tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Jun 9, 2018 9:20:21 GMT -5
Finished my first batch of the year. It was a mixed batch of jaspers, agates, obsidian, feldspars, chert and gabbro. This particular mix yielded mixed results. All the Mohs 7 stuff fared well. Feldspars and gabbro turned out poor to good for the most part. The obsidian got scratched up so the shine was sub-par for what I usually get. Part two of the mixed batch, some obsidian and some Illinois finds. The obsidian took a shine but the quality of the shine was compromised. It has metallic streaks probably from the Gabbro. It also has a lot of tiny scratches on the surface. I think the scratches occurred during the polish phase when one of the feldspars began to disintegrate. These will be re-run in the future so only a couple pics. IMG_4578 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr IMG_4582 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr Some Illinois material, mostly chert, and a little bit of feldspar at about 6:00 in the pic. IMG_4560 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr Crinoid fossils are somewhat common. IMG_4576 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr A few with less than common colors/features. IMG_4571 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr This little guy is about the size of a dime and it's hollow. Sure has a lot going on though. What do you all think, Agate? IMG_4568 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr IMG_4564 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr IMG_4565 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr Some Carnelian, quickly becoming a favorite of mine. It's a stone that generally has a lot of fractures but breaks cleanly along them. I use it as a "filler" stone after it's broken up. IMG_4556 by Ken Vancil, on Flickr End of part two ... Thanks for looking and keep on rollin' them stones.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 9, 2018 21:31:24 GMT -5
I love the carnelians too, but they’re so small that its a pain to sort through them each week when cleaning the barrel. They’re really cheerful looking.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Jun 10, 2018 7:07:01 GMT -5
Well done. Great job on the big obsidians, tricky polishing them without bruising them.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Jun 10, 2018 7:41:54 GMT -5
Well done. Great job on the big obsidians, tricky polishing them without bruising them. Thanks. The shine is okay, have had much better. I think the Labradorite shed tiny particles in the polish run causing tiny scratches. Going to re-run sometime.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Jun 10, 2018 7:55:55 GMT -5
Well done. Great job on the big obsidians, tricky polishing them without bruising them. Thanks. The shine is okay, have had much better. I think the Labradorite shed tiny particles in the polish run causing tiny scratches. Going to re-run sometime. Labradorite is felspar basically. Check out the chemical composition of felspar, it is loaded with aluminum oxide. We have 2 rocks in Atlanta - quartz and felspar = granite. Yes, I would think the labra particles could certainly scratch your obsidian.
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Post by Psycho on Jun 12, 2018 5:58:57 GMT -5
I love Carnelian agate, very nice!
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Post by arghvark on Jun 18, 2018 21:40:27 GMT -5
Gorgeous! The little white guy looks very similar to some rhyolitic agate I've found on the UT/NV border even down to the voids. (The stuff I have found is agate, things I have read call it rhyolitic.)
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Post by aDave on Jun 18, 2018 21:47:21 GMT -5
Hmmm, I guess I missed this. Very nice. I especially like the obsidian. I'm tempted to try it, but with the rotary, I'm not sure yet. You've got me thinking.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Jun 19, 2018 7:01:24 GMT -5
Hmmm, I guess I missed this. Very nice. I especially like the obsidian. I'm tempted to try it, but with the rotary, I'm not sure yet. You've got me thinking. Bet you you can do it. coarse and 220 is easy. Do 85% barrel fill, preferably with kitty litter/clay slurry. Then add 50% pre-polished quartz pea gravel in AO 500 AO 1000 and AO polish and do 85% barrel fill and I will bet on you after that Lot-O rotary polish you do. Tumble small obsidians first go, say 3/4 to 1 1/4 to avoid the bruising game. C'mon Dave.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 19, 2018 9:53:15 GMT -5
Nice rolls.... Liking them all.......I roll my Obsidian in the rotary tumbler, takes patience and time/but can be done and come out nice!
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hh5
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 136
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Post by hh5 on Jun 19, 2018 14:11:31 GMT -5
Really like the Obsidians.
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