any cracks,pits,sharp edges,deep holes and any concave areas that are at a sharp angle. A lot of this can be done on a steel plat using a chipping hammer and or a sharp cold chisel. The hardest thing to remove are the sharp concave areas.The only way to get rid of them is either by cutting with a diamond saw or by grinding.Some people use a common bench grinder and others use silicon carbid or diamond wheels. In this hobby you can spend as much or as little as you want to get the job done.It's all up to you. Another good technique was mentioned by Warren. Sometimes it's hard to tell just what to trim until you can get a better look at the rock.As warren suggested,you can rough tumble your rocks for a week and then choose which need trimming and which rocks are ready to go. In any case,in order to get a perfect shine on your rocks you MUST rough them until they are free of any imperfections. I hope this helps a little and good luck,,,,,,,,,, Tom
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Post by connrock on Oct 25, 2004 19:30:21 GMT -5
I don't know what happened but my reply came up 3 times. Sorry,,,,,, Tom
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Post by krazydiamond on Oct 25, 2004 19:34:19 GMT -5
(re) inserting my 2 cents (pence), for people that do not have the advantage of extracurricular lapidary tools ( i.e. beyond tumblers), redoing them over and over is the only tried and true method to acheiving the desired results...
and even then there may be some old gnarlies that will never be perfect.
keep a jar of do-overs! sooner or later, some will be redeemed or they will be reduced in the effort...no rock goes wasted.
it's all in the process, KD
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Post by cookie3rocks on Oct 25, 2004 21:34:35 GMT -5
I have some great stones that only have one problem... Fractures! I'm going to try the crazy glue thing. I wear artifitial nails, so, like american express, I don't leave home without it cookie
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Post by docone31 on Oct 25, 2004 21:44:34 GMT -5
Cookie, the stone needs to be submerged for a time in the CA. It then needs to air out for a while. Wait untill you see the result!
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Post by Cher on Oct 25, 2004 22:46:08 GMT -5
Doc, what do you use to get the stone out of the super glue so you don't end up with super glue all over everything? Also, isn't it going to stick to whatever you put it on to dry? You said you bought packets of super glue, is this something you mix? I've never seen it except in those little tubes from the store. Sorry for being so ignorant about this.
Cher
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Post by cookie3rocks on Oct 25, 2004 22:51:12 GMT -5
Doc, what can you put the stone on as it dries that it won't stick to permenantly? Or is that something you just take into account?
cookie
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