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Post by velodromed on Dec 2, 2023 21:49:43 GMT -5
We found this weird rock at the beginning of the year. We named it Fred. Fred is finally done with the course stages after nearly 8 months, and now I’m hoping he fits in the vibe. Fred is a strange but cool looking rock and we can’t wait to see him polished up! Fred ran into some trouble once I started trying to pre-polish him. For some reason he came out real rough after 8 days with 1200 AO and the small garnets. So I got rid of the garnets and filled up the rest of the 3 pound barrel with small and medium size rocks, threw in 3 tbs of 500 grit and ran it for a week. Fred is back to good shape now, so I kept the same filler rocks and started it running on a 7 day pre-polish tumble. If all is looking good in 7 days, I will run it for probably close to three weeks with AO polish.  |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 6, 2023 15:54:51 GMT -5
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Dec 6, 2023 21:13:51 GMT -5
We found this weird rock at the beginning of the year. We named it Fred. Fred is finally done with the course stages after nearly 8 months, and now I’m hoping he fits in the vibe. Fred is a strange but cool looking rock and we can’t wait to see him polished up! Fred ran into some trouble once I started trying to pre-polish him. For some reason he came out real rough after 8 days with 1200 AO and the small garnets. So I got rid of the garnets and filled up the rest of the 3 pound barrel with small and medium size rocks, threw in 3 tbs of 500 grit and ran it for a week. Fred is back to good shape now, so I kept the same filler rocks and started it running on a 7 day pre-polish tumble. If all is looking good in 7 days, I will run it for probably close to three weeks with AO polish. Yeah, I find it so strange how rocks start undercutting in the pre-polish or polish stages. I haven't quite wrapped my mind around that yet. |
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Dec 6, 2023 21:15:24 GMT -5
The kid and I are back to rock hunting most days and yesterday, this one really caught my eye. Looks like a type of basic iron quartz that we have around here, but I’ve never seen one with such a pronounced red streak in the middle. I think it’s really going to polish up beautifully, but I’ll need to be careful with it. Perhaps start it off in a 3 pound barrel with a lot of other quartz type rocks and 180 grit SiC. See how it does after a week.    That's cool. Looks like you got some cool yellows in there as well. |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 6, 2023 22:00:55 GMT -5
Fred ran into some trouble once I started trying to pre-polish him. For some reason he came out real rough after 8 days with 1200 AO and the small garnets. So I got rid of the garnets and filled up the rest of the 3 pound barrel with small and medium size rocks, threw in 3 tbs of 500 grit and ran it for a week. Fred is back to good shape now, so I kept the same filler rocks and started it running on a 7 day pre-polish tumble. If all is looking good in 7 days, I will run it for probably close to three weeks with AO polish. Yeah, I find it so strange how rocks start undercutting in the pre-polish or polish stages. I haven't quite wrapped my mind around that yet. I blame the garnets. |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 6, 2023 22:16:41 GMT -5
The kid and I are back to rock hunting most days and yesterday, this one really caught my eye. Looks like a type of basic iron quartz that we have around here, but I’ve never seen one with such a pronounced red streak in the middle. I think it’s really going to polish up beautifully, but I’ll need to be careful with it. Perhaps start it off in a 3 pound barrel with a lot of other quartz type rocks and 180 grit SiC. See how it does after a week. That's cool. Looks like you got some cool yellows in there as well. I keep looking into it I’m so intrigued. Im seeing some greens as well. I’ll start it tumbling this weekend. Such a cool Little Rock. |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 7, 2023 15:07:26 GMT -5
We just found this interesting one in the kid’s dentist parking lot a bit ago. When wet (yeah I licked it), it was a rather strong banana yellow. It tasted like a rock though. Think it’s a chalcedony of sorts and I have a feeling it’ll be interesting. I found a similar one last year that’s turning out amazing after months of tumbling..   |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 11, 2023 15:34:00 GMT -5
Here’s a petrified wood piece I’d been working on much of the year. It’s about the size of my palm. I need to start working on a size reference. I see folks using old coins so I’ll try that next time.  This is a piece of chert, far as I can tell. It polished beautifully. This one only took a couple months since it was river rounded.  |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 20, 2023 12:43:21 GMT -5
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Looking forward to my Friday Night Barrel Clean out!
