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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 25, 2015 19:05:09 GMT -5
I've heard only heard of a few examples of Michgan enforcing rock collecting.
On a fossil forum, I was told to not bring a rock hammer to a particular beach in Alpena. I was told the DNR will ticket you. But collecting rocks for your personal collection is allowed there.
There's a local guy who slabs pudding stone, but also sells landscaping boulders. I heard he took his Bobcat onto a beach on state land (old Rockport Quarry) and hauled rocks out with it. DNR frowns on that.
In Pictured Rocks National Park no rocks can be collected. Actually I think Isle Royale is a national park too and collecting is prohibited there.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 29, 2015 15:08:27 GMT -5
My next experiment was to try to use my Petoskey method on another soft stone. A couple years ago, connrock attempted to help me polish Kona dolomite in my Lot-O. We tried three variations on the regular wet method with ceramic media, but it always went bad in 500 AO. This time, I ran the same rocks in 80 SC, followed by 220 SC, both in the rotary. Then I moved them to the Lot-O with corncob and no water. I did two days in 500 AO and everything was looking good. Then two days in corncob and polish. A couple things were different. I used a mix of Kona dolomite, a local fossil, and a few bead sized Petoskey stones. I put in more rocks than before, but they were smaller. I'm not sure how much the AO wears down using this process. With the 500, I added 1/2 tablespoon of AO to the same corncob and AO that I used on the last batch of Petoskey stones. The first time, with the Petoskeys I used a full tablespoon. When I got to the polish, I used the old corncob/polish mix with no additional polish. Both also still contained any rock dust produced in the last run. Here's what I got out. I'm not as happy with this batch. The black fossils and the Petoskeys were completely covered in a white dust that had to be scrubbed off with a toothbrush. The Kona had some too, but not as bad. The black fossils contain oil in the matrix, so maybe it stuck to the oil. This only happened in the polish stage, not the 500 stage. The black fossils did not shine up at all. Here's a picture of a fossil with the white film (left), the fossil that I scrubbed (bottom), and a larger fossil that I polished on a flat lap (upper right). Notice the shine I was able to get on a flat lap. The Lot-O did not shine these at all, they were smooth, but completely flat. I haven't tried Zam yet. Another comparison to a cab I made from the fossil. The cab is shiny, but it doesn't show up too well in the picture. This little guy polished up pretty well. A pretty bad one. The bottom half polished better than the top half. There is also stuff stuck in the tiny holes.
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 29, 2015 16:19:04 GMT -5
Since I'm a greenhorn I can't really comment on the polish procedures but I will say that those black fossils are some very interesting and pretty rocks. Very cool.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 29, 2015 16:25:46 GMT -5
Yep, I like them a lot. I just recently started slabbing some. I used to pass them up on the beach, but now I pick up the good ones.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Sept 29, 2015 16:31:49 GMT -5
First, cool black fossil material. Think about this, I can polish small obsidians in the vibe, over an inch is a problem. Like a collision factor due to mass. Seems like aluminum oxide would not break down like it does with harder rocks packed heavy in the vibe. So 500 to 1000 to polish may be necessary. Must have steps, or perhaps more steps. A true 500 or 1000 finish is not likely shiny. 5000 and 14,000 should be. 500 in the wet method seems to breakdown to 5000-8000 at least. May have to do 500-800-1000-3000 etc to get to polish ? in the glare it looks like a step was skipped, like tiny pits polished over:
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 29, 2015 16:53:50 GMT -5
Yep, I did skip 1000, but it worked out ok with the Petoskey stones. I'll add that in next time. I can't figure out the film on them though. I mentioned that those black fossils contain petroleum, but they don't feel oily. The Petoskeys were coated too and they weren't last time.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Sept 29, 2015 18:12:51 GMT -5
This has a great polish back from page 3. Is the 'rough' texture under the polish the same shape as the polyp pattern ? Like it dug in a bit as if undercutting in-between the polyp lines ? like the filler is softer than the lines.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 29, 2015 19:02:41 GMT -5
No, that happens when I rotary tumble with 500 grit. If I remember correctly the insides of the polyps wear faster than the perimeters. You can see the roughness in the glare on bottom left of the rock.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Sept 30, 2015 6:11:08 GMT -5
No, that happens when I rotary tumble with 500 grit. If I remember correctly the insides of the polyps wear faster than the perimeters. You can see the roughness in the glare on bottom left of the rock. I see. Still amazed at the polish. Polish on something that soft is big accomplishment no matter. Do you keep the corn cob + 500 separate from the corn cob +1000 and corn cob + polish separate ? Vibe available now, getting ready to try your stuff.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 30, 2015 8:27:52 GMT -5
I store each grit in a separate container and reuse it. I haven't done any at 1000 yet. I'm not sure how much grit I should be adding when I reuse it. I added to the 500, but not to the polish.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Sept 30, 2015 8:31:00 GMT -5
I store each grit in a separate container and reuse it. I haven't done any at 1000 yet. I'm not sure how much grit I should be adding when I reuse it. I added to the 500, but not to the polish. Yes, same questions. Where is the old school dry polisher ? Hello-are you out there ?? I see no choice to keep each grit mix separate.
