velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 1:37:47 GMT -5
I’ve been tumbling rocks for close to a year and I’ve never been able to get more then a really nice, slightly satin shine. Finally, I got the mirror like shine I was looking for! These are bone dry and the picture doesn’t do it justice. I picked up the final pieces to the polish puzzle while voraciously reading through this forum over the last few days. Many thanks!
|
|
khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
|
Post by khara on Mar 25, 2023 2:32:46 GMT -5
Very nice! 👍 Looks like you really brought out the full beauty of those! Now you can sit and peruse them all!
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Mar 25, 2023 5:00:36 GMT -5
Way to go Velo!! You nailed the polish on those big time!! I see some nice Bots in there as well as some great looking Crazy Lace...both favorites of mine!!
|
|
jone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2023
Posts: 111
|
Post by jone on Mar 25, 2023 7:19:20 GMT -5
Those look really nice - am I right in thinking you are using a Raytech TV-5 (Tumble Vibe) after coarse? (You had mentioned that in another post-although it would be cool to think I could identify what tumbler you're using just by looking at your rocks!)
|
|
ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 927
|
Post by ashley on Mar 25, 2023 7:49:16 GMT -5
Awesome job! They look great!
|
|
stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
|
Post by stefan on Mar 25, 2023 12:01:49 GMT -5
As the hammer used to say "nailed it"
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 25, 2023 12:23:05 GMT -5
Beautiful batch of shiny eye candy! I think you should pick out your favorites of the batch and do some individual pictures for us to drool over.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 13:44:12 GMT -5
Those look really nice - am I right in thinking you are using a Raytech TV-5 (Tumble Vibe) after coarse? (You had mentioned that in another post-although it would be cool to think I could identify what tumbler you're using just by looking at your rocks!) Thanks! I had run these rocks through course grit over the course of the last six months and had them sitting in a jar of water, waiting for when I could get a vibratory. I picked up the ray tech 5 close to three weeks ago and I’ve been experimenting with it 24-7, trying to get the right recipe, time frames, etc. figured out. I run the rocks in course for as long as they need. Some I want to be perfect, others I want to keep their natural shape so it could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 4+ months. Once I figured out basically what I was doing, I picked up some 1 to 3 micron size aluminum oxide and that really made a big difference. I can’t believe half a teaspoon is all it takes of the stuff. My biggest problem has been doing the less is more thing. In my mind, it was like ‘if 2 tablespoons are good, 3 tablespoons are better’. But I figured out tumbling seems more like baking rather than smoking. Recipes have to be more exact, baking time has to be more exact (especially in a vibratory tumbler) as opposed to smoking a brisket where it’s all over the place.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 13:49:28 GMT -5
Beautiful batch of shiny eye candy! I think you should pick out your favorites of the batch and do some individual pictures for us to drool over. Thank you! Yep, I will get to that. Just been busy, my whole house got hit by strep throat last week and we didn’t figure out what it was until yesterday. Figure the little monster (10 year old step daughter) brought it home from school. I have a batch of fancy and desert jasper running and once it’s done, I’ll take better pictures. I need to figure out how to take better pictures though. I am going to experiment between natural light and we also have one of those ring light things for cell phone selfie…crap. My wife also just picked up an electric microscope. I need to figure out how to use that thing. Or have her figure out how to use it lol.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 13:51:57 GMT -5
Way to go Velo!! You nailed the polish on those big time!! I see some nice Bots in there as well as some great looking Crazy Lace...both favorites of mine!! Thank you! We love crazy lace also. I picked up a 3 pound batch of it off Etsy a while back, and I’ve been slowly working on them. What do you mean by Bots? I am really not up on all the lingo with this hobby yet.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 13:57:04 GMT -5
Very nice! 👍 Looks like you really brought out the full beauty of those! Now you can sit and peruse them all! Absolutely! And thank you very much! First thing I do is hand them over to my wife so she and her daughter can sit and look at them for like an hour. I actually do that between every stage. They hunt rocks with me avidly but I am the one that tumbles and cuts them. This is literally my first big batch of rocks that I finished after almost a year of tumbling. I’ve been running them through months of coarse grit and then throwing them in a big bottle of water until I could figure out what to do with them. I picked up this vibratory a few weeks ago and absolutely love it! Took me a while to figure out the ‘recipe’ but I think Im getting it down. Now I just have to fine-tune everything and memorize what I’ve been doing since I’m not good at writing things down. I prefer to do things over and over until it becomes second nature.
|
|
dirtsifter
Cave Dweller
Co to za kamyczek?
