itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 23, 2012 15:05:44 GMT -5
That's what happens when you have cleavage; sometimes it shows:<((
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 23, 2012 15:02:36 GMT -5
I never underestimate the inventiveness of people but its great to see there is allways something new and good looking too. Great work
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 23, 2012 14:59:56 GMT -5
you must be more dexterous than me; I need at least one hand to input with and prefferably with no sauce on it:<)))
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 23, 2012 14:11:57 GMT -5
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 22, 2012 17:22:25 GMT -5
sure would be nice to be able to be tripping over rocks like these
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 22, 2012 17:20:00 GMT -5
Not to downplay what you are experiencing there but I think we're still in our half of North America and we've had well over 100% average snow pack this year and our summer is what normally hits the "wet coast" as we call our west coast. I'm not complaining though because I'd rather it be 25C than 40C. Overall though; the norths ice is melting and so are our glaciers so the average temperature is changing. I notice on a worldwide basis that there seems to be a lot more severe weather happening.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 21, 2012 21:56:30 GMT -5
fantastic tumbles, the polish you are using sure does it's job!
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 21, 2012 9:59:35 GMT -5
Note to self: study this work for precision and technique next time you think about "knocking one off", I am a fan of letting the stone do the shining
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 21, 2012 9:48:20 GMT -5
Thanks for looking, I like to let the rock dictate what shape it's going to be if it's small enough to keep whole but the cabs that I cut down, like you I try to get the best features, or if I'm going to cut more than one from the same slab, I'll try to make them a set. To cut I grind a flat on the stone, then slide it on the bed of the press into the saw blade. I vary the depth easily by locking the handle where I want it and speed is adjusted in the head with the belt pulleys. I have a container I sit on top of the head with a metering valve to control the water flow. I drop a blade with velcro glued on it in place of the cutter and place a polish pad on top of it for finishing work. They are as easy to change as changing bits. I try to get a few built up and work them through the stages. Wampidy, The green materials that I call Lloydite are most likely nephrite and I think some jadeite but I make no claims; I have some hard serpentine and all the intermediate materials too I think. When the glacier dams broke here the wash spread the material from here to Washington and beyond through the Okanogan valley so we're probably cutting some of the same stuff. The glaciers ground most of the material up and spread it around for hundreds of kms before that so I mostly get small 2kg but mostly smaller pcs. I haven't found anything "in place" as the volcanoes laid it. The cost to get lapidary stuff shipped here is crazy so I make do with what I can afford or want to spend and I like making do too so it suits me. lloyd Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 20, 2012 23:57:57 GMT -5
here's a closer picture of the striped green material. it has a small pyrite crystal in it as do a lot of the materials I find around here. All the fractures are ancient and very solid. It's great stuff to work with. Sorry, this picture is before it was totally finished. I was doing a test of the material to cut angles and contours to see how stable it is. Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 20, 2012 23:38:56 GMT -5
I've been collecting local agate, banded, botrioydal, drusey, and geodes, along with jasper in a couple of varietys, some common opal and agate mix, common opal, a bunch of material I call Lloydite that has all the qualities of a hard green material, and some copper based materials because this area is also home to one of the largest copper zones in the world. I forgot to mention that all the weird shapes are because I do them all freehand. I mount a tile blade on my drill press and the same with polish pads. I have a water gravity drip system to help out and preform on the saw blade , then final shape on a 4" recessed disk diamond grinding cup before I run them through from 400-3000 diamond and cerium oxide finish for the ones that need it.. The green striped material is a jasper I think and and is about mohs 5-6 and takes a great shine real easy. It's nice and solid and is the only thing I've found in any quantity. I don't host my pictures on the net so I'm stuck with 1 pic at a time. If you'd like to see any closer, let me know. Lloyd Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 20, 2012 20:47:52 GMT -5
99% not jade of either type, any colour should have more translucence and the vitruous greasy look isn't there; the most telling factor though is the conchoidal fracture. Neither jade will break like that. The colours in jade can go from red to clear right through the greens and blue, and even orange and purple. Pure jade is allmost clear but "extremely" rare
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 19, 2012 9:51:52 GMT -5
great job all round, now I hope the copper tarnishes evenly and you will have a great aue naturale
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 13, 2012 22:47:18 GMT -5
Aren't you lessening the weight by holding the string? what you are actually measuring is what that amount of water weighs; the water that is deflected by the volume of the material you are putting into it so the string makes no difference as long as you keep the material off the bottom. This is your 1 SG. then the weight of the dry material is weighed and the division of it or the amount of times the 1 SG of the water goes into it is the real SG of the material. probably more confusing to think of the explanation then how to get the answer. I don't understand the way lots of things work but I still use them. we had this same topic 3-4 days ago
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 13, 2012 16:24:21 GMT -5
poor kid; a lifetime of having his skin stripped off won't make up for what she will have to live with.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 13, 2012 9:49:06 GMT -5
I've had that bad boy in my hand and I kept wishing there was a saw handy to cut off a slab and toss it on the grill:<))) except for the vug in the middle it's pretty solid and the colour looks like it's right through. Beautifull stone, and Digdug wouldn't let me knock a chunk off!! :<))
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Newbie
Jun 13, 2012 9:23:32 GMT -5
Post by itsandbits on Jun 13, 2012 9:23:32 GMT -5
looks like a good variety, nice find; I think the saw is going to come in handy.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 11, 2012 10:52:18 GMT -5
so you got the massive pine beetle outbreak too then. Up here in Canada it started in the late 70s, early 80's and spread right across BC starting in central BC, and Alberta has been fighting a loosing battle because of the milder winters they are getting through the mountain passes and through the rockies. BC is bare now compared to what it was. Forestry is limping along when it used to be the #1 employer. Now it's even behind tourism I think.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Jun 10, 2012 16:53:39 GMT -5
heat is your friend at this point. after nthis long it may need a little heat to help it along, no more than 120F for a couple of hours at a time till it hardens, put a lamp right over it so the bulb heat does the job and monitor it. This should do it. Be carefull 90-100 f should be enough
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