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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 8, 2021 10:26:54 GMT -5
That first onyx piece and the Silver Lace Onyx are both amazing! I like what appears to me as the brecciated portion of the SLO! I think both “onyx” pieces are silver lace, but that red for the first piece looks unusual, though the area where it’s collected has quite a variety of material. And I’m way too tired to fix that run-on sentence. LOL ... weirdly, I understood you ... haha
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 8, 2021 10:25:25 GMT -5
Looks like you didn’t forget too much, nice job! After running only homogeneous loads for the last two years we have switched to running mixed batches, it has been a welcome change. No matter how gorgeous the material, it can get monotonous sorting through a fifteen pound barrel of Blue Lace Agate, Slag Glass, Crazy Lace, Bahias, Obsidian, Bots, Moss...... Thank you, sir! What I did forget was how much material you end up tossing between stages. At least I didn't have to buy more landscaping rock!
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 8, 2021 10:22:09 GMT -5
If that’s “meh,” I want to see the batch that makes you proud. That’s what I was thinking! Those are some good size rocks and they all look great. Appreciate the encouragement! I think sSome of those larger pieces came from Mel, way back when. This year was "clean out the shed" year which was sort of like rockhounding in the shed as I had forgotten what was back there.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 7, 2021 23:39:14 GMT -5
I'm going to be curious to see how these turn out on the lap. And yes, to stephan 's point, I use 3/8 inch clear vinyl tubing for bumpers (cut into circles). Otherwise, the pieces do a lot of banging into each other.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 7, 2021 23:36:59 GMT -5
Thanks, jasoninsd. The vib lap takes a loooong time to finish but the results can be really fun (or crazy frustrating, LOL).
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 7, 2021 23:35:33 GMT -5
Thanks guys! I think we're always our own worst critic, LOL.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 7, 2021 12:12:05 GMT -5
Thanks guys, that last one came out much better than anticipated!
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 6, 2021 23:51:10 GMT -5
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 6, 2021 23:33:56 GMT -5
Well, my first batch in over four years. Had to clean all the tumblers up and remember now to do this. haha. Still had a lot of grit, having made a large purchase from The Rock Shed guys many years ago (25lb bags). Okay, sort of "meh" but fun to finally get back into this side of the hobby again. 20210605_144853 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_144910 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_144934 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_144949 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_144955 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145003 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145026 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145036 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145048 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145059 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145206 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145213 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145226 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_145237 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_194540 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210605_194723 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr This was sort of a grab bag of random rocks. One thing I didn't quite count on was actually running out of tumbling rough. As I culled out material that wasn't going to make it, I would top off the bins with what I had laying around. The end result is local materials from around the high deserts in SoCal and materials from trades with other RTH members. So, what you're seeing above is from Texas, Montana, SoCal and many other places, I'm sure.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 6, 2021 23:24:17 GMT -5
After church service today I hauled out the saw and went back through some rocks that have been laying around for a few years. One large piece of petrified wood, unfortunately, didn't turn out too well. Heavily fractured and basically turned into small pieces as I cut it. It ended up as garden rock. Some of the the others turned out well and are on the first stage on the vib lap. 20210606_144536 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144541 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144545 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Honestly, I'm not sure what the above it. I think it's a sarape jasper but if someone can ID it, that would be great. LOL This is onyx, I believe. Sorry for the trash cans in the pic. They were handy and this block is heavy. Again, help with an ID would be appreciated. I slabbed several sides and figure on polishing all three sides. Thought it might look sort of cool. 20210606_144640 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144617 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144626 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144645 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144651 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144700 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Another piece whose provenance I'm not sure of. May have arrived in a trade. This is how the rock looked prior to cutting: 20210606_144733 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Additional exterior shots: 20210606_144717 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_144724 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Interior one-half: 20210606_144740 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Other half: 20210606_144743 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Silver onyx. I seem to recall picking this up at a local Searchers Gem and Mineral show a few years ago. 20210606_151251 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151257 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151303 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151308 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151319 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151325 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151333 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr 20210606_151337 by Paul Shiroma, on Flickr Thanks for checking out the thread.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 6, 2021 23:08:46 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum! We did a lot of traveling around those same states. Beautiful area. Looking forward to seeing what you find!
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Post by paulshiroma on Jun 6, 2021 23:05:03 GMT -5
Oh, hey guys! Thanks! I just got back on the forum tonight. I took the first off and puttered around in my garden, trimming, clearing, and picking up some new plants. My Dad's birthday would have been June 3 so I also took some time to remember him and all the good times we had. He was the one who got me into this hobby when I was about eight or ten. We bought one of those little hobby tumblers and did a bag of agates. We also did a trip out to El Paso and did some rock hounding and walked across the border and purchased some rocks from some local shops. That trip was almost 45 years ago and was actually (relatively) safe to do.
Thanks again for the birthday wishes!
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Post by paulshiroma on May 26, 2021 9:53:26 GMT -5
I wish my attempts were half this nice. Great cabs. haha ... right? I decided to just live vicariously through all of the folks who can do great cabs like then ones above. My "attempts" were exactly that. Then they went into the tumbler so I could at least "fake it". LOL. I've been away a bit and haven't checked the boards but have you posted other cabs? I'll have to go track them down.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 24, 2021 14:23:33 GMT -5
Great to meet you and glad you were able to join. The forum is my go-to resources when I have questions or need advice on the hobby. Looking forward to seeing your tumbles.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 24, 2021 14:17:42 GMT -5
Outstanding pieces! These all came out great.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 24, 2021 14:16:43 GMT -5
Nicely done! Thanks for sharing the pic.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 18, 2021 9:56:20 GMT -5
But I should warn you there are many views on tumbling formulas and you will hear a lot of them. x2 on this ... LOL I use some detergent at the end of each stage so that it's easier to clean. So, now you've got two opinions ... slightly different At the end of the day, do what YOU find works best for you. I suspect most of us use a variation on what we've learned and picked up along they way.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 18, 2021 9:53:08 GMT -5
Beautiful work, sir! Glad you guys were able to figure out a good way to set that piece up.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 18, 2021 9:52:00 GMT -5
Good to meet you! Looking forward to seeing your work.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 17, 2021 11:06:46 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum!
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