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Oct 1, 2015 12:54:04 GMT -5
OP - I'm very surprised at your success with Petoskey's and really appreciate you taking the time to share your photos and your progress reports.
Having hundreds of pounds of 'em, I experimented a bit until I just got sick of wasting the capacity. Polished over a hundred by hand last winter; you don't have to be crazy but it sure helps.
The combination of quartz, calcite, dolomite, and other minerals, makes these things difficult to tumble.
Now I need to go find some corncob. Corn fields in every direction, you'd think it shouldn't be that hard, lol.
THANKS a ton for sharing your work, it's really encouraging. I'm very sure you can get Kona dolomite to shine, keep at it and keep posting!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 1, 2015 16:11:33 GMT -5
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nccmd
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 9
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Post by nccmd on Oct 4, 2015 17:51:59 GMT -5
I have tried corncob and polish with fluorite in the rotary and I could not get them to shine - it did not hurt the stone, no bruising or fracturing but never got a shine. I may try in the vibe.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 4, 2015 17:58:13 GMT -5
I have tried corncob and polish with fluorite in the rotary and I could not get them to shine - it did not hurt the stone, no bruising or fracturing but never got a shine. I may try in the vibe. Fluorite is one that is not posted here as a tumble very often at all. I tried one time but it was not worth the hassle for me. The rock shed has some instructions geared for fluorite www.therockshed.com/instructions3.htmlChuck
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 4, 2015 18:30:27 GMT -5
I really want to try fluorite sometime now the I have dry tumbling experience.
I just checked a batch of Petoskeys and they're all coated in a white film again. I washed them all off and I'm going to try fresh corncob and polish. They made it through 500 and corncob with no problems. The white film doesn't seem to have done any harm, but I don't think the rocks can be polished through the coating. Something in that Kona/Petoskey/black fossil batch contaminated my corncob.
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nccmd
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 9
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Post by nccmd on Oct 4, 2015 18:37:45 GMT -5
Can easily find corn cob at local feed store as they use if for bedding for small animals. Very cheap at the feed store.
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nccmd
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 9
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Post by nccmd on Oct 4, 2015 18:43:04 GMT -5
I have tried corncob and polish with fluorite in the rotary and I could not get them to shine - it did not hurt the stone, no bruising or fracturing but never got a shine. I may try in the vibe. Fluorite is one that is not posted here as a tumble very often at all. I tried one time but it was not worth the hassle for me. The rock shed has some instructions geared for fluorite www.therockshed.com/instructions3.htmlChuck These are the instructions I have been following except I tried the rotary the first time and will try the vibe this time. Can I put other stones with the same hardness life Lepidolite in with it?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 4, 2015 19:11:39 GMT -5
If I was trying something as difficult as fluorite, I wouldn't mix anything with it until I masters it alone.
I'll check Tractor Supply to see if the corncob looks like the Rockshed stuff. Thanks for the tip.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 4, 2015 19:13:41 GMT -5
Fluorite is one that is not posted here as a tumble very often at all. I tried one time but it was not worth the hassle for me. The rock shed has some instructions geared for fluorite www.therockshed.com/instructions3.htmlChuck These are the instructions I have been following except I tried the rotary the first time and will try the vibe this time. Can I put other stones with the same hardness life Lepidolite in with it? Here is a tip for searching this forum to see if others have asked your question in the past so you can see their replies and results. copy past this exact test into the google search bar. site:forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/ "fluorite"Chuck
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