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Post by paulshiroma on May 12, 2021 16:28:17 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum! Glad to meet you.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 10, 2021 15:13:29 GMT -5
www.vvgmc.org/tailgate.html46th Annual Stoddard Wells Rockhound Tailgate Anyone going? I realize it's several months away but I've missed the last few years and last year was a bust. Hoping to see some of the local RTH folks. The prior years have been fun.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 9, 2021 23:55:13 GMT -5
Back in March, I got a wild idea to see if my old saw housing would fit a 16 inch blade. Some measuring indicated that I'd have clearance at the floor and rear wall but I'd need a new hood. I've been needing a new hood for years so I figured on going for it. I built the hood from some scrap MDF board and covered it in oil-based polyurethane and have been running with a 16 inch blade now for several weeks. Along the way, I did find out that John from JSGems had retired - I had reached for pricing and was informed that he'd sold his business and left for AZ (I think). I'll miss seeing him at the shows but am glad for him. So, here's some cuts from this weekend. This is some of the material we picked up from San Juan Gems in Cortez Colorado. This is a piece that's been laying around. The interior is pretty interesting. Reminds me of a purple version of those kids snacks, the cheddar goldfish. Along the way, one of my wife's monarchs decided to hatch. Years ago, she did the butterfly lifecycle with her first graders with monarch eggs. We released a bunch of caterpillars in our back yard after I'd planted a variety of milkweed. Now they've taken over and we have monarchs almost year-around. Or more accurately, every year when they come back from their migration. Currently, there's about five or six butterflies, over 30 caterpillars, and at least six chrysalis (that we can find) back there. Thanks for checking out the thread.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 9, 2021 0:00:26 GMT -5
Softer stones can get a great polish too. My son is obsessed with obsidian (mostly because of Minecraft) I understand it’s softer. I wanted to order some to tumble but concerned I won’t get it right. I suppose if it’s all the same type of stone and I can find a recipe here, I might be okay. There's a couple of great recipe's on the forum that I've used with excellent results. As you mentioned, though, it can be a challenge. If I find the thread with the recipe I used, I'll pass it along. It's been a long time since I did the obsidian.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 8, 2021 23:56:39 GMT -5
Do they ship Ryugu rough locally? Maybe UPS or FedEx? How does it go? "No Rock is Safe" ... even those millions of miles away. Yeah that is the problem. Shipping is outrageous. Only shipper so far is MIB. (material in boxes) LMAO ... "MIB" ... that was good.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 8, 2021 2:04:03 GMT -5
Great haul, buddy. Thanks for sharing the vid.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 8, 2021 1:56:16 GMT -5
Dude, you get better every time ... Love it!
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 17:25:45 GMT -5
Wait so let me understand really quick - roll the hard stones with the hard stones and he soft stones with the soft stones? or are you saying give up on one or the other because they'll never polish? Also Hard Stones are easier to get a good polish on? I'm going to use a knife and do the quick test. I see a set of Mohs tools on amazon for $100 but i'm not sure i'm quiet that committed yet Do I just drag the blade on it? or apply pressure? Go like to like ... what you said first Hard stones with hard stones. I think what we've all run into is the difficulty of tumbling stones of different hardness together. In my limited experience, "harder" stones come out with a better polish. Softer stones can get a great polish too.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 15:38:42 GMT -5
Do they ship Ryugu rough locally? Maybe UPS or FedEx? How does it go? "No Rock is Safe" ... even those millions of miles away.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 14:31:08 GMT -5
: APPLAUSE :
Beautiful work. Love the tiger eye.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 13:16:02 GMT -5
I don't tumble, but just thought I'd throw this out there. Our own Jugglerguy is in Michigan and he has a YouTube channel Michigan Rocks that may help you out some. He makes some awesome videos and may help you with some of the rocks you're finding. I've watched his video in disbelief that i couldn't get the same - but he seems to know what type of rocks he's putting in. From the 30 minute long instructional video he was trying with a lot of the same type of rocks. In the end I hope I can get everything to take some sort of polish, but I'm going to try to separate my hard and soft rocks for now. Agreed - This is probably the first best thing to do - separate similar moh's ratings, etc.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 11:34:19 GMT -5
