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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 6, 2016 12:20:12 GMT -5
Just got some time to get photos and upload, so here is my June batch of tumbled stones. It looks like I'll be pulling lakers and crazy lace out of each batch for a while. They've been slow to finish, but I've still got more coming down the pipe. More photos than I usually post, but some of them deserved a smaller group shot.
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14 Oops, the green one came from the last batch. Don't know what it's doing here.
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18 Finally got blue tiger eye to come out like I wanted.
19 blue Kentucky chalcedony
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22 Thunderegg
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Sorry so long. Thanks for looking, if you made it this far.
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Jul 6, 2016 12:50:43 GMT -5
Awesome. Nice job on thr pix, too. I like the pink and green one in 3. I've never seen colors like that. What is it?
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bcgal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since March 2016
Posts: 94
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Post by bcgal on Jul 6, 2016 13:09:38 GMT -5
I love your ocean jasper!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 6, 2016 17:00:29 GMT -5
Wow, you have some high end rocks there. What is #20? I like it. Is #21 a Montana? The snowflakes in it are super cool. And the lakers, and the Bahias, and the ocean jasper...
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 6, 2016 17:36:03 GMT -5
Awesome. Nice job on thr pix, too. I like the pink and green one in 3. I've never seen colors like that. What is it? That is ocean jasper. Some of it tumbles better than other. It is pretty though.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 6, 2016 17:41:31 GMT -5
Wow, you have some high end rocks there. What is #20? I like it. Is #21 a Montana? The snowflakes in it are super cool. And the lakers, and the Bahias, and the ocean jasper... I only had a 33b to tumble in until the end of May. With low capacity, I made sure to fill it with quality rocks. Now with the 12 pounder, I'm not quite as selective. #20 is homegrown KY agate, glad you like it. I like the snowflake rock also.
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rastageezer
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 169
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Post by rastageezer on Jul 6, 2016 18:54:28 GMT -5
Really great! (I like that little rectangle Montana and the blue Tiger eye) Thanks!
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rodeodan
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 213
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Post by rodeodan on Jul 7, 2016 10:10:27 GMT -5
What a pretty batch
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Jul 7, 2016 13:05:29 GMT -5
Amazing super-polished finish!
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Jul 7, 2016 13:49:49 GMT -5
winner batch! nice photos, thanks for sharing.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Jul 17, 2016 13:16:26 GMT -5
You have great photos too garage. May I ask what camera you used ?
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 17, 2016 17:41:20 GMT -5
You have great photos too garage. May I ask what camera you used ? I'm using a Canon 60D with L series lenses. Mid range camera body, high end glass. Been collecting gear for about 12 years. Now I'm moving on to lapidary equipment, I guess.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Jul 17, 2016 21:08:30 GMT -5
I kinda figured you had a very nice lens. Spectacular
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Post by txrockhunter on Jul 17, 2016 21:20:12 GMT -5
Great shine on those! How long did you leave them in polish? Your flat surfaces look very well polished. I struggled with that on my last batch.
I love the crazy lace!!!
Jeremy
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 17, 2016 23:24:58 GMT -5
Great shine on those! How long did you leave them in polish? Your flat surfaces look very well polished. I struggled with that on my last batch. I love the crazy lace!!! Jeremy Thanks Jeremy. After coarse grind, that batch went 2 days Sic 120/220, 2 days 500, 2 days 1000, 2.5 days in polish. I don't photograph the handful of smalls I run in each Lot O batch, along with small ceramics. The crazy lace and ocean jasper drive me nuts, because some pieces have small fractures that aren't realistically going to go away. After about 3 months of rotary grind, I just put them through and hoped for the best.
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indiana
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2015
Posts: 285
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Post by indiana on Jul 24, 2016 14:01:42 GMT -5
Some really beautiful stuff!
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rdh1079
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2016
Posts: 11
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Post by rdh1079 on Sept 7, 2016 22:21:15 GMT -5
Where do you get 1000 grit? Totally new to this and can't seem to find it. Well I did find one lb of it on amazon for $16 plus another $16 to ship but that seemed a bit rich for me!
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rdh1079
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2016
Posts: 11
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Post by rdh1079 on Sept 7, 2016 22:39:58 GMT -5
Also, I read that 1000 grit is useful for softer stones not so much for harder stuff, looks like these are mainly agates, are they softer agates? Or have you just found that what I read is just wrong? I want my rocks to look like yours so I'll take your word for it!
Is there a thread somewhere that outlines your process and equipment?
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 8, 2016 8:00:08 GMT -5
Where do you get 1000 grit? Totally new to this and can't seem to find it. Well I did find one lb of it on amazon for $16 plus another $16 to ship but that seemed a bit rich for me! A lot of people on here get their grit from The Rock Shed. They have all the grit, ceramic and plastic media and anything else you'd need for tumbling. If you buy in bulk, there are a couple other places you can find a good deal. You'll likely pay more for your materials on Amazon, especially rock for tumbling.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 8, 2016 8:25:56 GMT -5
Also, I read that 1000 grit is useful for softer stones not so much for harder stuff, looks like these are mainly agates, are they softer agates? Or have you just found that what I read is just wrong? I want my rocks to look like yours so I'll take your word for it! Is there a thread somewhere that outlines your process and equipment? Welcome to the forum and thanks for the compliment. You should go to the visitors and members section and tell everyone a little about yourself and get a proper welcome.
You can skip the 1,000 step on harder materials or just run your 500 stage longer on the last cleanout to let it break down to the point it acts as your 1,000 step. I run a 1,000 stage because A) I usually run a variety of materials, some softer, in my Lot O vibe tumbler. B) I have the 1,000 grit and only use 1/2 teaspoon each time I use it. C) It adds only a couple days to a tumble that may have taken 3 months up to that time. D) I've gotten results I'm happy with, so why change it?
I tumble my course stage in a Lortone QT12 and a Lortone 33B. Delicate or softer material goes in the small 3 pound barrels with media to cushion and the 12 pound beast gets the rest. If you only could get one tumbler, I'd suggest the QT66. It has two barrels, so you can keep grinding away in one barrel and progress a batch through the other stages on the other side. A lot of people here, myself included, use a vibe tumbler to do stage 2 through polish. They seem to be more forgiving and use a fraction of the grit and electricity to get those stages done. The Lot O is my weapon of choice and it's never failed me.
If you let us know what type of equipment you've got and what you're doing now, you'll get better input as far as the processes that have worked for others.
Randy
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