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Post by HankRocks on Feb 13, 2024 21:49:46 GMT -5
It would nice if you could have them cut in half. Can't quite tell, is the 5lb one maybe a double, can barely make out what looks to be a join line. I have seen double Choyas and I have even cut and polished a nice large triple.
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 11, 2024 16:52:06 GMT -5
I am close to being caught up on tumbling the rocks I found this summer and now it's time to experiment a bit. I have some small slabs of blue forest petrified wood and some other petrified wood that I've slabbed. I am satisfied with their shape and they measure 1.5" to 2" in diameter. I have rotary tumblers and a mini-sonic tumbler. After looking through the achieves, I got some aquarium gravel and also have cheremic pellets. Here are my questions. 1. Would you even tumble them at all or would you use the wet disc pads and go through the step grades? 2. Would you advise using the rotary or the vibe? 3. Since I am happy with the shape, would you skip Stage 1? 4. Do you slab one at a time or can you do multiple mini- slabs? if so, considering the size of the slabs, how many would you do at a time? A lot of questions here, but I would appreciate any advice that you can provide! THANK YOU in advance! I have tumbled both shaped Pendant stones and small slices of agate, maybe a 100 or so in the batch. I save all of the small pieces trimmed off when cutting the pendant stones out and add previously tumbled pea gravel. For the coarse(first) stage I use 80 SiC instead of my normal 46-70 or 35-60 as the breakdown of the grit is slow with all low-mass rocks in the batch and so many flat sides. Also use a bit less grit than a normal 1st stage and a day or two longer than normal. These runs are in a Model B Rotary for all the stages except polish which moves to the UV-18 Vibe. Also tumble large slabs maybe 25 to 35 3 to 6 inch wide pieces. Same mix of trim saw pieces and Pea Gravel to fill gaps. These stay in the rotary through the polish stage as they are two big for good movement in the UV-18 Vibe. IMG_5904 by Findrocks, on Flickr It just dawned on me today that I can try running a batch of large end cuts. Some are as thick as 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch at the thickest and 3 to 5 inches in length. They may beat each other up so I added extra small scraps. I am curious to see how they work out.
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 10, 2024 2:42:19 GMT -5
I use Borax. Considering the bug population here on the Gulf Coast with the fact that I save and re-use polish, sugar would be a disaster.
We have those big tree roaches, you know the ones you try and step on and they look up at you and say, "don't do that again, or I will have to call the rest of my clan!!!"
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 9, 2024 8:01:28 GMT -5
jamesp I think I see where you headed with these "Polka Dots". After seeing the crazy money someone just spent on a very small slab of Ocean Jasper, you're trying to create your own. First the polka dots, next the hardness. Can't fool this old SE Texas boy!!
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 9, 2024 6:30:30 GMT -5
In his book Rocks From Space, O. Robert Norton has a pretty good description of what the impact was like around the globe. The waves generated washed northward to what is now the Dakotas. Pretty much the entire world was set on fire from the heat. I think I’ve read somewhere that those studying the event now think the main object hit at a fairly edge on angle, more tangential, rather than coming more or less straight down from the sky. I’m not entirely sure how something organic or living could survive intact the forces involved if it were knocked literally from Earth’s surface in to space. That’s an interesting thought. Something that does not make sense with that hypothesis is that the meteor that struck in what is now known as the Yucatan, hit the ocean, not land. How would this lead to worldwide fires, and the supermassive tsunami that would have formed would have doused any fires. I suspect that something estimated to be about 6 miles in diameter with an impact velocity of 12 miles per second is going to generate enough heat to vaporize a good bit of the water at and around the impact zone. That probably reduces the wave by a bit. It seems I read somewhere that the wave reached only as far as the I-20 / I-30 line in Texas. The heat and air wave from the blast reaching further. That and the heated ejecta was thrown out higher and further than the wave reached. It seems some of the amino acids can survive a high heat exposure.
