The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 13, 2016 18:25:33 GMT -5
very cool looking!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 13, 2016 18:13:53 GMT -5
Thanx Tela, My buddy can make you one in any size you want to go in your window or on the vehicle and since its vinyl it is easy to remove too. from 4" to 4 feet if you want.... let me know and I will put you in touch with him. I am going to help make sure he has his Paypal up & running tomorrow so he can do direct sales.... ********* I don't get anything out of this, not a dime, other than spreading the word to others that we are here!!!**********
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 13, 2016 17:27:49 GMT -5
very cool bro!!!!! and only a couple hrs away.... i might have to swing by and toss a few beers in the tub for ya!!!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 13, 2016 17:03:27 GMT -5
#2 looks to be Mariposite #6 I am thinking Indian Blanket Jasper #11 I am thinking either Zoisite or jade. Jade has a better chance of being translucent than zoisite. #13 may also be Marisposite... there are variations in color & patterns that I have seem and they do not necessarily resemble each other that much. regardless.... all nice slabs!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 12, 2016 13:55:00 GMT -5
while it is possible that the tumbling action created some cracking, usually with softer stones mixed with harder, I would say that the grinding action probably exposed the cracks already within he rock but unseen till now, you can grind away the cracks and retumble in the next batch or leave them for a long tumble in another batch, or.... garden rock !!! LOL
good luck
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Rats
Jul 12, 2016 13:45:11 GMT -5
Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 12, 2016 13:45:11 GMT -5
I've down almost all of my Obsidian in my rotary, QT66, and it has taken some time to figure out something that works for me.... when I finish tumbling my course stages, I dump the slurry into a bucket and leave it out for the water to evaporate. I then re-use the powder when i do my next batch of rough. I add about 2 heaping teaspoons of this powder back into the barrel, in addition to the regular amount of grit for the grind. This tends to cause the slurry to form faster and thicker than normal which cushions the Obsidian while tumbling. when I get to the pre-polish stage I switch from ceramic to plastic and use borax with the grit, again to thicken the mix. Same goes for the final polish. the name of the game with Obsidian and a lot of other stones is to cushion/minimize the bruising throughout ALL the stages, not just the final. the bruising will not be easily removed in any of the later stages after 120.... same goes for amethyst and quartz types.
I now use a vibe for polish on Obsidian... got a cheapo from HF for about 49.99 that works well for a single stage and I am getting an extra bowl for some courser grinding of different materials.
hope this helps some!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 12, 2016 12:26:04 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, banded amethyst will be ok but the crystals will probably wear away to nothing in the 60/90. I would recommend starting with the that if you do use the 60/90 to start with both amethyst that you check them frequently... every day for the first 3 days to see how they progress, especially the amethyst crystals as they will wear down faster due to the sharper edges, first thing to go is the edges. If they are wearing down faster than the rest you can switch to 120 to run the whole thing or pull the crystals out and when the banded stuff is ready move the whole thing to 120 and again, check on it daily for the first couple days to see progress and if all's good let it go for a week between checks. there are lots of good tips & tricks posted in the top of this forum on tumbling so make sure to read them all and it helps to have a notebook to write down some of the steps and more important ... to keep track of what you do so if it works you can easily repeat it... and if there is a problem you can post your steps here so we can see what you did and try to help!!!
good luck with it!!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 12, 2016 12:15:43 GMT -5
When I read the title, I thought you cut a record. Nice sticker, though. did that too... the government wants to plat it in Iraq... end the conflicts quickly, but NATO & the UN said it was cruel and inhumane treatment so it got canceled!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 11, 2016 14:24:07 GMT -5
Greetings & Salutations to all my dear RTH friends and members..... been awhile since I've posted.. but I still lurk occasionally.... Life has been interesting around here ... passed my first Kidney Stone and then a week later passed a couple more, both times prompted a trip to the E.R. which was interesting as I knew the people working there. And the drugs were pretty good too.... if you don't mind drooling on yourself from time to time. I am teaching cabbing basics through my local rock shop when able and am really trying to spend more time cabbing but the heat here in Fl. lately has been knocking the crap out of me... dehydrated 3 times in a week. Currently I am working on stone #5, kidney stone that is, and I have made some cabs that I really like and hope to post pictures soon, if I can get photobucket straightened out. my wire wrapping has suffered from lack of use but I am slowly getting back into it as I have been invited to do 2 craft shows later this year and find myself in need of wrapped pieces to sell... other than that... life is crap... but the good thing about that is this........ If you start your day at the bottom.. you have nowhere to go but up!!! so by the time I go to bed at night ..... I'm fantastic!!! LOL anyways hope everybody is doing well.... I'm off to catch up on my reading on the forum11 Laterz!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 11, 2016 14:03:05 GMT -5
I was washing my truck and not really paying attention as I cleaned the windows and I cleaned all the writing off my RTH window decal... luckily I had a picture of it so I took it to a buddy with a print shop and he made me a new one and even put it on my truck.... however it is a little bigger than the old one............................ check it out............. However ... I still like it !!!! If anyone wants one my buddy will make them large like mine or window size cut out of vinyl and ready to be installed on your vehicle. up to 12" is about $15 shipped to you, bigger, like mine (about 16" I think) is about $25 shipped. I don't make anything on it and my buddy is making very little... this is just for anyone who wants one and he can even do a T-Shirt if interested... I'll post a pic when I get mine.. it'll be a little different looking than the decal.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Feb 15, 2016 19:38:51 GMT -5
those are amazing... the obsidiaan really changes the look of it!! A++++++
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jan 27, 2016 19:14:44 GMT -5
and as if this wasn't surprise enough.... she was picked to read her essay for Literacy week on "social media and how it effects our lives" and how it would have effected the killing of Harry T Moore & his wife Harriet Moored in 1951.
