|
Post by aDave on Feb 26, 2019 21:20:14 GMT -5
Finally got around to taking some photos the other day. Just some group shots of what I'm assuming will be my last two all rotary batches. These were finished at the end of last year, and since then, I finally pulled the trigger on a Lot-O. No photos of individual stones - not happy with the way those shots turned out when compared to the group stuff. Thanks for looking. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 26, 2019 21:34:00 GMT -5
Those are some very nice shinies, you got there. I like 4, 5, and 10 the best. I really like that orange one in the upper left of picture five.
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 26, 2019 22:10:48 GMT -5
Very nice batches there, aDave! I especially love the bloodstone.
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Feb 26, 2019 23:05:14 GMT -5
Thank you both. Rob Jugglerguy, that orange rock is a condor agate nodule, and the outer layer(s) look entirely different than the centers. I decided to see how one would tumble whole before making cuts in the nodules. I got around to cutting up the rest of what I had just a couple weeks ago. Here's the rough (sorry for the lighting in the photo).
|
|
Kai
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2018
Posts: 331
|
Post by Kai on Feb 27, 2019 0:26:41 GMT -5
Very nice! My fave would be #2 and #9.
|
|
mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
|
Post by mossyrockhound on Feb 27, 2019 1:09:23 GMT -5
I think the photos turned out great! That's some fine looking Condor you've got thete too. My favorite group is #10 - wonderful shine.
|
|
gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
|
Post by gatorflash1 on Feb 27, 2019 5:53:44 GMT -5
Dave - What a fantastic group of polished goodies! I would tell you which are my favorite but I'm not sure I can make that choice because they all look so great.
That shine they have really sparkles which is really something considering the variety of rocks in your tumble. Do you use the same polish on all? Any special polishing secrets (adding Skippy to the slurry, etc.) to getting this results?
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 27, 2019 6:20:54 GMT -5
Thank you both. Rob Jugglerguy, that orange rock is a condor agate nodule, and the outer layer(s) look entirely different than the centers. I decided to see how one would tumble whole before making cuts in the nodules. I got around to cutting up the rest of what I had just a couple weeks ago. Here's the rough (sorry for the lighting in the photo). Those are great rocks. They remind be of Drummond Island Rocks’s Mexican agates.
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Feb 27, 2019 6:28:12 GMT -5
Nice bunch.
|
|
|
Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 27, 2019 9:06:41 GMT -5
Bravo, Dave! That's a great batch of tumbles, rotary or vibe or whatever. Some great tumbling material too. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with those Condors. Also, we'll expect to see pics more often, now that you have that new Lot-O to speed things up.
|
|
braat
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 350
|
Post by braat on Feb 27, 2019 9:08:54 GMT -5
Looking great...what is the grayish one bottom center #5?
|
|
|
Post by TheRock on Feb 27, 2019 12:39:16 GMT -5
Lookin Good Mr. Dave I like (4) and then (2) but they are all Gorgeous Cheers
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Feb 27, 2019 12:48:26 GMT -5
Dave - What a fantastic group of polished goodies! I would tell you which are my favorite but I'm not sure I can make that choice because they all look so great. That shine they have really sparkles which is really something considering the variety of rocks in your tumble. Do you use the same polish on all? Any special polishing secrets (adding Skippy to the slurry, etc.) to getting this results? Thank you. Yes, I use the same polish - good ole AO polish from the Rock Shed. Even though the rocks are mixed, they are probably pretty close in hardness. Not sure they're secrets, but I've been able to develop a routine where results have been pretty consistent. The only "problem" with that routine is is that it's ultimately fairly lengthy. Here's what I do after the rocks are pulled out of the coarse stage. Note, each one of the subsequent stages were done in a 45C with plastic pellets: 120/220 SiC for 7 days. 500 AO for two weeks. This is allowed to roll without a cleanout. Burnish with Borax for four to six hours. AO polish for three weeks. No cleanout until complete. Burnish with Borax for four to six hours. That's about it. Thanks for asking.
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Feb 27, 2019 12:53:03 GMT -5
Looking great...what is the grayish one bottom center #5? Thanks. Unfortunately, I don't know.
|
|
|
Post by MsAli on Feb 27, 2019 13:09:38 GMT -5
I like the big pink one in group 3 and of course the crazy lace
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Feb 27, 2019 13:19:21 GMT -5
I like the big pink one in group 3 and of course the crazy lace Thanks Allison. I think that's a chunk of pet wood, though I can't say for sure. It was collected when we went to Dobell's.
