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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 26, 2022 9:13:50 GMT -5
My two favorite stores! I have been to Kingsley North, but not the Rocketed. I was sort of disappointed in Kingsley North in person. They're obviously set up mainly as an online store. I was expecting to see a showroom with lots of things on display. I did enjoy the rock room though, and came out with a pretty good haul.
What is the Rock Shed like? Is it similar to Kingsley North or do they have a better showroom?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 20, 2022 20:32:36 GMT -5
Jugglerguy this might not fit the spirit of your list but I used to include them as a free gift in orders I sent out. Often the gift was a free cabochon but towards the end of my active selling it was more likely to be tumbled rocks. Sort of like a bag of Tootsie Rolls from the Rock Shed?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 20, 2022 10:27:47 GMT -5
JugglerguyThats cool! You should tell them to join the forum and share their work with us! Would love to see them. Here's a picture that my sister June posted on Facebook the other day:
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 20, 2022 10:18:25 GMT -5
Awesome ideas. I've seen the tumbled stones glued together to make bowls or candle holders. I also put them in my rock "treasure bags" that I sell at rock shows (only sold them at one show so far but they are a hit especially when you say there are tumbled rocks in them too). I have never seen that. Are they glued, or are they in some sort of mortar? I have seen birdhouses made from natural rocks, just like a stone house would be made.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 20, 2022 10:16:48 GMT -5
These are all natural unpolished but could do the same with polished rocks. Yes, that's what my sisters make. They also use unpolished rocks. I've always called that "pebble art".
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 20, 2022 9:44:49 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 20, 2022 8:52:12 GMT -5
Good idea for a video Rob! I'm with you in regards to not liking most results on wire-wrapped tumbled stones. One of the few style of wraps which I thought didn't look like a hot mess (that really sounds mean...) is the following one. Here's a link to a "cage" wire wrap which I thought looked the most interesting...and a style I'm going to try one of these days... I agree. That is neat and would work with lots of rock shapes. susand24224 those are very nice wraps but, as you said, those are small slabs, almost cabs, not the typical tumbled rock. Both of these seem a little complicated for the type of list I'm going for though. If I knew how to do them, they'd make good videos on their own. ashley My wife was a science teacher. Science teachers don't really like tumbled rocks. They like them natural. Geologists will break a rock just to see how it breaks and what a fresh surface looks like. Did you have something specific in mind by "rock art" Do you mean the pictures made from little pebbles? Two of my sisters make those. I'll add that to the list. dshanpnw waterboysh I thought of selling them, but decided to leave that off the list. The person buying them would still need a use for them. Pat I have given away a lot of rocks and I agree that I get at least as much pleasure from it as the recipients do. @pabblesky, the advent calendar is a little complicated for me to make on my own. The candle holder is sort of similar to #8 on my list. I like that! Bravura Cabochon Designs That's a good idea, but my wife wouldn't let me do it when we had a tile backsplash put in our kitchen, so I can't show an example. I might include it anyway. electrocutus Do you just set them on top, or are you making headstones and incorporating them? I do think I'll leave that one out either way so people don't leave my video crying. jimmie I make little crosses for that purpose, but I suppose just a rock could be nice to carry around too. vance71975 ericabelle I guess that's sort of like making a mosaic. I might add it to that one. markb I have always just carried them when I'm out rock hunting to give to people I meet on the beach. I guess I could give them away to other people too. I like your message that you give out with the rock. vegasjames Is a bee waterer like a bird bath? I'm seriously thinking about carving a bird bath into a large boulder in my backyard. I actually considered putting some tumbled rocks in there. I have heard that copper keeps the water from getting algae in it, so I was going to put in some raw copper that I picked up in the U.P. Thanks everyone for the ideas. I won't use all of them, but I do appreciate all of them.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 19, 2022 15:30:50 GMT -5
I've forgotten water and I've forgotten grit. I haven't forgotten rock yet!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 19, 2022 15:28:17 GMT -5
Hey Kazz! Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! I think Rob ( Jugglerguy) would definitely win the "bring new members to the forum" contest! LOL (Which is a good thing! ) I bring a lot, but don't participate here much anymore. I'm still answering lots of questions from new rock tumblers.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 19, 2022 13:36:47 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH, Kazz!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 19, 2022 12:12:27 GMT -5
I'm working on a new video about uses for tumbled rocks. I have a pretty good list started, but I wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything obvious. I'm trying to keep the list limited to things that someone with only a rock tumbler could do, no drilling or grinding should be necessary. My plan is to do a fairly short, quick fire video with shots of the various ideas and voice over narrating them. Here's what I have so far:
1. Give them to kids (Could Maggie’s boy be in my video?) 2. Carry some in your backpack to give to people on beaches 3. Put them on the soil of potted plants 4. Dish on coffee table 5. Fill a gumball machine 6. Aquarium gravel or accent rocks 7. Put them in geocaches 8. Vase Ideas: Just a vase full of rocks, Vase with rocks and dried flowers, large cylindrical vase with smaller candle inside and rocks around candle 9. Fridge Magnets 10. Keychains (bell cap on rock) 11. Give them to a teacher to hand out as prizes in the classroom. 12. Stick on eyes to make little animals (pet rock) 13. Use them for games, such as mancala, Monopoly, checkers, etc. 14. Ladies pin or tie tack 15. Paperweight - does anyone actually have windy desks? 16. Mosaic
One omission that might be fairly obvious is wire wrapping one. I left that off because I don't think I have ever seen a tumbled rock that was wire wrapped that I liked. They usually look like someone wrapped a twist tie around a rock. I do like cabs that are wire wrapped, but not more naturally shaped tumbled rocks. If there is a way to make a neat wire wrap on a tumbled rock, it's beyond my skill level probably most people watching a video like this.
