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Howdy!
Aug 13, 2018 17:33:14 GMT -5
Post by taylor on Aug 13, 2018 17:33:14 GMT -5
Welcome from southern Arizona! We love Oregon!
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Post by taylor on Aug 11, 2018 16:13:27 GMT -5
Pretty!
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Post by taylor on Aug 9, 2018 11:11:14 GMT -5
We haven't been there yet, but its called Como Bluff. It was placed on the National Historic places in 2008.
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Post by taylor on Aug 6, 2018 18:46:09 GMT -5
We use a folding table that is 46" x 24" x 33" tall. Faucet hooked up to garden hose and drains into gravel catch area.We use a gradation screen more frequently than a colander because it gives more surface area to rinse and more area for the water to drain.
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Post by taylor on Aug 5, 2018 19:09:29 GMT -5
Welcome from San Manuel, Arizona. You have come to a great place!
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Post by taylor on Aug 5, 2018 16:43:58 GMT -5
Pretty stuff! Love the Owyhee!
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Post by taylor on Aug 5, 2018 16:40:50 GMT -5
I have a similar pair of earrings. I wish I could provide a picture, but the earrings are in Arizona and I am in Wyoming. The silver work is nearly identical, although mine have a silver decoration instead of the faceted stone. Mine were purchased in Matamoros, Mexico in 1997 by my boyfriend. He didn't say what the stones were supposed to be. Sorry I am not of more assistance, but perhaps location and time frame will be helpful. Good luck!
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Post by taylor on May 27, 2018 17:30:12 GMT -5
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Post by taylor on May 27, 2018 0:37:30 GMT -5
That is interesting, gemfeller. I have looked at these pieces a bit more and don't see anything other than chalcedony and uninteresting host stuff. Could you direct me to a picture of the opalite? Thank you.
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Post by taylor on May 26, 2018 0:05:33 GMT -5
Thank you Don and gemfeller, I appreciate the quick and detailed response. I was a little pressed for time and my not so great photography was particularly poor--my apologies. The pieces are from/for a local estate. I also have started pieces and finished pieces. Local is San Manuel Arizona on the west side of the Galiuro Mountains, but I do not know the exact locations where the material was collected. Please elaborate on 'opal bottom', this is not something that I understand. I do understand/recognize the white chalcedony.
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Post by taylor on May 25, 2018 0:18:46 GMT -5
I have a local buyer for some fire agate rough, but am unsure of pricing. What is a fair price? Thank you for sharing your experience. Attachments:
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Post by taylor on May 17, 2018 21:09:59 GMT -5
Sweet! Well done!
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Post by taylor on May 10, 2018 22:07:10 GMT -5
That's awesome!!!
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Post by taylor on May 10, 2018 22:05:03 GMT -5
I don't think so, grumpybill, because the only time the pellets were used was in the last 24 hours when we re-ran the sticky stones with 600 grit to attempt to remove the goo. The non-sticky stones were set aside so we needed the filler. This batch ran with stones, water and grit (no pellets, no borax) from 80 grit to 220 grit to 600 grit without issue. The problem developed during a 24 hour burnish roll with the stones, water, and ivory soap. I am grateful that the sticky goo/scum deposited on something other than the stones or the barrel!
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Post by taylor on May 10, 2018 0:02:59 GMT -5
I usually counter with the high points of the item followed by I believe the listed price is fair or a great deal depending on how I have listed it.
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Post by taylor on May 9, 2018 22:48:01 GMT -5
Wooferhound , I'm not sure of the definition of Synthetic...the man-made pieces in this batch include Leland blue and Frankfort green slag glass from pre-1900 iron smelters in Michigan. Both of which contain bits of metal and haven't bothered in past rolls. There is a piece of opalite, purchased in Michigan, that I have never been able to determine whether man-made or nature made. The other possible synthetic is a couple of pieces of blue glass from the box of retirement gravel--unknown sourcing. I have attached a picture showing one piece of the blue glass and some of the "new to us" stones in this batch. Good news! We rolled the sticky stones with 600 grit, water, and some plastic pellets for a little less than 24 hours resulting in non-sticky stones! The plastic pellets are another story--the goo has adhered to them. Into the trash with the pellets and on to polish with the stones. Prompted by jamesp comment on the metals I considered the amount of metal containing materials in this load and its a bunch, but that isn't unusual for us. We have had good results in the past with jaspolite (Fe), the two michigan slag glasses (Fe), lapis lazuli (Fe), variscite (Al), rhodonite (Mn), malachite (Cu), chrysacolla with native copper, and we almost always have banded iron in our hard loads. Anything with a high iron content will leave lots of dark color in the slurry, but we have never experienced sticky until this batch. Hope to never see it again! Thank you, everyone! Attachments:
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Post by taylor on May 8, 2018 21:16:22 GMT -5
Good for you!!!!
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Post by taylor on May 8, 2018 0:30:16 GMT -5
Thank you jamesp. We wiped the affected barrel out with acetone after we discovered the offending sticky goo and then rinsed it and the lid thoroughly with water. So I don't believe we have damaged the barrel--time will tell. No, we did not roll with acetone--I minded adave's advice, then I found the very same rubber compatibility chart that you have posted, and decided not to risk damage to the barrel. In the meanwhile we have had a motor failure, so the sticky rocks will sit until either we get a new motor in or the other tumbler is available. The plan is to re-run the sticky ones with 600 grit and the clean ones will go on to polish. Our tumble process is quite simple--stones, water, and grit. Sometimes we will add plastic pellets if a barrel isn't full enough. Pellets are reused only with the same grit type to prevent contamination. However, no pellets were used with this load. We burnish/clean with shaved Ivory soap before and after polish. No borax. Lots of rinse water. The barrel and lid used for this load don't look or feel any different than the other two barrels running at the same time but with hard stones. This batch didn't have any issues until this stage--clean with ivory soap before polish. I think he started the roll in the evening and we found the sticky goo the next day when preparing to change to polish--so less than 24 hours roll time with soap. My conclusion is that the soap reacted with something in the load. Yes, its a very mixed batch, but all are of soft hardness. Most of the time we have at least one barrel running the trimmings from cabbing, so the wide variety of materials in one load isn't a new thing. What is different are the few "new to us" materials that we picked up at this year's gem show and the unknowns from the retirement gravel. I don't think the goo is rubber--a long time ago we had a very old, very used barrel lid disintegrate. It looks more like a mixture of residual grit (600) and something sticky--hopefully soap scum. I will update again once we re-run the sticky ones. Many thanks for every one's suggestions!
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Post by taylor on May 6, 2018 23:30:45 GMT -5
Thank you NRG, that makes sense. I haven't a clue about the pH of the stones, but the sticky could be really scummy soap. Now to remove it!
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Post by taylor on May 5, 2018 16:57:59 GMT -5
Yeah? He posted pictures of all of those fabulous new stones that he bought and then disappeared!
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