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Post by pebblesky on May 6, 2024 17:49:54 GMT -5
I guess the finest materials have been taken for making products, and their scraps are sold cheap as decorations. The big roughs available on the market are not that good.
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titaniumkid
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on May 6, 2024 18:33:53 GMT -5
It's very pretty. It reminds me of the flowers on an embroidered cheongsam.
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Post by pebblesky on May 6, 2024 22:33:37 GMT -5
Another interesting material to tumble. These are from Xinjiang's Gobi Desert, called colorful mudstone due to their earth tone colors. The levels of shine, fineness, sharpness of the patterns vary from one stone to another.  My favorite is this one although it isn't as shiny as I expected.  The small leaf piece is naturally shaped and quite pleasant to look at when tumbled. Too bad this one is still too large to qualify as a 10x15mm cab   Another porous piece:  I see a chicken in this piece:  |
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Post by chris1956 on May 7, 2024 7:49:27 GMT -5
The lower level of shine seems to work on those stones. They look great!
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 13:57:58 GMT -5
Some interesting tumbles from my last batch:  The two miserable frosted grey stones on the top row are fossil corals from China. I guess they are soft so they need some special care, which I don't prioritize now. I will sort some rough out if anybody is interested in experimenting on them. It was a fun online purchasing experience: the seller livestreamed him searching for and hand picking the fossil coral roughs from the ground (which was sea bed many many years ago), dusting off the mud (or sometimes rinsing them in the acid later in their studio to reveal the coral feature on the surface), and selling them off. The whole experience was fun although I didn't go there myself. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 11, 2024 14:10:34 GMT -5
Those reds really stand out! Great batch and great polishes.
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 14:53:22 GMT -5
Jaspers.  Most are Gobi Desert Jaspers. The big colorful one on the top-right corner is Lovelock jasper from Utah. I have tumbled it for months, but the back side that had blue had white soft spots that undercut and the white spots seem to go all the way deep.  The red jasper with yellow lines are from South Africa. It is quite nice-looking. Worth a closeup look.  Gobi Brecciated Jasper   |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 14:54:51 GMT -5
Some agates, chalcedonies and quartz.  Both being pink, the smaller piece at the center is rose quartz from Africa that is more fragile and could develop chips on tumbling (so I hid the back of it). The bigger one on the right side is the pink Gobi Desert Agate. It is more forgiving in tumbling. All the fractures are pre-existing.  Hey, I have an idea...  Or this...  |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 15:01:51 GMT -5
Bands and mosses.  The yellow piece is Indonesian Sumatra Island Banded Agate. It is one of the best in the batch I purchased.  Not a proper macro-scale picture...  Mongolian Banded Agate.  The yellow mossy area undercuts, but the seaweeds are fun to look at. |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 15:02:30 GMT -5
Orbs and swirls.    This is a half-nodule with the flat side showing the waterline. It is heart breaking to see these cracks.  One tumbled Chalcedony Rose. The internal white swirl is so intriguing. Too bad my phone can not focus on that.  Again I can not have the phone's camera focus on the orbs behind the crust.   I threw this eye agate into the vibe starting from 120/220, trying to grind off those green "mildews". Maybe I shall do one more round of 120/220? WDYT? |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 15:07:20 GMT -5
Walnut Jasper?  These pieces don't polish, but they are not as grainy as those picture stones, so it could just be a matter that I skipped the polish step for this batch. Will try running a polishing cycle separately with all the previous non-polishers. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 11, 2024 15:29:23 GMT -5
Walnut Jasper? These pieces don't polish, but they are not as grainy as those picture stones, so it could just be a matter that I skipped the polish step for this batch. Will try running a polishing cycle separately with all the previous non-polishers. I like the matte look. If it doesn't polish- no big loss. They're beautiful as is. |
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Post by Starguy on May 11, 2024 17:47:14 GMT -5
Awesome tumbles pebblesky. It looks like you have a good source for some fantastic material. They are all beauties. The brecciated jasper is really cool and the eyes and orbs shot is crazy. You do a great job tumbling. Thanks for sharing your work. |
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Post by chris1956 on May 11, 2024 18:04:05 GMT -5
I was going to ask about the Indonesian Sumatra Island Banded Agate. That one is fantastic!
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titaniumkid
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on May 11, 2024 18:11:09 GMT -5
Walnut Jasper? These pieces don't polish, but they are not as grainy as those picture stones, so it could just be a matter that I skipped the polish step for this batch. Will try running a polishing cycle separately with all the previous non-polishers. I have similar rocks and I didn't know what they were. They came with a bunch of other "tumbling rocks". I thought they would polish well but they didn't, so I assumed I messed up but maybe it's the rock. I still like how they look, but I was going to try polishing a few again. |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 20:23:50 GMT -5
Walnut Jasper? These pieces don't polish, but they are not as grainy as those picture stones, so it could just be a matter that I skipped the polish step for this batch. Will try running a polishing cycle separately with all the previous non-polishers. I like the matte look. If it doesn't polish- no big loss. They're beautiful as is. I am sifting through my tumbling rough on that 'Plum blossom Jade' and they are all pretty small and wacky in shape so it is difficult to repurpose them into cabs. I have some larger tumbling rough on a cargo ship somewhere, and will definitely let you know once I get them.  |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 20:26:10 GMT -5
Awesome tumbles pebblesky . It looks like you have a good source for some fantastic material. They are all beauties. The brecciated jasper is really cool and the eyes and orbs shot is crazy. You do a great job tumbling. Thanks for sharing your work. Thanks! I was always quite happy about the international materials as long as they arrived safely, which was not guaranteed at all. |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 20:53:39 GMT -5
I was going to ask about the Indonesian Sumatra Island Banded Agate. That one is fantastic! This piece is a minority in the whole batch. Most of the agates are white soft bands (so the bands themselves don't polish) on the caramel color chalcedony. Still look nice but not very similar to this piece.   |
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Post by pebblesky on May 11, 2024 21:03:59 GMT -5
Walnut Jasper? These pieces don't polish, but they are not as grainy as those picture stones, so it could just be a matter that I skipped the polish step for this batch. Will try running a polishing cycle separately with all the previous non-polishers. I have similar rocks and I didn't know what they were. They came with a bunch of other "tumbling rocks". I thought they would polish well but they didn't, so I assumed I messed up but maybe it's the rock. I still like how they look, but I was going to try polishing a few again. Yeah it is usually apparent after 120/220 if a rock will eventually shine or not, with the usual processes. I am not too motivated to try a more proper way, which means only tumble the same/similar type of rocks together, yet. |
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Post by liveoak on May 12, 2024 6:31:35 GMT -5
What an interesting batch of rocks !
There's too many I ogled over to pick a fav.
But the Gobi Brecciated Jasper would make a wonderful cab,
and the Walnut Jasper is nice just as it is.
I think the matte finish looks right.
Patty
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