Member since September 2022
Posts: 402
|
Post by dirtsifter on Mar 25, 2023 15:43:54 GMT -5
Really nice job! Congratulations 👏
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 25, 2023 15:56:14 GMT -5
Way to go Velo!! You nailed the polish on those big time!! I see some nice Bots in there as well as some great looking Crazy Lace...both favorites of mine!! Thank you! We love crazy lace also. I picked up a 3 pound batch of it off Etsy a while back, and I’ve been slowly working on them. What do you mean by Bots? I am really not up on all the lingo with this hobby yet. Bots are Botswana Agates. The two I see in your picture are on the far left edge -- the ones with the fortification bands on them.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 16:33:10 GMT -5
Thank you! We love crazy lace also. I picked up a 3 pound batch of it off Etsy a while back, and I’ve been slowly working on them. What do you mean by Bots? I am really not up on all the lingo with this hobby yet. Bots are Botswana Agates. The two I see in your picture are on the far left edge -- the ones with the fortification bands on them. Ok got it. Thanks! I did not realize those were Botswana agate. I got them through Amazon as just ‘generic agate’. I wasn’t real happy because they ended up being trimmed corner pieces instead of the whole rocks, as pictured in the ad, and most of them were pretty cruddy. I returned them but accidentally kept two, as seen here. I don’t get rocks off of Amazon anymore lol. I tried a few times with mixed results so I switched to Etsy. I’ve had much better luck with them. When we went to a Nature’s Treasures in Austin for the first time they had two good bots that I picked up. Trying to decide if I want to cut them into mini slabs or tumble them whole. I also got some fire agate that I’m excited to begin tumbling soon.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 16:35:07 GMT -5
Really nice job! Congratulations 👏 Thank you! I appreciate the compliment.
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 16:36:12 GMT -5
As the hammer used to say "nailed it" Thanks! That’s exactly what the hammer said to my thumb the other day lol
|
|
velodromed
fully equipped rock polisher
What you do in your haste you will regret in your leisure.
Member since March 2023
Posts: 1,452
Member is Online
|
Post by velodromed on Mar 25, 2023 16:36:37 GMT -5
Awesome job! They look great! Thank you very much!
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 25, 2023 16:43:03 GMT -5
Bots are Botswana Agates. The two I see in your picture are on the far left edge -- the ones with the fortification bands on them. Ok got it. Thanks! I did not realize those were Botswana agate. I got them through Amazon as just ‘generic agate’. I wasn’t real happy because they ended up being trimmed corner pieces instead of the whole rocks, as pictured in the ad, and most of them were pretty cruddy. I returned them but accidentally kept two, as seen here. I don’t get rocks off of Amazon anymore lol. I tried a few times with mixed results so I switched to Etsy. I’ve had much better luck with them. When we went to a Nature’s Treasures in Austin for the first time they had two good bots that I picked up. Trying to decide if I want to cut them into mini slabs or tumble them whole. I also got some fire agate that I’m excited to begin tumbling soon. A lot of folks on the forum get some of their tumbling rough from The Rock Shed. I believe they have Bots for tumbling, but I know for sure they Bahia Agates.
|
|
ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 927
|
Post by ashley on Mar 25, 2023 16:50:07 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Mar 25, 2023 17:38:12 GMT -5
velodromed - Looks like Robin beat me to the ID on those Botswana Agates! LOL - I'm a fortification fanatic...so when I see "Bots" my eyebrows always raise a bit! LOL - They can produce an amazing shine!!
|
|