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 7, 2024 7:32:10 GMT -5
jamesp Another year "Better"!! (just ignore those aches and pains)
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 4, 2024 19:23:13 GMT -5
I have this same split barrel which I use to tumble two large rocks at the same time. It's the same size as the Model B barrel and the same gray color as a Scott Murray, it could be Lortone as there is no label on the barrel. One large rock on each side? How big of a rock have you tumbled in it? I would love to try and do some large pieces. Maybe about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pound. The shape can be important as you don't want it to jam. Mostly fill with pea-gravel and up to about 1/2 inch in size around the large as those will be able to get out of the way. Bigger than 1/2 inch or so and they will start to try and fight the large pieces. I also use a good amount saved slurry for cushioning.
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 4, 2024 13:59:05 GMT -5
I have this same split barrel which I use to tumble two large rocks at the same time. It's the same size as the Model B barrel and the same gray color as a Scott Murray, it could be Lortone as there is no label on the barrel.
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 2, 2024 13:11:54 GMT -5
I have old posts I haven't fixed, but my fumble fingers hav3e lost a lot of my photos - zip, gone! Walt Kelly was the best! I especially liked the 3 bats "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bemildred"
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 25, 2024 10:07:59 GMT -5
Problem for me is Square. I set it up before the Mesa show in 2023 and never used it there because their system was glitching big time. It worked for me in Oregon, and it looks like they deducted AZ sales tax from the transactions there, not even sure how they could have routed the money to AZ revenue, and no response to attempts to call or chats sent to Square. I need to contact AZ revenue and see if they got the money, if so I can hopefully reconcile it against what I owe from this years pitiful sales. I managed to turn off the tax collection on the Square dashboard, but what a mess. If it's like my Square, I have only done Shows in the Houston area so the Sales Tax rate is set and not changed by me. If I were to go somewhere with a different rate I would have to set that rate up and then set it to that rate for those different Sales Tax sales. Square does not know where the sales are made and you need to adjust per the local rates. Square does not send money in. I get a quarterly statement from the State Tax folks that I am required to fill out and report any sales and Sales Tax generated and send that amount in to the State. Square does nice reports on how much in Sales I made and the tax generated per the rate I set. Of course that's only Credit Card/Debit Card sale. Cash sales are up to you to keep track of. I track my sales pretty closely and doing the Quarterly reports to the State is not too difficult for me. Usually I do a cash count and use the Square report of Credit Sales and cash to come up with my total to report for a given Show. I like to track sales so I get a good number on what is selling well and what's not.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 25, 2024 7:16:23 GMT -5
Where is Mad Max when you need him?!!!!
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 24, 2024 4:52:37 GMT -5
They are all beautiful and unique. The red moss polishes really well without much undercut. Was it polished on a flat lap? It was polished on my 20 inch Vib Lap, it had one round flat lead weight caulked to it. As soon as I can get some help with getting the hood back on the freshly cleaned and new oil poured 24 inch saw, there are a good many large rocks in the Boneyard(s) to be cut into both regular slabs, and thicker slabs and end cuts that hopefully will be polished. The thicker slabs, 1/2 Inch plus, work much better in the Vib Lap as the caulk connecting the weights is not affected as much by splashing water in the Vib Lap. Even thinking about fixing up and running a 2nd 20 inch Vib Lap that could be reserved for larger pieces. Just not sure I am willing to take the physical leap of the extra work and time required. It may be that I stockpile cut pieces to be polished during the warmer months. Large Vib Laps are a good bit of work bringing the pan and the rocks outside and then hosing everything off between stages and colder wet weather is not the best for that activity. So little time, so many rocks!!! Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 23, 2024 8:01:47 GMT -5
These are all absolutely beautiful! Thank you for posting. I had no idea we had geodes in Texas, so that is cool to know. I’ve heard about that Walker ranch, someday we must make a trip out there. And that palmwood…Amazing! I’ve found some nice pieces of it, but nothing like that. There are geodes scattered on a good many of the ranches in the Big Bend are(not the Park!!) They are all private but Teri Smith along with another gentleman lead fee collecting trips to various Ranches out of Alpine Texas. When I get her Spring schedule I will post a link. Sadly, the Walker Ranch along with Woodward are closed to collecting. Same with the Singleton Ranch south of Marfa with it Bouquet Agate is also closed. Palm wood is difficult to find. It's scattered through east Texas and into Louisiana mostly on private land. Have also found a few pieces around Lake Somerville and on some private property near Bedias.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 23, 2024 7:20:50 GMT -5
It just dawned on me that Disney has lost the rights to Mickey Mouse so I can use the name if I choose too!!!