- Slurry thickeners if you're so inclined. For the last two full runs I've been saving the Slurry of each stage in separate jars - Instead of filling with all fresh water I use half old slurry half water. Good Approach? I was worried it might not create as much action between rocks in earlier stages. saxplayer mentioned eliminating causes of error. Maybe simplifying and just using fresh slurry each time until you've got the results you desire? Then you can try this out. I've never done this only b/c I didn't think of it, LOL! Might be a good idea but until you get your process down, maybe skip this. Just a thought. Each of us has a slightly different recipe that we follow, usually after a great deal of trial and error.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 10:43:01 GMT -5
I don't tumble, but just thought I'd throw this out there. Our own Jugglerguy is in Michigan and he has a YouTube channel Michigan Rocks that may help you out some. He makes some awesome videos and may help you with some of the rocks you're finding. Definitely a good idea. karldubya, The other thing you could do is give The Rock Shed guys a call and get a recommendation on some of their crushed rock to try out. They've been extremely helpful. Also, FWIW, don't be afraid to cull out material after each stage. As I run batches of agates and jasper, I separate the good vs bad after each batch. I only move forward with the "good" materials eliminating as I go. I end up with a pile of discards that eventually make it into the garden. It also means that I'm running several batches at a time until I have enough to go to the next grit stage. And yes, the hobby can test your patience (and budget, and time, and storage...).
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aloha
May 7, 2021 0:18:59 GMT -5
Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 0:18:59 GMT -5
Aloha, Terry! My family is from Oahu and Kauai. Sounds like you've got a great setup going and I'm looking forward to seeing your work.
Paul
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 0:16:54 GMT -5
Good to meet you and looking forward to seeing your work!
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 0:16:15 GMT -5
Welcome! And yes, I would agree that it threatens my wallet and my time. And my space (e.g. garage, now a shed, backyard, etc.).
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 0:14:53 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum! Arizona is my goal for retirement, LOL... along with Colorado and several other states. Looking forward to seeing your work!
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Post by paulshiroma on May 7, 2021 0:13:10 GMT -5
Sabre52, one day, I'll have to hit up that location. Of course, by now all the best material's been taken.
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Post by paulshiroma on May 6, 2021 10:24:18 GMT -5
Brian, I fully expected to make a windowing cut and then toss it in the garden. Ended up with a pretty decent piece. jasoninsd, fernwood, and stefan - one thing surprised me last night when I was pulling the termite ridden material from the wash bucket. The areas where the termites left their droppings is actually a softer stone than the rest of the pet wood. The water is soaking it and it was falling out of the holes. Just like it does in my home's eaves right now! LOL
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Post by paulshiroma on May 4, 2021 21:57:51 GMT -5
I was slabbing some petrified wood last weekend and noticed that one of the pieces had some damage in the bark - small holes, large holes, etc. The piece didn't look like it had much promise as there was no exterior agate-ization (is that a word?) so I figured on a single slab to see what was inside. Exterior: I ended up making a couple of cuts as there was termite damage. kinda interesting. The slabs are covered in mineral oil and so were my hands, making photos a bit of a trick.
Some rather extensive damage on the left hand side: [/a] Another piece of pet wood: While I was at it, I ended up slabbing an agate piece that my boys and I had picked up in the hills north of Yermo, CA. The interior was rather surprising as the exterior was pretty blah. Exterior: Interior: With the exception of the termite-ridden slabs, these have spent a few days on the vib lap. They just finished up the 500 SiC stage. Next weekend, we'll do a 1000 and then move on to the polish. Some of these will go as a parting gift to a friend of my son. Unfortunately, Nathaniel's buddy is relocating to North Carolina. We'll throw him a party before they leave this summer. Kind of a bummer but I'm sure they'll stay in touch over Discord.
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