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Post by miket on Mar 4, 2019 11:44:19 GMT -5
So, yeah, it's in quotes because this batch somehow became a mess. I'm either too impatient or too stubborn. First, the entire group Now, here's what I meant by a mess. I have a bunch of rocks that were fractured in this run that I didn't want to give up on. I think I may try and turn some of them into cabs. First the group of fractured, then a couple of the individual fractured ones that I like. And this Fairburn- I'm afraid if it keeps tumbling the top will just fall right off, losing the bands completely. And finally five that I'm "happy" with. I'm still learning, this is just my third batch... Thanks for looking.
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jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 461
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Post by jimaz on Mar 4, 2019 11:50:10 GMT -5
Not enough experience to comment on the fractures other than that I hate when it happens. Perhaps some more filler could help. Looks like you got a nice shine on everything.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 4, 2019 11:55:26 GMT -5
I feel your pain. Running self collected rocks that are on the rare side and hard to find creates a different mind set. I see a few rocks that would never have made it past my stage one inspection. There are also some that look great. If you have ones that have cracks and pits and you you do not want to grind any more off of them then I would suggest separating those form the flawless ones. That way you can eventually run one batch of flawless rocks and then another batch of rocks with pits and fractures. That way the flawed rocks are not messing up the perfect rocks. The flawed ones will still come out good and are still worth doing because they have value to you.
Roatry or vibe? I am sure you have posted that somewhere but I cant keep track of what everyone is using.
I hope that made sense? Chuck
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Post by miket on Mar 4, 2019 12:21:27 GMT -5
Not enough experience to comment on the fractures other than that I hate when it happens. Perhaps some more filler could help. Looks like you got a nice shine on everything. Thanks. I'm fairly sure that I had enough filler I think it's just what I put in. Live and learn, right? 😀
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Post by miket on Mar 4, 2019 12:26:08 GMT -5
I feel your pain. Running self collected rocks that are on the rare side and hard to find creates a different mind set. I see a few rocks that would never have made it past my stage one inspection. There are also some that look great. If you have ones that have cracks and pits and you you do not want to grind any more off of them then I would suggest separating those form the flawless ones. That way you can eventually run one batch of flawless rocks and then another batch of rocks with pits and fractures. That way the flawed rocks are not messing up the perfect rocks. The flawed ones will still come out good and are still worth doing because they have value to you. Roatry or vibe? I am sure you have posted that somewhere but I cant keep track of what everyone is using. I hope that made sense? Chuck Thanks, Chuck. Yep all self collected, some cut. All rotary which makes it all the more frustrating. The time element. I was satisfied with the shine that I got, however, so that's a plus. And I still think I can turn the fractured ones that I like into decent cabs. With a little determination...😐
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Post by aDave on Mar 4, 2019 14:06:02 GMT -5
Looks like you're getting somewhere - good job. Yeah, sometimes with the rotary, crap happens despite taking precautions. Sometimes it'll leave you shaking your head.
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Post by miket on Mar 4, 2019 15:20:27 GMT -5
Looks like you're getting somewhere - good job. Yeah, sometimes with the rotary, crap happens despite taking precautions. Sometimes it'll leave you shaking your head. "Somewhere" is a good word. I don't know where yet, but somewhere. I'm chalking it up as a learning experience. I'm not discouraged or anything- it is what it is. I'll get there, thanks for the compliment!
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,339
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Post by quartz on Mar 4, 2019 23:44:48 GMT -5
First, compliments on your polish, looks good. Four pieces in the second pic. will never heal, this likely showed up before you started running them, or at least after the first rough run. You don't show a size comparison, but unless they are quite small or of particular value to you, in cases like that I pop the rocks lightly with a hammer and chisel right on the crack to split them and generally get two nice tumbles out of the piece, or cabs, your choice. "Live and learn" is what it's all about, don't feel alone there.
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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
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Post by gatorflash1 on Mar 5, 2019 8:08:55 GMT -5
First, compliments on your polish, looks good. Four pieces in the second pic. will never heal, this likely showed up before you started running them, or at least after the first rough run. You don't show a size comparison, but unless they are quite small or of particular value to you, in cases like that I pop the rocks lightly with a hammer and chisel right on the crack to split them and generally get two nice tumbles out of the piece, or cabs, your choice. "Live and learn" is what it's all about, don't feel alone there. I agree. Some good color and patterns. Split them and start again. They are too nice to just trash. I often do this after stage 1 as it is hard to find pristine rock for the tumbler.
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Post by miket on Mar 5, 2019 10:14:07 GMT -5
First, compliments on your polish, looks good. Four pieces in the second pic. will never heal, this likely showed up before you started running them, or at least after the first rough run. You don't show a size comparison, but unless they are quite small or of particular value to you, in cases like that I pop the rocks lightly with a hammer and chisel right on the crack to split them and generally get two nice tumbles out of the piece, or cabs, your choice. "Live and learn" is what it's all about, don't feel alone there. Thank you. No, no particular value to me. I was going to just cut them but a hammer and chisel sounds like the way to go. I was planning on maybe trying to cab them- I'll have to see what the pieces look like.
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Mar 5, 2019 10:23:50 GMT -5
I think they all look great Mike! They are a really diverse looking group of rocks. They all have their own character.