There were 5 people there from the Moore building/museum and after everybody had read their papers... 4 out of 5 came up to Jane to congratulate her on her paper and how much they enjoyed hearing her read it!!
Very Cool & Happy Dad_Ohs Here!!!!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jan 21, 2016 20:41:37 GMT -5
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jan 17, 2016 16:55:47 GMT -5
I'm not a "small guy" either... I've carried a Taurus 9mm for maybe 10 yrs now and before that a S&W model 66 .357 mag with a 4 inch barrel target sights & grips for me meat hooks to hold on too!! LOL
I really miss that gun and the prices now have my shying away from a new revolver, or even a decent used one.
Right now I have a Hi Point full size 45 that I carry, the price was right, made right here in the U.S. in Nevada, I think. Shoots well even with my tired old eyes and the lifetime warranty doesn't hurt either.
I have always been a fan of the CZ, they are nice pistols.
I'm hoping that Florida will continue its pro-gun stance and adopt the open carry that the sheriffs departments are pushing for. will really drop the crime rate in my opinion. After all, who wants to try to rob a store when there are a 1/2 dozen armed people in it?
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Oct 24, 2015 10:58:24 GMT -5
I upgraded from 7 to 210 and my computer developed a video glitch, so I switched back to 7 and all is well...... I really like 7 and it still has 5 yrs of shelf life in it then another 5 years of support will be ending soon... by then microsoft should have another decent OS to switch too... or I'll just keep using 7 until they get it right.
On the flip side... I have heard than the only way 10 works is to do a clean install and then there are no real issues with functionality.
And yeah.... I prefer XP too !!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Sept 22, 2015 18:00:15 GMT -5
count me in... I'm prepping for a couple shows at the moment, but I'd be up for it!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Sept 22, 2015 17:57:12 GMT -5
very nice ... I've found that, especially with Labradorite, extra cushioning is better than extra material as it helps stop the crazing that I see on the stones. also, a thick slurry also helps cushion the material by keeping it coated with grit and slow the 'falling effect', which is when a group of stones tumbling fall down onto other stones usually because the grit mixture is thin and does little to slow the motion of the stones as they hit each other, also, make sure to check the stones for chips and any chipped stones are to be removed as found so that they can be ground down and corrected for the next batch. For a thickener, I take the grit/water mixture from my batches and set it out in a pan in the sun to dry, then pour the dust into a jar to keep for my course batches. It woks really well. for the 2nd thru polish batches, burnish/soap or another type of thickener.
hope this helps... Rock On!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Aug 24, 2015 17:33:24 GMT -5
Kyanite is a bladed crystal and I do not think that is what you have there, it is also semi brittle, at least to me and my meat hooks!! LOL,
I have seen sodalite and lapis that look similar to what you have there and my guess is sodalite. I have some with a lot of grey in it and 1 piece with no blue at all.
So, anyways ... that's my vote... sodalite.
Rock On!!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Aug 24, 2015 17:29:00 GMT -5
I've always used lots of filler when tumbling Ob.... any type Ob. And ceramic/plastic filler depending on the step I am on.
When tumbling OB, I usually do the following.... for course grind - lots of filler, 2/3 - 3/4 full barrel, 2 big teaspoons of old tumbler grit (thickener) and water to top of material. When the grit is worn down just add more, do not clean out.
To check the progress of your material, pull out a few pieces and rinse them off to see how they are doing. Add more grit, another spoon or 2 of old grit (thickener), and send it off for another amount of time, for me, a week. when your ready for the next grit, clean everything out really well, check your material and weed out the not ready pieces. set aside whats left and do another batch of course. when they are ready to move on combine with previous batch so you have plenty to fill your barrel.
For the 2nd grind, pretty much same as 1st batch, filler, 2/3 - 3/4 full, water to top of material, grit..... but no thickener for the first round. Once it has run for a week, check it, but don't empty it, rinse off the rocks to check them and put back in barrel if more tumble time is needed. add more grit, as much as you did for the first time with this grit and let it go for another week. Check and repeat as necessary, and follow this for every grit step until completed. the only difference is that when you get to the pre-polish / polish cycles add burnish to the barrels. (and you can use plastic pellets too if you want.)
It's not Gospel, but I have had good luck with this.... I also keep a log book of each batch so if something isn't working I can make note of it and any changes I make to correct the run.
I wish you all best of luck too.
P.S., don't be afraid to take a piece to the wheel/grinder if needed to stop any cracking from spreading as it tumbles. Especially in the first cycle.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Aug 24, 2015 16:49:50 GMT -5
finger nails work too for finding cracks in slabs!!
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