tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 9, 2019 16:34:21 GMT -5
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Post by vegasjames on Feb 9, 2019 19:28:49 GMT -5
Nice looking material and great job on on wrapping them.
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tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 9, 2019 19:37:27 GMT -5
All those are hand polished, I'm excited about my current tumbler load. It's my first ever.
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Post by vegasjames on Feb 9, 2019 19:38:23 GMT -5
Beautiful stuff.
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mud
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2018
Posts: 69
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Post by mud on Feb 9, 2019 20:20:01 GMT -5
Interesting. Keep us posted!
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Post by fernwood on Feb 10, 2019 2:42:53 GMT -5
Those are very special. Nice wraps.
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 10, 2019 8:45:51 GMT -5
Pretty nice, liking the wraps. Will be watching to see what you are doing and welcome aboard
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 10, 2019 10:53:55 GMT -5
Beautiful material coming from a use to be "living creature"... Always amazes me! Nice work!
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tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 10, 2019 11:49:52 GMT -5
Thank you. I have the privilege of owning a largely intact fan that a close native Alaskan friend gifted me with years ago. I've built a display, but polishing it delicately is like building a ship in a bottle, so I've got awhile before I can find the time and motivation to finish that one.
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on Feb 10, 2019 11:58:35 GMT -5
Beautiful stuff, so unusual
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 10, 2019 12:08:26 GMT -5
That branch is beyond beautiful. It is ethereal. Amazing. The other pieces are so organic. You can almost feel how ancient they are. Great job on the jewelry! What a nice way to preserve these treasures.
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tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 12, 2019 12:55:56 GMT -5
Here's some updated pictures, after I washed all the 500 grit alox while transferring back into tumbler. Now here's a question for the experienced tumblers: I put it into 1200 grit alox. That's considered a final polish. Would there be any benefit to a short run in cerium oxide (I have 1/2 lb of that as well)? I can't find any info anywhere on the final result comparison of 1200 grit alox and cerium. Acute knowledge of using them on silicified wood or coral would be especially helpful! Cost and time are not factors, and I'll be burnishing the stones in ivory post-polish. Thanks!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 12, 2019 13:17:21 GMT -5
Here's some updated pictures, after I washed all the 500 grit alox while transferring back into tumbler. Now here's a question for the experienced tumblers: I put it into 1200 grit alox. That's considered a final polish. Would there be any benefit to a short run in cerium oxide (I have 1/2 lb of that as well)? I can't find any info anywhere on the final result comparison of 1200 grit alox and cerium. Acute knowledge of using them on silicified wood or coral would be especially helpful! Cost and time are not factors, and I'll be burnishing the stones in ivory post-polish. Thanks! Not sure where you heard that 1200 is a final polish. For most of us 1000 or 1200 A/O is referred to as pre-polish. Cerium is a true polish although most folks here are using a sub-micron A/O polish as a final polish. Often called out as .3 micron or 14,000 grit. I have polished plenty of agatized coral and pet wood using the A/O polish and always get great results. I ditched my cerium oxide years ago so someone else may be able to chime in with more info on that. Your material looks awesome. I can't tell if your photos are taken dry or wet so it is hard to say if they look right coming out 500. I glanced through this thread but did not see if you are using a rotary or vibe tumbler for the final steps. Chuck
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tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 12, 2019 13:20:30 GMT -5
Here's some updated pictures, after I washed all the 500 grit alox while transferring back into tumbler. Now here's a question for the experienced tumblers: I put it into 1200 grit alox. That's considered a final polish. Would there be any benefit to a short run in cerium oxide (I have 1/2 lb of that as well)? I can't find any info anywhere on the final result comparison of 1200 grit alox and cerium. Acute knowledge of using them on silicified wood or coral would be especially helpful! Cost and time are not factors, and I'll be burnishing the stones in ivory post-polish. Thanks! Not sure where you heard that 1200 is a final polish. For most of us 1000 or 1200 A/O is referred to as pre-polish. Cerium is a true polish although most folks here are using a sub-micron A/O polish as a final polish. Often called out as .3 micron or 14,000 grit. I have polished plenty of agatized coral and pet wood using the A/O polish and always get great results. I ditched my cerium oxide years ago so someone else may be able to chime in with more info on that. Your material looks awesome. I can't tell if your photos are taken dry or wet so it is hard to say if they look right coming out 500. Chuck Just from this. I'm new to tumbling, so at this point I'm just following directions. :-)
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tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 12, 2019 13:29:56 GMT -5
I'm using rotary for everything, I might pick up a vibratory after my next season, but for now I'm on a budget as far as equipment goes. Thanks for the reply Chuck!