So, what am I missing? What's on my list that should be removed?
Thanks!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 17, 2022 19:31:17 GMT -5
Wow, Jugglerguy, thank you for making this video. It answered a lot of my questions; Like when is the first tumble done enough. I should have watched it earlier, because over the weekend I was in an excited hurry to get my rocks out of their tumble, and into my new vibe. The rocks should have spent longer in the rotary. But they can now, because my vibe batch was a disaster. I've got more learning to do. I'm glad you found it helpful. I'm planning to make a similar video this winter. That one is starting to get sort of old. I think I can do it better now that I've had a few years of practice making videos.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 16, 2022 21:48:37 GMT -5
Thanks. It’s an interesting rock.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 16, 2022 20:15:20 GMT -5
I think it is a Petoskey. I'd like to see it from more angles. It looks like it might have been squished or crushed.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 10, 2022 9:51:51 GMT -5
You might need to tune your Lot-O to get it to run right. Here are a couple troubleshooting things to look at: 1. Check to see if there are any broken springs. Pray that there aren't because they're about impossible to find right now. 2. Look at the fans on either side of the motor. There are weights on them and they need to be aligned with each other. For example, if one is on the bottom the other one should be too. 3. You have it mounted to a concrete block, right? It needs to be mounted to something very heavy. 4. The dowel under the springs can be adjusted. If you adjust it to be too vigorous, then you run the risk of breaking springs. If it's too far the other way, then you will get very weak action, which sounds like your problem. I tuned a brand new one in this video. I think I actually went a little too far and plan to move the dowel back some. I would tune it by moving it around, not by just measuring. Measuring should give you a good starting point though. Make sure you have a full load in it while it's running. Running it empty can also break springs. I actually saw your videos. They were very educating and helped me decide to get a lot-o, and I checked the dowel and it seems to be about the same location you had it. I did notice the fans themselves were about a cm in different locations on their shafts, but havent adjusted to line them up. Didn't check the weight then, I'll do so in the morning though. All springs looked good. Some of the nuts that hold stuff together don't seem super tight, should these be tightened up or do you want a little give, as long as they don't come loose? It is mounted on a 35 lbs cement block. It does not move, but in the directions for the lot-o it does recommend a 40+ lbs block and says heavier than that is better, so tomorrow I'll also glue another cement block to the bottom and see if that helps. I'll give it another look though, thanks for your tips, much appreciated! Jimmie is right. Adjust your own machine, don't rely on measurements from mine. I think you want all of your screws and nuts to be tight, just be careful not to strip anything. I filled the holes in my block to make it heavier but gluing two together should have the same effect.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 9, 2022 18:51:02 GMT -5
You might need to tune your Lot-O to get it to run right. Here are a couple troubleshooting things to look at:
1. Check to see if there are any broken springs. Pray that there aren't because they're about impossible to find right now. 2. Look at the fans on either side of the motor. There are weights on them and they need to be aligned with each other. For example, if one is on the bottom the other one should be too. 3. You have it mounted to a concrete block, right? It needs to be mounted to something very heavy. 4. The dowel under the springs can be adjusted. If you adjust it to be too vigorous, then you run the risk of breaking springs. If it's too far the other way, then you will get very weak action, which sounds like your problem. I tuned a brand new one in this video. I think I actually went a little too far and plan to move the dowel back some. I would tune it by moving it around, not by just measuring. Measuring should give you a good starting point though. Make sure you have a full load in it while it's running. Running it empty can also break springs.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 8, 2022 22:48:37 GMT -5
We didn't think it looked like agate either. I have never been to that part of the country, so I don't know what's normally found there. It's nice to hear from someone who has actually been there. There is a lot of translucent chalcesony, some banded, mainly in the form of sard (brown chalcedony) and occasionally carnelian. You can find all sorts of it along the waters's edge. Right by the lake is a spot with lots of chalcedony and porcelain jasper, which is very dense and has a high natural polish. Colors are not that exciting mainly, green some yellow, red and brown. Considering the natural polish though I would think it would tumble great. Then there is the Dead Camel Mountains right by the lake, which has all sorts of gorgeous stuff.
Thanks, James. That’s some beautiful stuff that I’d love to tumble. I would not want to tumble the stuff Sam did for the contest. Now I want to come rock hunting with you!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 8, 2022 16:20:33 GMT -5
Wow that's a very impressive before & after comparison! Congratulations to both of you! The rocks ended up super shiny and smooth. Beautifully done! I would also love to see Sam's self-collected agates one day(lol) pebbleskySam has his own YouTube channel. Lots with Jugglerguy too (Michigan Rocks) I dont know Sams YouTube channel name. Maybe Jugglerguy can tell us. I don't think Sam has a YouTube channel. I encouraged him to start one a couple years ago, but I don't think he ever did.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 8, 2022 16:19:30 GMT -5
Congratulations Sam. Not sure why they are calling this Lake Lahontan agate though. I have collected a lot of rock from the Lake Lahontan area including various chalcedonies often referred to as agate such as sard. Never seen any rocks in the area that look like this, and they look nothing like chalcedonies, which is what agate is. We didn't think it looked like agate either. I have never been to that part of the country, so I don't know what's normally found there. It's nice to hear from someone who has actually been there.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 7, 2022 19:15:25 GMT -5
Wow that's a very impressive before & after comparison! Congratulations to both of you! The rocks ended up super shiny and smooth. Beautifully done! I would also love to see Sam's self-collected agates one day(lol) I think Sam might have more self collected agates than I do at this point.
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