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 23, 2024 7:14:36 GMT -5
Number 8, the Palm Wood, took an interesting journey from rough to polish; Step 1 - 2 - 8 or 9 day runs in a Model B with 35/70 SiC Step 2 - 6 days in 220 SiC in a 3lb Lortone 33B tumbler Step 3 - 6 days in 600 SiC in a 3lb Lortone 33B tumbler Step 4 - 3 to 4 days in 500 AlO Mini-Sonic 10lb hopper ( I never completely clean this barrel out, it's a permanent load of small scraps and already run 500 AlO. I take the larger pieces out with a large plastic serving spoon. For a new set I add about 1/2 Tbls of fresh grit) Step 5 - 3 to 4 days in Tin Oxide in a Mini-Sonic 4 lb hopper ( I save the Tin Oxide polish and re-use it) Step 6 - about 6 hours in Ivory Soap and Borax in the Mini-Sonic 4 lb hopper (after polish is the only soap run in the entire process) That's 3 different machine and 4 different barrels. I am running most of my coarse runs in the Model B with 35/70 SiC with a mixture of sizes including larger pieces. After sorting the ready to move on rocks are separated with the larger rocks starting the process above. The other smaller finished rocks go thru about 7 days each of 80 Sic, 220 SiC, 600 SiC, and 500AlO in the Model B. After that they go to polish in the UV-18 Vib with Tin Oxide. If the rock is very large like the #4 Palm Wood, they make all their steps in a split barrel Model B as they are too large to fit in 3lb barrel or the Mini-Sonic hoppers, or the UV-18. I have about 20 or so larger pieces of Tiger Eye that I have been setting aside after the 500 AlO run. I am going to polishtry them all together in the UV-18 along with about 6 or 7 pound mixture of pre-run ceramics and polished pea gravel. Hope to start it in about 3 days Big slabs are a different process, Ark Quartz, and Apache Tears are a different process. I do keep a note book with dates and which barrel and which grit. I figure that going over on days is not a big deal in tumbling. (confused yet? ) All this keeps it interesting, and keeps the few brain cells I still have functioning.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 22, 2024 21:59:41 GMT -5
All of these look awesome Henry. However, there's just something about all the Walker Ranch material I've seen that just seems insanely amazing...and that last one is no exception to that! Fortunately I have more of the Walker Ranch material to cut, including several larger (3+ lb) pieces. They are in the queue!! Walker and Woodward Ranches have the same material as they have a short run of a common fence between them. I remember one of the older guys on the dig with us found a biscuit that must have weighed 40 to 50 pounds. Always wondered if he ever cut it. It had great color and pattern showing on the two or three pieces that were nicked off. Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 22, 2024 21:03:34 GMT -5
With the rain all day today I got out some of last 4 months worth of polished pieces; 1) "Mickey and Minnie after running with the wrong crowd"! Not sure where this Thunderegg is from but it may make my cabinet. The crystal filled "ear" is amethyst. I suppose I could turn them the other way. IMG_6010 by Findrocks, on Flickr 2) Brazilian Agate with nice color and a crystal pocket. (The light reflection is very clear, but reflection is blurred in pic) These really take a polish on the Vibe Lap. IMG_6011 by Findrocks, on Flickr 3) Round Mt AZ Chalcedony, This one is two levels, just did not capture in the picture. IMG_6012 by Findrocks, on Flickr 4A) Palm Wood odd shaped nodule. This one is almost 2 1/2 pounds, very agatized. Fortunately the fractures are healed. I left some of the white depressions as i did not want to keep going smaller, and add character. IMG_6013 by Findrocks, on Flickr 4B)Same piece, bottom showing the depth of the agate IMG_6014 by Findrocks, on Flickr 5A) Quartz mini-towers cover agate. Found on east side of Lajitas Mesa up one of the steep, rough washes. Would loved to have found more of this or the source. IMG_6015 by Findrocks, on Flickr 5B) Bottom of same piece