darter
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Post by darter on Nov 19, 2017 21:29:40 GMT -5
Darter, If you found the rocks in the View Attachment dark brown portion of Waupaca CO then there is a formation called Wolf River age where there was/is and igneous intrusion which has Granite, Syenite, gabbro and Anorthosite and some other stuff. The Quartz is consistent with this the image #3 looks like a bit of gabbro. these will give only white streaks. Gabbro is a rock made from the feldspar family which should streak white, quarts is too hard for the unglazed porcelain. Usually in the igneous soup that formed it there was some pyrite if you get a greenish black streek you probably have some. though it is probably weathered to the iron stains seen on the rock. most likely not gemmy but interesting. That's a cool map, what's the source? Spencer Lake is about 3 miles north of the southern border and maybe 8 miles from the western border, so it looks like it falls more in the light brown area.
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darter
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Post by darter on Nov 19, 2017 14:32:59 GMT -5
I don't know what it is, but in your video either you are popping a big batch of popcorn or you have tumblers running. Sounds cool- interesting soundtrack. Lol. That's a tumbler running next to me. Didn't even realize it. Well the theory it was dropped in is a but less likely...my daughter clarified a few things... 1. There are no stones added to the shoreline close by. 2. The rock was embedded in clay about half an arms length into the spring, stuck into the side wall of the spring. To do the streak test, will the back of a porcelain tile suffice?
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darter
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Post by darter on Nov 19, 2017 11:38:46 GMT -5
Pic 2 shows a lot of quartz. Pic 3 shows some brown material that could be feldspar (weathered/stained) or something else. What county in WI was it found? have you tried to get a streak from the various parts of the rock. The rock shows Iron staining. Any metalic lusters (pyrite, hematite etc)? get streak from these. It does not appear to have been tumbled by the glacier so it is either from an outcrop or from the driftless area of WI. Thanks for the input. This was in southern Waupaca County, so not the driftless area. Although now that I think about it, the spring is close to the shore. Someone reinforcing their shoreline with rocks could have dropped it into the spring.
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darter
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Post by darter on Nov 9, 2017 23:17:15 GMT -5
I'm not sure where to start with something like this. It seems to have different minerals in it with all the different colors, textures, reflectance, and such. My daughter found it in a spring in our lake in Central WI. I took a video of it to try to give a better sense of the sparkle and angles. We'd like to cut it open, maybe cut some slabs, but I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions on what angle to take with the blade. Or would this sort of specimen be better broken down and tumbled?
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darter
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Post by darter on Nov 8, 2017 11:28:58 GMT -5
What a great variety and polish.! I especially like the red green yellow rock in pic #3. What is that?
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darter
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Post by darter on Nov 6, 2017 16:54:13 GMT -5
Yeah, I still can't believe I got it, especially with all of the other 4" saws on CL for more money. Last night I wiped all the parts down and the thing looks like it just came from the store.
Anyway, now I have blade questions... I'm confused about what I should use for general, all-purpose hobby slabbing. After looking around on this forum it seems like the MK-303 is a favorite, but not for slabbing. But since I don't have an auto-feed, is this still an option? Also, the blade says "for oil lubrication only", while the MK website says "for use with water-soluble lubricants". I chatted with their customer service and they steered me to the 333jb. I also see that some people like the 225 Hotdog.
So here are my requirements... 1. Safety. My kids are going to use this saw, so I'd like a blade with a continuous rim. They've used more dangerous tools before, but not with their fingers just a centimeter from the blade. 2. Thin kerf. Hopefully I don't need to settle for something too thick that will remove a lot of the rock 3. Price. I saved a boat load on the saw, but if I can save a little on a blade, that would be nice.
I still have what seems like an OK blade on the saw now, so the new blade could be a "better" blade that only gets installed for more important cuts. I could see getting a nice blade for slabs and keeping the current one for reducing big rocks down for the tumbler.
Thoughts?
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darter
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Member since August 2017
Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Nov 5, 2017 15:49:42 GMT -5
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darter
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Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Sept 30, 2017 15:29:58 GMT -5
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darter
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Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Sept 7, 2017 17:23:45 GMT -5
Welcome from SE Wisconsin! I've only been here for a few weeks and find this to be a very helpful and supportive group.
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darter
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Posts: 26
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Post by darter on Sept 2, 2017 8:41:10 GMT -5
Since we were already packing up to head out of town for the weekend, I tossed a half bag of 1.5mm tile spacers into each barrel, and added a half teaspoon of borax. Hopefully I did OK with just that?