They came out fine from the 500, those pics are wet, but it's hard to take pictures of this stuff. They never look half as good as the real thing.
I started with 60 carbide, then 220 carbide, 500 alox, now 1200 alox. After what you said, it sounds like I'll benefit from a run in cerium before burnishing.
I kind of thought so.
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Post by aDave on Feb 12, 2019 13:30:53 GMT -5
Now here's a question for the experienced tumblers: I put it into 1200 grit alox. That's considered a final polish. Would there be any benefit to a short run in cerium oxide (I have 1/2 lb of that as well)? I can't find any info anywhere on the final result comparison of 1200 grit alox and cerium. Acute knowledge of using them on silicified wood or coral would be especially helpful! Cost and time are not factors, and I'll be burnishing the stones in ivory post-polish. When you mention that your 1200 is considered a final polish does that pertain to the steps you typically take when working on your coral? I ask because 1200 would not be considered a polish grit - it would be used for a pre-polish step in tumbling rocks. Common aluminum oxide polish (on average) is about 13,000 - 14,000 grit, and it can be had from most lapidary suppliers. Many of us get our AO polish from the Rock Shed. While it's not mentioned on the website, their polish is 13,000 and it works quite well for tumbling rocks. I've never done a direct comparison with AO polish to cerium oxide, but I've seen some posts here where the only apparent difference is cost. Never have done coral, but I have done petrified wood with AO polish, and it does quite well. jamesp has tumbled a bunch of coral in the past, so perhaps he'll jump in here with some input. ETA: Looks like Chuck beat me to it.
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tavin
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2019
Posts: 24
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Post by tavin on Feb 12, 2019 13:58:14 GMT -5
Now here's a question for the experienced tumblers: I put it into 1200 grit alox. That's considered a final polish. Would there be any benefit to a short run in cerium oxide (I have 1/2 lb of that as well)? I can't find any info anywhere on the final result comparison of 1200 grit alox and cerium. Acute knowledge of using them on silicified wood or coral would be especially helpful! Cost and time are not factors, and I'll be burnishing the stones in ivory post-polish. When you mention that your 1200 is considered a final polish does that pertain to the steps you typically take when working on your coral? I ask because 1200 would not be considered a polish grit - it would be used for a pre-polish step in tumbling rocks. Common aluminum oxide polish (on average) is about 13,000 - 14,000 grit, and it can be had from most lapidary suppliers. Many of us get our AO polish from the Rock Shed. While it's not mentioned on the website, their polish is 13,000 and it works quite well for tumbling rocks. I've never done a direct comparison with AO polish to cerium oxide, but I've seen some posts here where the only apparent difference is cost. Never have done coral, but I have done petrified wood with AO polish, and it does quite well. jamesp has tumbled a bunch of coral in the past, so perhaps he'll jump in here with some input. ETA: Looks like Chuck beat me to it. I've hand polished everything up to this point, with sandpaper. I stop using paper at 3m 2000grit wet/dry, and have been trying cerium oxide after that. I'm still experimenting. This stuff burns when you rotary polish with much speed. Thanks for the information! I'm feeling more confident that the 5th stage is required in this tumble. I read that when tumbled, alox tends to round out, which made me unsure if it would polish finer over time. I'm treating tumbling as a different monster from hand sanding entirely. Glad I'm asking questions!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 12, 2019 14:07:11 GMT -5
Using a rotary I highly recommend the polish step and 10-14 days instead of the 7 days that come with most instructions.
If you ever want to know what the results would be in vibe tumbler using A/O polish you could send me a couple pieces. I will tumble them and ship them back to you for comparison. My vibe tumbler runs 24-7-365 so it is no extra work to toss in a couple rocks.
Chuck
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Post by fernwood on Feb 13, 2019 4:58:56 GMT -5
That branch is an amazing piece. Love where it came from.
I use the 1200 as a pre-polish and AO 14000 for final polish on all stones/fossils. Have a 1 lb. and 3 lb rotary.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 13, 2019 11:36:03 GMT -5
Great advise and that is is some incredible material and tumbling. After 7 to 10 days in the rotary with AO 1200 you could tweak the polish with 7 to 10 days with AO 14,000. I personally thicken the AO 14,000 polish slurry with sugar till it is a bit thicker or add pre-polished stones to the barrel till it is 85% filled for a gentle polish roll. Always nervous about banging rocks in a rotary polish run; it does not take much banging to damage the delicate polished surface.
Again, that material is so fine as is the metal work. Looks so muck like wood, the fan is incredible. I sure would like to see the cross cut view to see the corallites.
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