showing the agate. The journey down the steep wash was pretty hard on the piece, and on me and my brother for that matter. IMG_6016 by Findrocks, on Flickr 6) One of the West Texas Geodes, the crystals in this one really shine. IMG_6017 by Findrocks, on Flickr 7) Another West Texas Geode. IMG_6018 by Findrocks, on Flickr 8A) East Texas Palm.. This caught my eye as soon as I saw it with the curved surface going from long reeds to end view of the "eyeball" reeds. I cut a flat base so it would stand up. The polish on it is a mirror finish. Left the rough look on both sides to add character. IMG_6020 by Findrocks, on Flickr 8B) Another view of the side with the rougher palm structure showing. IMG_6021 by Findrocks, on Flickr 9) And another of my favorite "Red Plume" biscuits from Walker Ranch. IMG_6023 by Findrocks, on Flickr I have more special ones to pull out, as soon as I get the hood back on the just cleaned 24 inch saw and get everything back in order in the garage. Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 22, 2024 18:02:18 GMT -5
Was trying to remember the name of the gentleman who owned the Trading Post, Bill Ivey maybe.
Interesting bit of history as the crossing at Lajitas was one of the main crossings into Mexico for the Comanches when they went on their much feared annual raids into Northern Mexico, usually around the full moon in Sept hence the name "Comanche Moon". The US later built a military fort there in response to the bandit activity about time of WWI, Pancho Villa and company. The story is that George Patton was stationed there.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 22, 2024 16:39:40 GMT -5
Realrockhound, I know where I bought material I didn't find but can also say I sometimes would find an oddball piece that wasn't like the other material. A lot of materialI bought was collected by the Mexicans in Mexico, others that worked on the ranches or crossed the Rio Grande and searched the Woodward Ranch area for material to sell. I still remember seeing the burrows loaded with coconuts and or cactus from Mexico being unloaded on the border shop and cantina in the early 60's. This was a different sight compared to my big city upbringing. Victor I remember the folks at the Trading Post in Lajitas used to have rocks for sale. They were in small piles scattered around behind the building and some out front. It was a mixed bag of material that I assume were brought over from Mexico. If you picked through the different piles you could find some pretty nice material. At some point they cleaned up around the place and scattered a few pieces of the agate here and there. We went collecting and found a few nice pieces here and there. Probably still some to be found if one knows where to look. Back in the early 90's, my brother and I paid the row boat man a couple dollars and went across the river, past the small town Paso Lajitas and to the back side of the small hills behind the village. The variety and quality of the material there was really nice, most small pieces broken up by over active rock-hammering. Also remember going to the NE side of Needle Peak driving in Wells Creek in about at the dead Cottonwood tree and around about a mile or so and then to the base of the peak. Within about 1/4 mile of were we parked, we found vein agate, agate nodules, petrified wood, geodes, sharks teeth, fossil oyster shells, fossil bone, and some Indian tools made out of Palm wood. That place was a rock-collecting paradise. Unfortunately the creek washed out in one of the big floods and you could not drive to that side. Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 22, 2024 11:50:32 GMT -5
One other thing I should mention, even despite my almost 60 years of tumbling rocks, I am still learning and I do still make mistakes. The past 7 years as a member of this forum with all the knowledge out here has really accelerated the learning. That and I still look forward to sorting through a coarse run and the finished products from a polish run.
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