Next time I will have more time to get the kitty litter recipe perfected. Thanks for that tip!
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darter
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Post by darter on Sept 1, 2017 8:55:42 GMT -5
No UV light yet, but I took a flashlight to it and it is completely translucent. Light shines all the way through all over, except where there are minor inclusions. Can't tell if the milkiness of the appearance is just on the surface or goes all the way through.
We did leave the small piece that broke off in the tumbler. So if anything, that will tell us how well it survives with a full tumble. Will take another look at the batch on Monday night (8 days).
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darter
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Post by darter on Sept 1, 2017 8:51:38 GMT -5
Darter.. Did you use a clay like kitty litter in your rotary so you don't bruise your stones? Water doesn't pad the stones much and you can really bruise the stones badly and you wont see all the damage until further along in the process and then you will be heart broken. Thicker slurry is better, but not too thick. Could be a chalcedony agate too. Not quartz looking because quartz is more common and more coarse grained. Roll it for another week and then see how rounded it is. No kitty litter, but that sounds like it would make great filler media. Most of my other stones are much harder. Do you think it would worth adding cushion to this batch. I'm afraid to put this one back in with the current batch. I might try to come up with a softer batch of rocks I don't care much about and tumble it in that. My daughter really likes this stone, so I don't want to chance ruining it... that would get me into big trouble!
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darter
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Post by darter on Sept 1, 2017 8:48:05 GMT -5
Is that crystals or a fracture in the 2nd picture? That is a small hole. Just to the left of it and downward is another small opening that runs perpendicular to the one that's visible.
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darter
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Post by darter on Sept 1, 2017 8:46:28 GMT -5
No worries,keep tumbling... Very good... thanks for confirming! From some other threads I've read, a little borax should help with that. I'll try some on the next batch.
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darter
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Post by darter on Aug 29, 2017 22:11:19 GMT -5
By the way, this is our first tumble. When we opened the barrel for inspection and removed this stone, instead of a watery slurry that I was expecting, we found the mixture almost entirely foamy. Is this common?
We filled the barrel to 2/3 full, water up to the bottom of the top rocks, and 4 tablespoons of grit, per the instruction booklet.
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darter
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Post by darter on Aug 29, 2017 21:43:01 GMT -5
If it's already becoming rounded in 24 hrs i doubt if it's agate. Reminds me of hyalite opal. I have no idea if its in that area. Does it fluoresce? Yeah, a piece chipped off and it's not sharp there like one would expect. How does one check fluorescence? Is a black light needed?
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darter
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Post by darter on Aug 29, 2017 21:08:13 GMT -5
We were on a family vacation a few weeks ago and my daughter picked this out of a dry riverbed. We thought it passed the hardness test to tumble with granite. But after just 24 hours in the 80 grit, it had a piece chip off and the rough edges are already softened a little. It's roughly an inch long and lighter in weight than it looks. Slightly translucent. Any ideas? We have an identification book that pictures a very similar specimen from ND, commonly found with river rocks. It calls it a banded agate. Could this be a similar stone?
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darter
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Post by darter on Aug 28, 2017 22:03:51 GMT -5
Well the pictures will have to wait. My youngest got a Lortone 33b for his birthday from his grandparents. He and his sister each filled a barrel with the Racine rocks after I showed them how to check hardness.
Since these are smooth beach stones, am I safe to presume that these will likely only take about a week in 80 grit?
Also, did we do OK to include rocks from 6-7 Mohs in the same barrel? Will the sixes survive?
I'll see if I can get some pics later of the specimens that didn't make the cut, mainly due to softness.
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darter
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Post by darter on Aug 28, 2017 21:59:20 GMT -5
If you're looking for agates on a beach I suggest waiting for a big storm and looking around on a sunny day after that. A lot of beaches, at least in northern MN, get picked over by the influx of tourists. Also, if you don't mind getting wet, looking in the water can yield better results sometimes. I think I've even seen videos of people scuba diving/snorkeling for agates in Lake Superior. Maybe wait for a really warm day to try that, though. Ah, that storm idea is a great idea. I was thinking of coming in the spring, but the water is barely 50 degrees by Memorial Day. For this hunt I was actually sitting in about 16 inches of water, a few feet out from shore... That's right about where the waves were breaking before sliding up onto the beach. All the sand was washed away there revealing a nice band of stones waiting to be collected.
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darter
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Member since August 2017
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Post by darter on Aug 28, 2017 21:52:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! We're now spinning a Lortone 33b...it is SO much quieter than the plastic barrel! Thanks for the recommendation!
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