freshrock
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2015
Posts: 7
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Post by freshrock on Feb 6, 2015 19:57:10 GMT -5
Just joined today! I am very excited to learn more about tumbling & rocks. I am currently tumbling my first batch ever. I've already pulled some stones, I can't wait to get them polished!! I'll be around, asking newbie questions proudly.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 6, 2015 21:15:16 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan, Freshrock! My sister lives in Tennessee. Are there any good rocks there? There are a lot of caves around her house, so I think her area is probably mostly limestone. I don't visit often, but if there was somewhere to go hounding, I'd go.
I'm going to give you the most common advice that new tumblers need. The directions that came with your tumbler that told you to leave the rocks in the first stage for one week were wrong. The first stage usually takes several weeks to several months. Each week, take out only the rocks that are completely free of cracks and holes. Replace them with more rough rocks. Don't start stage two until you've collected enough rocks from stage one to fill a barrel.
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blessed
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by blessed on Feb 6, 2015 21:39:11 GMT -5
Hello Freshrock from Oklahoma. That is a very good name for a new person. Jugglerguy nailed it right on the head. Don't follow the directions that came with your tumbler. James B
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Feb 6, 2015 22:09:18 GMT -5
Welcome! Don't be afraid to read as many recipes for tumbling as you can find on this site! You may very well take a "piece" of each of them to make up your own. You'll also find the kind of tumbler, size, type of rock, etc. will also be part of the success at this game. Good luck. and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 8, 2015 11:23:15 GMT -5
Howdy and welcome to the forum................Great place,great people and a great education on rocks and hounding them...
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Post by fantastic5 on Feb 8, 2015 11:35:37 GMT -5
Welcome freshrock! I live just outside of Chattanooga, what part of the state are you in? We've got quite a few field collectors here in the SE. Do you field collect as well as tumble? Always looking for new collecting buddies! Welcome from Michigan, Freshrock! My sister lives in Tennessee. Are there any good rocks there? There are a lot of caves around her house, so I think her area is probably mostly limestone. I don't visit often, but if there was somewhere to go hounding, I'd go. Come on down and visit your sister. We've got great places to collect within 1-3 hours of Chattanooga. I'd be glad to take you out!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 8, 2015 13:02:50 GMT -5
I might do that some day. Are there any good rocks up near Cookeville?
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Post by vegasjames on Feb 8, 2015 14:18:33 GMT -5
Welcome from Las Vegas, Nevada
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Post by Pat on Feb 8, 2015 14:30:44 GMT -5
Welcome from California. Not a rock tumbler, but I have two tumblers for other purposes.
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Post by broseph82 on Feb 8, 2015 19:40:07 GMT -5
I might do that some day. Are there any good rocks up near Cookeville? Lots of agate and TN jasper.
Welcome freshrock
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freshrock
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2015
Posts: 7
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Post by freshrock on Feb 9, 2015 16:50:09 GMT -5
Thank you everyone! I'm going to use that information on my next batch, this one was definately a test batch. ? It is wonderful to meet you all! I'm excited to have joined this enthusiastic & such friendly group. fantastic5I live in Chattanooga! I do not know of anywhere to collect rocks, though I have been picking them since I was little. My collect fills a tissue box but I really hope it will grow. Also that I can learn more about the rocks and great places to go find them. I would love a buddy to rock hunt with!
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Post by broseph82 on Feb 10, 2015 15:55:10 GMT -5
Thank you everyone! I'm going to use that information on my next batch, this one was definately a test batch. ? It is wonderful to meet you all! I'm excited to have joined this enthusiastic & such friendly group. fantastic5I live in Chattanooga! I do not know of anywhere to collect rocks, though I have been picking them since I was little. My collect fills a tissue box but I really hope it will grow. Also that I can learn more about the rocks and great places to go find them. I would love a buddy to rock hunt with! Go hiking, find rocks.
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Post by fantastic5 on Feb 10, 2015 16:51:56 GMT -5
I might do that some day. Are there any good rocks up near Cookeville? Agate, but hard to get permission to collect. And some world class fluorite and calcite from the mines. But again off limits.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 10, 2015 16:58:12 GMT -5
What sort of places is agate found in that you need permission to collect? Mines? Gravel pits? Are there beaches in Tennessee? I do almost all of my collecting on beaches in Michigan.
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garock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,168
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Post by garock on Feb 11, 2015 10:12:32 GMT -5
Welcome to the Forum, freshrock ! A great site of friendly folks and lots of information ! I am down the road in Georgia near Carrollton.
