jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Aug 29, 2016 8:00:45 GMT -5
Have to open these up once in a while as a reminder of how cool this hobby is.
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Aug 29, 2016 16:49:53 GMT -5
How do you DO that? Those are beyond words. Do me a favor please post a pic of some of your rejects (if you have any that you reject) so that I can feel like you're at least partially human. Otherwise, I will be left to assume that you are an alien being with skills and tools beyond my comprehension. That will help me sleep at night, even if it's not true. =)
Those are the kinds of stones I humbly aspire to at some point. Thank you for sharing!
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Aug 29, 2016 16:56:14 GMT -5
10
11
Can someone tell me what that last rock is?
That one is a VERY dangerous, highly unstable agate that could blow up and take all of your house with it. Fortunately, I have a holding facility in my basement, and I will bravely and nobly volunteer to keep it and the rest of the world safe. =) Seriously though to answer your question, that rock is... really pretty.
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Post by adam on Aug 29, 2016 17:20:29 GMT -5
Holy crap, 2,4,5--all mega fantastic. Crystal clear amethysts.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Aug 30, 2016 11:26:20 GMT -5
How do you DO that? Those are beyond words. Do me a favor please post a pic of some of your rejects (if you have any that you reject) so that I can feel like you're at least partially human. Otherwise, I will be left to assume that you are an alien being with skills and tools beyond my comprehension. That will help me sleep at night, even if it's not true. =) Those are the kinds of stones I humbly aspire to at some point. Thank you for sharing! Alright, huskeric , you're a funny guy and you made my 10 year old son laugh with your comment, so I'll show you some of the ones that got left on the cutting room floor, as they say, if it will improve your outlook.
First are the ones that never made it until the end of a tumble. On the left are ones that never saw the inside of a barrel. Straight to the reject bowl. Then, in the middle, are ones that made it into stage one, but got pulled before going any further. Either not going to take a shine, too fractured to be worth the space in the barrel, or just 'not feeling it'. On the right are ones that got pulled before reaching the polish stage because things aren't going well and probably never will.
Of course, some of them make it all the way through to the end and are never going to be standouts, but they are still not exactly rejects either. They get in the large group photos of my batches, but not the smaller group or individual shots. They go to a bowl in the basement, to be handed out to neighborhood kids. We'll call this the island of misfit rocks.
They are mostly rocks that are either nondescript and plain, have deep fractures that weren't going to go away, funny shaped, undercut, chipped, or I just already have similar others that I liked better. These fall in that category.
Just so you don't think I'm a complete stingy ogre, there are decent rocks in there for them to choose from too.
The best ones get to live upstairs in a different bowl, or some have been set aside for wire wrapping projects, made into fridge magnets, etc. No, not every rock coming out of the barrel is a peach, some are going to be raspberries. My reject bowl has not grown much lately though. A better understanding of materials and a more selective process has weeded out most rejects before making it into the barrel. With limited space and huge time commitment, it pays to be really selective with what goes in there. These days, I expect a handful out of every batch to head to the basement bowl and the rest are 'keepers'.
Now, go rest easy and sleep well tonight.
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Aug 30, 2016 21:06:50 GMT -5
OK, your first picture looks like you hacked my Photobucket account and posted my final polish out of my first batch (and second, third and...). I grew up near Boys Town, and so I guess I've adopted the Father Flanagan philosophy of "there's no such thing as a bad rock." I would try to find a way to polish those poor little misfits on the left, and take the whole batch down with them. I am picking up a ton of great pointers, and seeing some of this helps to understand your creative process.
I still don't know what I don't know about rock tumbling and polishing, but I'm 83% less stupid than I was a month ago. I think that getting better about every phase of the game, starting with picking the rocks that I'm going to tumble, then the "recipes" for going about it and paying attention to what worked and what didn't (and then writing it down so it isn't lost forever) will make me better, little by little.
