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I got a couple pounds each of waterline agate and crazy lace agate from the rock shed - so many nice pieces, but this one really caught my eye...
Druzy top
Orbs and Dimples
Side showing the banding
Curious what you all might do with this piece. It's so fascinating on it's own I'd hate to ruin any of these features and it's already slab-like. Part of me just wants to leave it as is - but another is saying I should use my slant lap to polish the banded edge - thoughts??
My first thought is...I need more coffee this morning! LOL But my SECOND thoughts is:
Go for it on the flat lap. It's already in your thoughts...so why not go for it. If you don't like the looks of it after the face polish, you can always slab it, cab it, or tumble it. You can't however undo those...so go for the least "damaging" option first...
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
My first thought is...I need more coffee this morning! LOL But my SECOND thoughts is:
Go for it on the flat lap. It's already in your thoughts...so why not go for it. If you don't like the looks of it after the face polish, you can always slab it, cab it, or tumble it. You can't however undo those...so go for the least "damaging" option first...
haha! My first thought is always coffee too - I'm halfway through my first cup!!
That's a great idea and way of looking at it - I think I will do that. Lots of great tumbling rocks in the bags already - this one was just so unique looking - thanks for the insight!!!
My first thought is...I need more coffee this morning! LOL But my SECOND thoughts is:
Go for it on the flat lap. It's already in your thoughts...so why not go for it. If you don't like the looks of it after the face polish, you can always slab it, cab it, or tumble it. You can't however undo those...so go for the least "damaging" option first...
haha! My first thought is always coffee too - I'm halfway through my first cup!!
That's a great idea and way of looking at it - I think I will do that. Lots of great tumbling rocks in the bags already - this one was just so unique looking - thanks for the insight!!!
You know I only get one good idea per day...it looks like I can check that off today's list and coast the rest of the day!
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 7, 2023 9:37:17 GMT -5
Hard to tell from the picture, but that piece looks like it might be conducive to a display piece to put cabs on when you're taking pictures (as the background).
Polishing the edge won't do any harm for that purpose, either.
ETA: Change the first sentence a bit. I'm only on my 2nd cup of coffee.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 7, 2023 9:38:43 GMT -5
For me that goes in the tumbler. The orbs and dimples side might produce a really cool look as the high spots and low spots wear at different rates. So I would take it to the flat lap and clean up the banded portion then toss it in the tumbler. That way you do not loose all of the orb texture while waiting for the banded portion to smooth out for several weeks. Your rock your call though. Face polished shelf rocks have never really been my thing.
haha! My first thought is always coffee too - I'm halfway through my first cup!!
That's a great idea and way of looking at it - I think I will do that. Lots of great tumbling rocks in the bags already - this one was just so unique looking - thanks for the insight!!!
You know I only get one good idea per day...it looks like I can check that off today's list and coast the rest of the day!
LOL!! Well I'm honored you spent it on my question
Hard to tell from the picture, but that piece looks like it might be conducive to a display piece to put cabs on when you're taking pictures (as the background).
Polishing the edge won't do any harm for that purpose, either.
ETA: Change the first sentence a bit. I'm only on my 2nd cup of coffee.
Hmm..interesting! I've really got to up my cabbing game then lol. Thank you!!
Yeah, the first pic came in a bit fuzzy - sorry about that. tried to get the shiny stuff and it didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped...
For me that goes in the tumbler. The orbs and dimples side might produce a really cool look as the high spots and low spots wear at different rates. So I would take it to the flat lap and clean up the banded portion then toss it in the tumbler. That way you do not loose all of the orb texture while waiting for the banded portion to smooth out for several weeks. Your rock your call though. Face polished shelf rocks have never really been my thing.
Chuck
Thanks for your insight, Chuck! Got some things to consider - I really do love orbs in my rocks My daughter keeps telling me I need to figure out what I'm going to do with all my rocks (that are really just laying around right now) to which I respond - when you start paying my mortgage you can determine where the rocks go ! Kids!
I concur to clean up the edge. Then let it sit around here and there. It's not going anywhere. I have a few of those type of rocks. Some are waiting until my skills and knowledge are better. Some just have not let me know what to do with them.....yet. LOL
I concur to clean up the edge. Then let it sit around here and there. It's not going anywhere. I have a few of those type of rocks. Some are waiting until my skills and knowledge are better. Some just have not let me know what to do with them.....yet. LOL
Thank you! I think I will do that. I tend to have knee jerk reactions and sometimes (most times) is good to sit back and 'listen'...