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Post by fantastic5 on Feb 11, 2015 17:55:10 GMT -5
What sort of places is agate found in that you need permission to collect? Mines? Gravel pits? Are there beaches in Tennessee? I do almost all of my collecting on beaches in Michigan. The state of TN prohibits all collecting on any state lands, with penalties of confiscating your vehicle, steep fines and potentially your entire collection at your home. Which only leaves private property. I have not had any success gaining access to potential agate locations. Most land owners who have agate on their property have had people trespass and take the material. TN Paint Rock Agate can command a huge price (to collectors) when certain patterns are found. 99% of the agate does not bring those outrageous prices, but the landowners mistakenly believe that people are stealing 10's of thousands of dollars worth of material, so they deny access. The only beaches we have in TN are on the man made TVA lakes. Outside of Knoxville is a lake that has small double terminated quartz crystals on it's shores. They can be found in the winter when the lake levels are dropped. But in the last few years TVA only allows surface collecting, no digging and no screening. That makes it very difficult to find many. Agate here in the humid south has opalized on the exterior when out of the ground. That makes it very difficult to know what you have until they are cut. The exterior is all white (or red clay stained white) and chipping a piece in the field is frowned upon, due to possibly creating fractures throughout (or so I've been told). I briefly had access to a very concentrated amount of agate, and I would say that 70% of what I brought home is a dud when cut. So far this is my only keeper and I had to take it to a friend in Nashville to cut as my saw is too small. You can see the common opal migrating into the agate. Most of my smaller ones have been completely replaced by the opal. Photographed dry. Not high dollar due to lack of 'ribbons'.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 11, 2015 18:10:06 GMT -5
Ok, that explains a lot. My sister has some land. It's a hobby farm on top of what she calls a mountain. I'd call it a large wooded hill. It's clear on top, but has woods going down the hill. I have no idea of there are any rocks there. She has a very low water filled cave, or more of a crevice that they pump water out of for the garden. Just down the road her neighbor has a large cave that we very briefly explored. Next time we visit, I'll do some research on what agates look like there. I don't think I'll risk losing my vehicle by picking up any rocks on state land!
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Post by fantastic5 on Feb 12, 2015 10:00:59 GMT -5
From what I have been told Jugglerguy, the agate is found at the 3600-4000 ft elevation. Pull up your sisters 'mountain' on google earth and see what the elevation is. We usually try and look in the creeks for any sign of agate, then follow uphill to the source. Easier said than done. There is supposed to be some nice colorful agate in the creeks around Sparta, TN. I've caved, hiked and backpacked in that area, but haven't found anything yet, but wasn't specifically looking either. I have found agate at Rock Island State Park. Neat to poke around the swimming area beach in the winter (water levels down). Lots of crinoids loose and in matrix and clear to very pale yellow agate. Unfortunately, being a state park it is illegal to keep any. The area near where your sister lives is well known for underground rivers and streams. It's possible that her cave may open up if you can get past the opening. Likely to link up to the neighbors too. I'm not a huge fan of water caves, but have done several. I just get cold too easily. Here's a picture of me from 10 years ago. This is Camps Gulf and is near your sisters. It holds the largest underground room in the eastern US 'The Rotunda Room'. 12 acres if I remember correctly. I sherpa'd for a camera crew from California who wanted to use their new lighting methods to see if they could photograph the room. I was picked to be in the picture because I could fit into the bright yellow cave suit. We set the camera equipment up on a beach, and just behind where the picture was taken is a good sized river. We must have carried 150 lbs of automotive batteries plus cameras, tripods, lights and laptops. One of the longest periods I have spent underground. Takes a good hour or two of HARD caving just to get into this room, with several very tight passage ways that you have to pull and push the gear through along the way. It would take me 15-20 minutes just to navigate the break down between the camera crew and where they wanted me for the picture. Gotta remember that this room was only lit up for a second at the most. The rest of the time we navigated by headlamp. When I was in position the rest of the crews lights were very small off in the distance. Headlamps cannot reach the walls most of the time in this room. It's a really odd feeling to be in such a vast, absolutely black space. Gosh I wish I was still in that kind of shape!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 12, 2015 12:08:44 GMT -5
freshrock, I hope you don't mind us having this discussion in your thread. Hopefully you're finding this information as interesting as I am. fantastic5, that picture is incredible! I love caves, but I've only done guided tours. We've been to Mammoth Cave, Linville Caverns in North Carolina, and Loray Caverns in Virginia. My kids and I were going to explore the cave near my sister's house, but we weren't really prepared for it. We just had summer clothes and a couple of flashlights that we borrowed from my sister. The cave was on a farm and the farmer was pumping water from the cave. The opening was big, but then there was about a four foot tunnel at the back with a small stream coming out of it. There were a bunch of cave salamanders and crickets in there. We had our only shoes on our feet and I told my son that we couldn't get them wet and his immediate reaction was to take them off and wade up this stream with silt, salamanders, and who knows what else. I like salamanders, but I wasn't crazy about wading barefoot through the silt, but off came my shoes. We were only in ten feet or so when our only large flashlight started flickering. I really had no intention of getting stuck in a pitch black cave with no light, so we quickly turned around. Next time I visit, I'll bring headlamps and water shoes. Looks like my sister's house is only at 1450 feet, so there probably won't be any agates.
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