You know, the ones you call a "mess" are better than any of my rocks. Maybe your expectations and standards are a bit higher than mine, but I just think that some rocks look more interesting with some normal dents, fractures or imperfections.
I also don't like the idea of grinding a good rock that has character, down to dust in the name of making a perfect museum piece.
I already got yelled at by my wife for reducing her favorite rock to nothing in my first batch!
I like picture #2 of your "favorites" batch. All of them look great to me though.
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Post by miket on Mar 5, 2019 10:44:17 GMT -5
I think they all look great Mike! They are a really diverse looking group of rocks. They all have their own character. You know, the ones you call a "mess" are better than any of my rocks. Maybe your expectations and standards are a bit higher than mine, but I just think that some rocks look more interesting with some normal dents, fractures or imperfections. I also don't like the idea of grinding a good rock that has character, down to dust in the name of making a perfect museum piece. I already got yelled at by my wife for reducing her favorite rock to nothing in my first batch! I like picture #2 of your "favorites" batch. All of them look great to me though. Thank you, sir. You're right about some being interesting with imperfections. I'm trying to decide what to do with that Fairburn agate. One minute I want to toss it back in, the next I'm leaning towards leaving it the way it is. That #2 piece is crazy- I have no idea what it is. I found it and cut it, I believe I have a slab or two of it somewhere in my pile of rocks I need to get to.
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,975
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Post by victor1941 on Mar 5, 2019 10:48:23 GMT -5
Picture #7 is a beauty. Even with some cracks the tumble is really nice.
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Post by miket on Mar 5, 2019 11:16:43 GMT -5
Picture #7 is a beauty. Even with some cracks the tumble is really nice. I may put a few more pics of that one, each side is different. I just showed the smoothest side Thank you for the compliment.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,339
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Post by quartz on Mar 6, 2019 0:18:23 GMT -5
miket, don't think for a minute that everything we polish here is perfect, flaw free. We get real selective about what kind of flaw gets a pass, and what gets a fix or "size reduction", often by splitting a bad crack. We have done some craft shows, tumbled rocks being part of the overall product on the table, people often do like some character on the pieces rather than perfect, especially with larger ones.
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Post by miket on Mar 6, 2019 10:14:32 GMT -5
miket , don't think for a minute that everything we polish here is perfect, flaw free. We get real selective about what kind of flaw gets a pass, and what gets a fix or "size reduction", often by splitting a bad crack. We have done some craft shows, tumbled rocks being part of the overall product on the table, people often do like some character on the pieces rather than perfect, especially with larger ones. That's good to know, because I'm experimenting with some larger agates in my qt66. They seem to be coming along nicely but are taking quite a while. Thanks! Mike
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,680
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 6, 2019 11:24:36 GMT -5
Nice rolls.. As for fairburns, I was told to hand polish them, because you can burn the pattern out of the stone... At least with a wheel, you have control of the stone.. Thumbs up
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Post by miket on Mar 6, 2019 13:00:50 GMT -5
Nice rolls.. As for fairburns, I was told to hand polish them, because you can burn the pattern out of the stone... At least with a wheel, you have control of the stone.. Thumbs up Thanks for the compliment. I have a few fairburns tumbling and my son has a few in his barrel also. We've seen mixed results- on some of the stones the banding has started to disappear while on others it has made more patterns visible. I suppose that all depends on the individual rock and how deep the patterns go. I'll keep this in mind, thanks.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,171
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Post by RWA3006 on Mar 6, 2019 19:03:06 GMT -5
First, compliments on your polish, looks good. Four pieces in the second pic. will never heal, this likely showed up before you started running them, or at least after the first rough run. You don't show a size comparison, but unless they are quite small or of particular value to you, in cases like that I pop the rocks lightly with a hammer and chisel right on the crack to split them and generally get two nice tumbles out of the piece, or cabs, your choice. "Live and learn" is what it's all about, don't feel alone there. Good advise here. I do the same and salvage a few, but some are just culls that I don't hesitate to throw in the cull pile out in a rock garden by the flower bed. That way I can still enjoy them, but don't invest more time/effort in rocks that will never measure up. I used to think that I had to save every rock, but now days have become much more selective. You have some nice ones there and looks like you did a good job.
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Post by miket on Mar 6, 2019 19:29:00 GMT -5
First, compliments on your polish, looks good. Four pieces in the second pic. will never heal, this likely showed up before you started running them, or at least after the first rough run. You don't show a size comparison, but unless they are quite small or of particular value to you, in cases like that I pop the rocks lightly with a hammer and chisel right on the crack to split them and generally get two nice tumbles out of the piece, or cabs, your choice. "Live and learn" is what it's all about, don't feel alone there. Good advise here. I do the same and salvage a few, but some are just culls that I don't hesitate to throw in the cull pile out in a rock garden by the flower bed. That way I can still enjoy them, but don't invest more time/effort in rocks that will never measure up. I used to think that I had to save every rock, but now days have become much more selective. You have some nice ones there and looks like you did a good job. Thank you. I suppose I am still in the save every rock stage, that's a good point. Especially when I'm out hounding. Even when I purposely leave my backpack in the car when I just want fairburns I come back with pockets full of rocks and wood that I think will be nice tumbled or cut. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.
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