mgroothuis
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2022
Posts: 163
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Post by mgroothuis on Dec 15, 2022 6:47:04 GMT -5
A month or so ago, I found this coral fossil encased in (I assume) quartz, after trying a scratch hardness test. The tumble turned out great except for a couple tragically-placed natural cracks. I intentionally didn't rotary tumble it another week because I didn't want to wear away any more detail. I finished it in a Lot-o. Here are a couple before-after pics. I'd love to find more like this one. Before: After:
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Post by Pat on Dec 15, 2022 7:01:10 GMT -5
Face in the last photo, looks mighty pleased!
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Post by fernwood on Dec 15, 2022 8:01:27 GMT -5
Nice fossil. You did good with the tumble.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Dec 15, 2022 8:09:29 GMT -5
Yeah, great job polishing that fossil, mgroothuis ! I got some coral fossils like that this year from Lake Michigan; and they have been a bit challenging to polish since sometimes they can have some holes in the coral structure. Yours looks nice and shiny!
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mgroothuis
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2022
Posts: 163
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Post by mgroothuis on Dec 15, 2022 8:13:01 GMT -5
Yeah, great job polishing that fossil, mgroothuis ! I got some coral fossils like that this year from Lake Michigan; and they have been a bit challenging to polish since sometimes they can have some holes in the coral structure. Yours looks nice and shiny! Thanks! I've learned that with Petoskey and Charlevoix too. I have a few nice ones, but they're so porous and pitted, they don't take a polish at all.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Dec 15, 2022 8:37:37 GMT -5
Yeah, great job polishing that fossil, mgroothuis ! I got some coral fossils like that this year from Lake Michigan; and they have been a bit challenging to polish since sometimes they can have some holes in the coral structure. Yours looks nice and shiny! Thanks! I've learned that with Petoskey and Charlevoix too. I have a few nice ones, but they're so porous and pitted, they don't take a polish at all. Some of mine have quite porous areas (rhyolite?) - I'm not sure what those areas are. I'm able to get those to polish by putting the rocks in my ultrasonic cleaner in between stages to clean out the grit. I dunno if that might work with yours? I originally got an ultrasonic cleaner because I'm polishing a lot of Crowley's Ridge agates, and they can be quite "holey" and "peely". But it's been very useful with the coral fossils.
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 15, 2022 9:42:26 GMT -5
Yeah...I'd love to find more of that type of coral too if I were you! Fantastic job on the polish!!
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
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Post by electrocutus on Dec 15, 2022 9:56:22 GMT -5
Face in the last photo, looks mighty pleased! I see a beluga whale's smiling face :-)
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Purchased another UV mini bowl for tumbling
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,442
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Post by pebblesky on Dec 15, 2022 12:11:35 GMT -5
It's a beautiful piece!
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 2, 2024 23:59:35 GMT -5
mgroothuis I ran across this thread earlier and got inspired to look thru my old fossil box. A few minutes each on the flat lap just to see how fast they would work... I had forgotten how much I had kept. Did you run yours all the way thru polish? Also, thanks for your feedback in that other thread.
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mgroothuis
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2022
Posts: 163
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Post by mgroothuis on Jan 3, 2024 9:32:56 GMT -5
I had forgotten how much I had kept. Did you run yours all the way thru polish? Also, thanks for your feedback in that other thread. Yep, I tumbled this fossil thru polish with a mixture of other rocks, the same way I do most everything else. Since I posted this thread, I tumbled it one more time in the Lot-O to smooth out the cracks in the center. This is the only coral fossil I've found so far that didn't have pitting or softer areas. You're welcome for the other thread!
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 3, 2024 9:37:26 GMT -5
I had forgotten how much I had kept. Did you run yours all the way thru polish? Also, thanks for your feedback in that other thread. Yep, I tumbled this fossil thru polish with a mixture of other rocks, the same way I do most everything else. Since I posted this thread, I tumbled it one more time in the Lot-O to smooth out the cracks in the center. This is the only coral fossil I've found so far that didn't have pitting or softer areas. You're welcome for the other thread! Maybe I already asked, but where do you live in MI? Up until last summer I was in Stevensville. I found plenty of those fossils in Grand Mere and Van Buren St Park, though, hardly any Petoskey stones. There are always people hunting for those lol.
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chris1956
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2022
Posts: 1,258
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Post by chris1956 on Jan 3, 2024 16:49:04 GMT -5
I am not the world's expert but it looks like it is silicified (people sometimes refer to this as agatized) favosite although there are other fossils that are similar. I have found a few of these. Harder than heck. You probably could have tumbled longer in the rotary without doing much damage. I think most of the silicified ones I have found were from Wilderness State Park. You have to walk out on the north side of the point to get to where the smaller rocks are located. I think I have also found some on Little Traverse Bay in Petoskey. Most of the ones I have found have voids in them so good job finding one that looks great.
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mgroothuis
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2022
Posts: 163
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Post by mgroothuis on Jan 3, 2024 19:13:42 GMT -5
Yep, I tumbled this fossil thru polish with a mixture of other rocks, the same way I do most everything else. Since I posted this thread, I tumbled it one more time in the Lot-O to smooth out the cracks in the center. This is the only coral fossil I've found so far that didn't have pitting or softer areas. You're welcome for the other thread! Maybe I already asked, but where do you live in MI? Up until last summer I was in Stevensville. I found plenty of those fossils in Grand Mere and Van Buren St Park, though, hardly any Petoskey stones. There are always people hunting for those lol. I'm in that area! I basically frequent anything from Warren Dunes to Pier Cove. There's plenty of Petoskey Stones, but you have to know when to look. Although, they're nothing like up north or the Huron side of Michigan. As you know, people around here grab them up pretty quickly. I love Rocky Gap or Van Buren in a calm Lake Michigan after a storm. Plenty of treasures!
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