I started with the assumption that when you buy a tumbling mix off eBay, everything that comes in the bag
a) is ready to go into the tumbler as-is
b) should tumble well with everything else that's in the bag
c) really has any business going into the tumbler at all
Then, when it comes to the tumbling process:
a) Dump everything in, sorta pay attention to the directions and they'll be museum quality gemstones in 20 minutes.
e) Buy LOTS and LOTS of stuff off eBay based on how pretty you imagine it could be
f) Winging it and not taking any sort of notes is the mark of a true artist
There's lots more bullets that I am sure I could add, but I'd like to retain a modicum of dignity for now. =)
I'll sleep a little better, but I'm still gonna keep my eye on you... ;-)
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icatz
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2015
Posts: 453
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Post by icatz on Aug 31, 2016 8:04:39 GMT -5
That last one looks like some type of marble. It sort of looks like my Travertine, but different. When I used to tumble, all I ever got really shiny were the hand-trapped agates I found outside of town. Nothing else would shine up. These are terrific.
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shermandukejewelry
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Retired, learning jewelry design
Member since July 2016
Posts: 93
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Post by shermandukejewelry on Sept 4, 2016 13:33:02 GMT -5
OK, your first picture looks like you hacked my Photobucket account and posted my final polish out of my first batch (and second, third and...). I grew up near Boys Town, and so I guess I've adopted the Father Flanagan philosophy of "there's no such thing as a bad rock." I would try to find a way to polish those poor little misfits on the left, and take the whole batch down with them. I am picking up a ton of great pointers, and seeing some of this helps to understand your creative process. I still don't know what I don't know about rock tumbling and polishing, but I'm 83% less stupid than I was a month ago. I think that getting better about every phase of the game, starting with picking the rocks that I'm going to tumble, then the "recipes" for going about it and paying attention to what worked and what didn't (and then writing it down so it isn't lost forever) will make me better, little by little. I started with the assumption that when you buy a tumbling mix off eBay, everything that comes in the bag a) is ready to go into the tumbler as-is
b) should tumble well with everything else that's in the bag c) really has any business going into the tumbler at all Then, when it comes to the tumbling process: a) Dump everything in, sorta pay attention to the directions and they'll be museum quality gemstones in 20 minutes. e) Buy LOTS and LOTS of stuff off eBay based on how pretty you imagine it could be
f) Winging it and not taking any sort of notes is the mark of a true artist
There's lots more bullets that I am sure I could add, but I'd like to retain a modicum of dignity for now. =) I'll sleep a little better, but I'm still gonna keep my eye on you... ;-) Your tumbler got smarter.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 5, 2016 19:46:19 GMT -5
These are so fantastic. Can you tell me what 8 are. I definitely want to buy some of that to tumble. Ocean Jasper, extinct in the wild. Readily found in the USA on eBay and other venues. Open your wallet wide... Sabre52 can you name #11? Guess I'll just have to dream and drool over the photos. That stuff looks fantastic but my budget is tiny.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 8, 2016 22:48:40 GMT -5
Wow just looking at those pictures again just amazing!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 9, 2016 10:38:56 GMT -5
Ocean Jasper, extinct in the wild. Readily found in the USA on eBay and other venues. Open your wallet wide... Sabre52 can you name #11? Guess I'll just have to dream and drool over the photos. That stuff looks fantastic but my budget is tiny. That ocean jasper was $15 for two pounds. Higher than I want to pay for rough, but certainly didn't break the bank. It was worth it to try something different and I've spread it over a few batches, so it's lasted a while.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 10, 2016 17:11:24 GMT -5
Guess I'll just have to dream and drool over the photos. That stuff looks fantastic but my budget is tiny. That ocean jasper was $15 for two pounds. Higher than I want to pay for rough, but certainly didn't break the bank. It was worth it to try something different and I've spread it over a few batches, so it's lasted a while. If I can find some ocean jasper for that price I will definitely pick it up. That stuff looks really cool. For some reason I'm starting to feel like I have a special talent for messing up rocks. Another one that is driving me nuts is a piece of green tree agate that I got in a bag of tumbling rough when I got my tumbler. It is undercutting as well. I will definitely share some photos in hopes they might shed some light on why I am getting the results I am.
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