The good news is that it is a beautiful chunk! The bad news, I fear is that it is going to fracture along some of the banding. The good news is the "orb" area looks a lot more solid, the bad news is you're going to have to hope the fractures don't run thru the orb area. That being said, I may be WAY OFF. I have cut about 25 pounds of Crazy lace and have been shocked at how unpredictable it can be. Some really solid stuff has crumbled before my eyes, and some incredible fractured stuff that is solid at it's core.
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
The good news is that it is a beautiful chunk! The bad news, I fear is that it is going to fracture along some of the banding. The good news is the "orb" area looks a lot more solid, the bad news is you're going to have to hope the fractures don't run thru the orb area. That being said, I may be WAY OFF. I have cut about 25 pounds of Crazy lace and have been shocked at how unpredictable it can be. Some really solid stuff has crumbled before my eyes, and some incredible fractured stuff that is solid at it's core.
yeah - I was kind of worried about that too. i may cut it in a way that I can preserve the naturalness of it on one end, but then experiment with the other...still deciding - just got my 'workstation' set up in the basement and hope to start playing this weekend.
rocknewb101. How big is the agate Peta? I’ve got a hunk of crazy lace tumbling that is probably close to a pound. It’s pretty hard to ruin agates with a tumbler. That being said, I do have a lot of rocks that are too cool to tumble. They’re mostly crystals though.
I can’t wait to see what you decide to do with it.
rocknewb101 . How big is the agate Peta? I’ve got a hunk of crazy lace tumbling that is probably close to a pound. It’s pretty hard to ruin agates with a tumbler. That being said, I do have a lot of rocks that are too cool to tumble. They’re mostly crystals though.
I can’t wait to see what you decide to do with it.
Starguy - it's about 3.5" x 2" (or maybe 1.5") - a decent chunk, but not a pound's worth. I wish I had three of them lol...then I could leave one as is, tumble one and cut one...I'm leaning towards cutting off an end and either cabbing, or just polish on the slant and then leave the crystally part intact. I'll be sure to share here once I do.
Post by rocknewb101 on Feb 20, 2023 9:24:24 GMT -5
So I decided to cut off a section to make the rock more rectangle and will tumble the cut off piece - then I used my trim saw and slant cabber to trim and polish the two edges. I can't love this piece enough. I'm very happy with the natural piece and how the polished edges turned out. I went up to 40,000 diamond paste - I can tell where I missed the end section, but all in all I'm quite happy with how these turned out. Sorry for the blurriness - had to cut it down to 20 seconds for it to upload.
That drusy is spectacular! I like both ideas; tumbling it can result in a real beauty, and by face polishing it you preserve it as is. I have a wonderful piece of Mexican crazy lace with a botryoidal top. I chose to face polish it and leave the top as is.
Last Edit: Feb 20, 2023 9:53:06 GMT -5 by dshanpnw
That drusy is spectacular! I like both ideas; tumbling it can result in a real beauty, and by face polishing it you preserve it as is. I have a wonderful piece of Mexican crazy lace with a botryoidal top. I chose to face polish it and leave the top as is.
That piece is fantastic! Wow - I have to say, as much as I love a shiny rock, rocks that have these types of features are so cool left as they are! Thanks for sharing!!
So I decided to cut off a section to make the rock more rectangle and will tumble the cut off piece - then I used my trim saw and slant cabber to trim and polish the two edges. I can't love this piece enough. I'm very happy with the natural piece and how the polished edges turned out. I went up to 40,000 diamond paste - I can tell where I missed the end section, but all in all I'm quite happy with how these turned out. Sorry for the blurriness - had to cut it down to 20 seconds for it to upload.
Good for you!! I think that came out GREAT!!
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
So I decided to cut off a section to make the rock more rectangle and will tumble the cut off piece - then I used my trim saw and slant cabber to trim and polish the two edges. I can't love this piece enough. I'm very happy with the natural piece and how the polished edges turned out. I went up to 40,000 diamond paste - I can tell where I missed the end section, but all in all I'm quite happy with how these turned out. Sorry for the blurriness - had to cut it down to 20 seconds for it to upload.
Good for you!! I think that came out GREAT!!
Thanks! Of course now I can see scratches in there...sigh. All good - I love the piece and it shall stay as it is.
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Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!