Member since August 2022
Posts: 492
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Post by hplcman on Dec 20, 2023 13:44:07 GMT -5
This fossil rock should be amazing once polished. It’s more fossil than rock actually and not very solid. It broke with just one swipe of the hammer. I’ve been tumbling a small test piece for the last few days. It’s looking like it’s chalcedony with heavy iron oxide staining on the surface that runs deep in some areas and fades to smoky clear in other areas an inch or so deep into the rock. It’s tumbling down rather fast so isn’t a super hard rock. Hmmm…maybe the base rock is quartz and not chalcedony? I’m not sure yet. I have a couple of nice size chunks rolling so will know in the next week or so. The first two pictures the rock is dry, the others it’s wet.     That fossil rock looks like it will be challenging to tumble! Good luck and I can't wait to see the results! |
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adam5
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2023
Posts: 153
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Post by adam5 on Dec 22, 2023 17:24:01 GMT -5
That looks interesting! Hope it turns out well for you (thumbs up) |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 23, 2023 13:55:31 GMT -5
We found this weird rock at the beginning of the year. We named it Fred. Fred is finally done with the course stages after nearly 8 months, and now I’m hoping he fits in the vibe. Fred is a strange but cool looking rock and we can’t wait to see him polished up! Fred ran into some trouble once I started trying to pre-polish him. For some reason he came out real rough after 8 days with 1200 AO and the small garnets. So I got rid of the garnets and filled up the rest of the 3 pound barrel with small and medium size rocks, threw in 3 tbs of 500 grit and ran it for a week. Fred is back to good shape now, so I kept the same filler rocks and started it running on a 7 day pre-polish tumble. If all is looking good in 7 days, I will run it for probably close to three weeks with AO polish. Fred is still not doing very great, so I have managed to figure out how to get him to roll in the vibratory (overstuffed the hell out of it lol). He’s been going to 36 hours so far and I will give it another day before pulling him out and seeing how he’s doing. I did notice a crack appearing though. Dang it. This is the most cantankerous rock I have messed with so far… |
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Post by velodromed on Dec 29, 2023 17:05:46 GMT -5
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Post by velodromed on Dec 29, 2023 17:22:02 GMT -5
We found this weird rock at the beginning of the year. We named it Fred. Fred is finally done with the course stages after nearly 8 months, and now I’m hoping he fits in the vibe. Fred is a strange but cool looking rock and we can’t wait to see him polished up! Fred ran into some trouble once I started trying to pre-polish him. For some reason he came out real rough after 8 days with 1200 AO and the small garnets. So I got rid of the garnets and filled up the rest of the 3 pound barrel with small and medium size rocks, threw in 3 tbs of 500 grit and ran it for a week. Fred is back to good shape now, so I kept the same filler rocks and started it running on a 7 day pre-polish tumble. If all is looking good in 7 days, I will run it for probably close to three weeks with AO polish. Fred is done. I think I passed the point of perfection a few weeks back. More holes/voids are opening up and it’s looking worse, not better, these last couple clean outs. The shine is not as good as I think it could be…but I’ve been having so many issues Im basically stopping while I’m ahead. I can always come back to it down the line.   |
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Post by Son Of Beach on Dec 29, 2023 19:54:29 GMT -5
Maybe Fred will be a good study rock, one you always come back to and ruminate on. I think we all have one or two of those in our possession... I have some that I have gone back and "fixed", but I feel a little cheated and nostalgic about the original outcome.
It can be a token for how far you've come, if that's your goal.
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Post by velodromed on Dec 29, 2023 23:18:15 GMT -5
Maybe Fred will be a good study rock, one you always come back to and ruminate on. I think we all have one or two of those in our possession... I have some that I have gone back and "fixed", but I feel a little cheated and nostalgic about the original outcome.
It can be a token for how far you've come, if that's your goal.
Yup, still not sure what it is. I’ve had several opinions that it could be petrified bone. Someday I’d like to figure it out for sure. |
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Post by velodromed on Jan 11, 2024 15:55:08 GMT -5
Would anyone be interested in doing a local rock trade? If you live outside of Texas and would like any of the rocks I post in this thread, (especially petrified wood, have lots of that!), just let me know. We can do a small or medium flat rate box swap. I’ve done this four-five times now and love seeing what others find ‘in their back yard’, so to say. I recently wrapped up my last trade endeavor so I am looking for another one now. Please let me know if you’re interested!
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Looking forward to my Friday Night Barrel Clean out!
Member since August 2022
Posts: 492
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Post by hplcman on Jan 11, 2024 16:14:14 GMT -5
Would anyone be interested in doing a local rock trade? If you live outside of Texas and would like any of the rocks I post in this thread, (especially petrified wood, have lots of that!), just let me know. We can do a small or medium flat rate box swap. I’ve done this four-five times now and love seeing what others find ‘in their back yard’, so to say. I recently wrapped up my last trade endeavor so I am looking for another one now. Please let me know if you’re interested! I'm interested! I could send you a medium flat rate box full of Sonoma County Beach Rocks for a variety of sweet Texas rocks? |
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Post by velodromed on Jan 11, 2024 17:13:08 GMT -5
Would anyone be interested in doing a local rock trade? If you live outside of Texas and would like any of the rocks I post in this thread, (especially petrified wood, have lots of that!), just let me know. We can do a small or medium flat rate box swap. I’ve done this four-five times now and love seeing what others find ‘in their back yard’, so to say. I recently wrapped up my last trade endeavor so I am looking for another one now. Please let me know if you’re interested! I'm interested! I could send you a medium flat rate box full of Sonom County Beach Rocks for a variety of sweet Texas rocks? Oh hell yes!! I lived in South San Jose for 20 years. Many of my best mountain bike rides and races were up in Sonoma County. I am absolutely interested in pretty much anything you have there. Let me know if there’s anything I’ve posted that catches your eye. Here in San Antonio they truck in rock from all over Texas for construction. We find amazing rocks thanks that as well as what we dig up, and what we find in the Earth here is extremely interesting. It’s typically covered in a thick layer of lime/calcite or even chert, so it’s like opening a present. Shoot me a direct message. I should be able to sort through my rocks and get a box out to you by next weekend. Let me know what interests you most and what size range. Yup, medium flat rate seems best value. |
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 722
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Post by iamchris on Jan 12, 2024 5:13:49 GMT -5
Wish I had something to trade beyond granite and quartzite!
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