|
|
pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
|
Post by pizzano on Feb 27, 2019 13:32:54 GMT -5
Dave - What a fantastic group of polished goodies! I would tell you which are my favorite but I'm not sure I can make that choice because they all look so great. That shine they have really sparkles which is really something considering the variety of rocks in your tumble. Do you use the same polish on all? Any special polishing secrets (adding Skippy to the slurry, etc.) to getting this results? Thank you. Yes, I use the same polish - good ole AO polish from the Rock Shed. Even though the rocks are mixed, they are probably pretty close in hardness. Not sure they're secrets, but I've been able to develop a routine where results have been pretty consistent. The only "problem" with that routine is is that it's ultimately fairly lengthy. Here's what I do after the rocks are pulled out of the coarse stage. Note, each one of the subsequent stages were done in a 45C with plastic pellets: 120/220 SiC for 7 days. 500 AO for two weeks. This is allowed to roll without a cleanout. Burnish with Borax for four to six hours. AO polish for three weeks. No cleanout until complete. Burnish with Borax for four to six hours. That's about it. Thanks for asking. What was the 60/90 or course grinding cycle time.......?........in only 3 weeks and a day after that isn't bad for that kind of shine.......I can see why "you" (not the average eye) might not be happy with the photo's (contrast and white balance, color temperature) on a white background. But depth of field and magnification look great.....and that shine is represented fantastic.......Your's and a couple of other's here photo's are the reason I purchased a good DSLR......I can only aspire to get those kinds of results without to much cropping and touch-ups right now.........nice work Dave.
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Feb 27, 2019 14:03:30 GMT -5
Thank you. Yes, I use the same polish - good ole AO polish from the Rock Shed. Even though the rocks are mixed, they are probably pretty close in hardness. Not sure they're secrets, but I've been able to develop a routine where results have been pretty consistent. The only "problem" with that routine is is that it's ultimately fairly lengthy. Here's what I do after the rocks are pulled out of the coarse stage. Note, each one of the subsequent stages were done in a 45C with plastic pellets: 120/220 SiC for 7 days. 500 AO for two weeks. This is allowed to roll without a cleanout. Burnish with Borax for four to six hours. AO polish for three weeks. No cleanout until complete. Burnish with Borax for four to six hours. That's about it. Thanks for asking. What was the 60/90 or course grinding cycle time.......?........in only 3 weeks and a day after that isn't bad for that kind of shine.......I can see why "you" (not the average eye) might not be happy with the photo's (contrast and white balance, color temperature) on a white background. But depth of field and magnification look great.....and that shine is represented fantastic.......Your's and a couple of other's here photo's are the reason I purchased a good DSLR......I can only aspire to get those kinds of results without to much cropping and touch-ups right now.........nice work Dave.
Thanks Joe. Coarse stage was done in a QT66 using 46/70 SiC. Rocks were run in that stage until I was happy with what I could get out of them. Weeks and months, on average. And, actually, it's six weeks to completion after coarse. That's the main reason I moved to the Lot-O. Cutting off five weeks of finishing time was pretty attractive. Thanks for the comments about the photos. I actually like the ones above. I used a different lens for the shots of "singles," and I wasn't happy with those. In all honesty, I'm not sure if there's a problem with that lens. I just got off the phone with Canon to help with some troubleshooting questions, since there are some weird things going on with that lens. Fortunately, the factory service is in Southern CA, so I won't have to ship it. I got some "background" tips from Randy Garage Rocker , and I ended up choosing gray paper for the background. IMHO, it's a bit easier to work with than stark white.
|
|
pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
|
Post by pizzano on Feb 27, 2019 15:05:51 GMT -5
Thanks for the info.......my bad, didn't catch the last three weeks of AO polish......."That's the main reason I moved to the Lot-O. Cutting off five weeks of finishing time was pretty attractive."............I hear ya on that aspect, the Lot-O won't let you down.
I assumed you meant "unhappy" with those posted.......didn't realize they were shot with a "gray" background since that group of lace and other very light colored stones seemed to not have the contrast the other stones had against the same background.....maybe just my bad eyes.
Did you use a primary lens........the magnification is awesome.........not to worry, Canon or otherwise. Once one gets to that quality of glass, outside of manufactured or abuse issues, the only problem should be the camera type and user's ability to properly apply (the lenses) ability......certainly those are not an issue with your photography....... (IMHO)......I'm still shopping for a primary macro, that's the reason I ask.......thanks.
|
|
|
Post by miket on Feb 27, 2019 15:27:28 GMT -5
Super nice tumbles! I love the Condor Agates. I tried a slightly different schedule than yours this time. After the coarse I've been doing 120/220 for 7 days, 500 for 7 days, 1200 for 7 days, then AO for one week, followed by a burnish with Borax. The last batch I ran I did a burnish between each stage. I finally have another batch due to come out on Sunday I'll have to see if I want to stick with what I've been doing or run the AO for two weeks. I can see that a Lot-O might become a necessity eventually.
|
|