kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 4, 2017 12:44:24 GMT -5
as I'm sure you have seen, the inside doesn't always look like the outside......I love to cut rocks. I have a noisy, messing tile saw, but it was cheap and it works. If a rock might look interesting I'll bring it home, cut it and either cut it up or toss it. An interesting thread would be the stories of people cutting open a rock and the surprise of what they found inside.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 4, 2017 12:40:10 GMT -5
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 3, 2017 10:31:22 GMT -5
so I get these fairly often at work. I've given a lot away to people I know, the local rec soccer club (for the coaches) but now I'm having to throw them away which is a shame. If anyone wants some you just pay the shipping cost. www.thermosafe.com/subcategory/foam+bricksI usually get the 5.5x7 inch ones but I do have some of the 9x10 inch I measured them and some are a little bigger some smaller etc, then again you can't beat the price, can you? I just hate to throw them out, they come in big Styrofoam container which do get tossed, again no one wants them, though they make great coolers and if they get damaged who cares.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 2, 2017 14:57:34 GMT -5
There's some fossil shark teeth on North Topsail, even some of the public access spots, at low tide. Didn't find anything spectacular, but I just love those things. Catch the Natural History museum in Wilmington if you can... they have a fossilized ground sloth that was excavated locally (well, OK, its a replica of the one found locally.) Have you tumbled any of the quartz pebbles? I am thinking of putting a batch through my vibe when I get it set up. (Which means I now how three different sets of material to tumble without even looking) I have never used a tumbler.....yet, although a guy in the club started tumbling some last meeting (2nd Thursday of the month) so I guess next meeting he will bring them in. I've gotten a polish on some of them by hand (automotive sand paper) so I think they will shine up very nicely.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 2, 2017 12:53:51 GMT -5
my wife's mother lives in Topsail and unfortunately I do feel obligated to drive the 5+ hours with her just to be bored out of my skull. While there's plenty of quartz pebbles on the beach, I have alot of those already. I don't know the area except the beach so..... I'd even go to a pay site depending on how far etc, any info would be greatly appreciated as well as sympathy and well wishes
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 2, 2017 8:11:59 GMT -5
lol just saw the ad on face book as well, it's a small internet.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 1, 2017 13:55:17 GMT -5
The bowl for tumbling brass will have a yellow stripe and the bowl for rocks will have a blue stripe. ah ok, thank you I assume they aren't interchangeable?
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 1, 2017 13:21:57 GMT -5
So from what I read the industrial is the only version that can be used for rocks. My question is how can you tell the difference between the 2 by looking at picture? From the images I have searched the plate on the front seems to be the same. I know there's a "Stk #183 IND" designation on the box, but if there's no box......
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 1, 2017 12:56:50 GMT -5
Really beautiful images, thank you for sharing! orrum I've been by two big marble quarries in NC. I wonder if it is it the one by the Nantahala? there was a really good video/documentary on a marble mine, the parts I remember is the struggle to pump out the water and at some point it would be a man made lake.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 1, 2017 8:47:02 GMT -5
amazing pictures, thanks for sharing
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Aug 1, 2017 7:21:50 GMT -5
James. I did much the same as you are thinking with my first sphere. I built a fixed platform that went in front of the grinding wheel, much like a rest, I ground a small indentation in it so the sphere was sitting in it at the right distance and moved the rock around by hand. Very Heath Robinson but it worked, it was 50 years ago and I was 16 at the time. Now that sounds like a plan pauls. THAT is a forward movement. 1 inch butcher block nylon with a partial sphere(socket) cut in it(defined a dome). Low friction, can hold some drip water, allow rotation. Holds it at a constant radius. Rough by hand, final using slick spherical socket. That may be all that is needed. As it is I turn the tile saw table blade at 45 degrees and roll the stone against the tile saw table and the edge of the slanted blade. That serves as a good guide for rough radius grinding. If the table had a spherical socket to serve as a guide I'm certain of perfect spheres. 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3" holes could be cut into nylon butcher block with forstner bit and chamfered by hand with a file to serve as a socket. Best if it could be on an adjustable feed screw and slight fixed adjustments from blade could be made. Made a nearsphere without a socket on the tile saw table by resting the rock on the flat table and rotating by hand against slanted blade. Given that socket in a fixed spot the sphere likely would have been perfect. Make different sockets for different size spheres. Move socket slightly closer to blade as sphere is grinding to a perfect sphere. Keeps it simple. My 3 attempts at making shapes with super shaper tile saw grinder free hand: www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/albums/72157683648790962Don't be fooled by this little tile saw grinder, at 3600 RPM and a dead smooth rotation it is a real Mohs 7 rock eater. Blade very important- 7" Advanta tuck blade, $27 Ebay. Note: Tile saw can be laid down flat and blade bottom kept in water tray. It is the table top that flips up, not the saw blade. Position of saw was ergonomic choice. This would allow adjustment of rock socket from blade: brilliant and simple design, all you need is a jig to keep the rock a certain distance away and just rotate it
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 11:25:15 GMT -5
Kevin, just a guess but maybe epidote. Does the host rock have a granite look? actually that is what I meant was epidote since it's in the unakite around here.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 11:04:56 GMT -5
yes but not perfect sheres like you get off the shere machines. I call them "nearspheres". but I have been toying with the idea of making a sphere grinder to do rough grind then into tumblers to finish. that was kind of my thought as well.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 10:58:46 GMT -5
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 10:52:20 GMT -5
I'm guessing a rotary wouldn't work too well.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 9:04:45 GMT -5
After seeing the articles about preforming with various 'super grinders' and even making a sphere with a hand grinder I was wondering, if you ground a rock to a basic sphere shape and tumbled it, would that work?
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 9:00:54 GMT -5
I was thinking quartz as well, the green veins caught my eye. When I go back I will definitely be looking for more, would be awesome to find more with a hug vein. Since it's a small creek everything has that grey white color to it so it's difficult to tell what is what. Sense it is a small creek just bring all The rocks home sort them latter Walt it is small, yeah that's what I tend to do is try to find what I think might be something and sort it later, the banks are pretty steep, there's barely any water in it right now. I've barely explored it, carried as much as I could, but being out of shape probably had around 25 pounds. There's baseball and soccer fields all around I don't want to haul too much at one time, don't want to draw any attention to what I'm doing. There's no posted or other signs to prevent me from collecting, and I don't want to give anyone a reason to put them up.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 31, 2017 7:30:50 GMT -5
I was thinking quartz as well, the green veins caught my eye. When I go back I will definitely be looking for more, would be awesome to find more with a hug vein. Since it's a small creek everything has that grey white color to it so it's difficult to tell what is what.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 30, 2017 20:25:43 GMT -5
It's might be, stainless steel won't scratch it, the base rock seems pretty homogenous.
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kevin24018
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by kevin24018 on Jul 30, 2017 19:18:31 GMT -5
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