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Post by pebblesky on Nov 6, 2023 12:06:51 GMT -5
Does red jasper or swazi agate qualify for red?
Since the pieces have both dark blue and light blue, maybe you could use some green to replace the light blue.
I am really looking forward to seeing the progress of your project.
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Post by chris1956 on Nov 6, 2023 12:37:03 GMT -5
I agree with pebblesky that you should be able to find some jasper somewhere that would be a close match. For black, you might see if you can find some black onyx. Really shines great and probably easier to polish than obsidian. Black onyx I find around here is pretty small but really takes a shine. I am guessing the quality of it may vary a lot so I would be careful when purchasing it. |
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 6, 2023 13:17:46 GMT -5
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
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Post by iamchris on Nov 6, 2023 16:29:17 GMT -5
Thank you pebblesky for the red jasper suggestion! Not sure how I forgot about this one. And great call on vegasjames's thread, I'll ask if he can send larger pieces so I have less waste (and he has to bust up fewer rocks). Should be a handful of colors in there I can use! Thank you chris1956 for the black onyx suggestion! Looks like they have some at The Rock Shed in tumbling size if I can't find larger anywhere else. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 6, 2023 23:48:03 GMT -5
You could use Dumortierite for the blue tiles.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 7, 2023 0:01:08 GMT -5
I agree with pebblesky that you should be able to find some jasper somewhere that would be a close match. For black, you might see if you can find some black onyx. Really shines great and probably easier to polish than obsidian. Black onyx I find around here is pretty small but really takes a shine. I am guessing the quality of it may vary a lot so I would be careful when purchasing it. Real black onyx is rare and extremely expensive. A better alternative would be ilmenite. |
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 7, 2023 0:12:03 GMT -5
Do the pieces need to be solid colors? I can look around and see what I have. I know I have some pieces of red jasper, and possibly some larger pieces of green jasper. Have some blue quartz, but may have broken most of it up already. Also have a purple andesite. For white, I have dolomite, white andesite, possibly some white chalcedony and white common opal.
I would have to look around to see what else I have in large enough pieces, but need to know if they have to be solid colors or if patters are OK.
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
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Post by iamchris on Nov 7, 2023 7:57:28 GMT -5
Patterns are okay! As is waste. I can cab or tumble whatever is extra or varies too much from the original color.
My goal is to have a new player to the game see the tile and understand which square it goes on. Does not at all have to be a perfect color match, be absent of extra colors, or contain all colors of the original.
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
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Post by iamchris on Nov 7, 2023 8:01:26 GMT -5
Real black onyx is rare and extremely expensive. A better alternative would be ilmenite. From what I'm reading, isn't ilmenite on the softer side? I'd be nervous about it getting banged up in the bag. I'm fine with things being a fake black onyx. In my amateurish research, it looks like it might be a black chalcedony, which might hold up a bit better. |
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 7, 2023 8:35:29 GMT -5
Real black onyx is rare and extremely expensive. A better alternative would be ilmenite. From what I'm reading, isn't ilmenite on the softer side? I'd be nervous about it getting banged up in the bag. I'm fine with things being a fake black onyx. In my amateurish research, it looks like it might be a black chalcedony, which might hold up a bit better. I have collected ilmenite a few times, but have never played with it. There is tons of it about 50 miles North of here.
Got to thinking about it and I have some thick black tabletops of something like black granite, which is very hard. Was using some as fill in the tumblers, and it hardly got touched.
For other colors I also have a variety of stone tiles in various colors, which would actually make things a lot easier as they do not need to be slabbed, except for the black material as it is probably around and inch or so thick. I would just have to cut stuff to size to fit in a box.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 7, 2023 8:36:15 GMT -5
Here is a sample of the black. It is not solid black, but rather sparkly black, hard and dense.   |
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 7, 2023 8:48:01 GMT -5
What a great idea and a fun project! Looks like you've had some good feedback.  |
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iamchris
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Post by iamchris on Nov 7, 2023 8:52:27 GMT -5
What don't you have up your sleeve?! 😆
Not sure how I feel about actual stone tiles though. Part of the fun of this is the process of creation. Skipping a step feels like cheating.
I'm waffling on the black. I think I may just use some triple flow obsidian that I have an abundance of. I'll be able to get smaller more all-black cuttings of those as I trim pieces off for cabbing it.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 7, 2023 9:13:25 GMT -5
What don't you have up your sleeve?! 😆 Not sure how I feel about actual stone tiles though. Part of the fun of this is the process of creation. Skipping a step feels like cheating. I'm waffling on the black. I think I may just use some triple flow obsidian that I have an abundance of. I'll be able to get smaller more all-black cuttings of those as I trim pieces off for cabbing it. I will look around and see what I have that may work. Have some other black stone around here somewhere I was going to use for making knife scales for a custom knife. The person wanted black stone handles. Still have the stone around here somewhere. Otherwise, I rarely collect black stones other than obsidian occasionally and true onyx.
How large of piece do you need to make all the pieces for one set?
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iamchris
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Member since June 2023
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Post by iamchris on Nov 7, 2023 9:35:45 GMT -5
 I know it has some orange in there, but nobody's going to be mistaking it for any of the other colors. There are 20 tiles of each color, and they're 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.357". Assuming zero waste, that's only a hair over 4 cubic inches per color. There's no way I'll be able to pull that off being a newbie; I'll assume I'll make plenty of mistakes. I've got this slab of obsidian that weighs a bit over a pound, and I should easily be able to accomplish the black tiles with 2 of these. I would think a LFRB mixed up of the remaining colors would be plenty for the project, and to have some fun leftovers for tumbling! |
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 7, 2023 13:08:54 GMT -5
These are pretty small pieces. I am sure you will have a LOT to tumble as leftover  |
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iamchris
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Post by iamchris on Nov 7, 2023 14:05:58 GMT -5
These are pretty small pieces. I am sure you will have a LOT to tumble as leftover  Oh noooo, what ever will I do? 😆 Wait, shhh, don't tell Brittany I knew this would happen! |
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 7, 2023 21:09:56 GMT -5
Here is some of what I got pulled so far. Trying to find a variety of colors. Will get better close ups in a day or two when the lighting is better.   |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 7, 2023 21:28:34 GMT -5
Basenite would work for the black, I think.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
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Post by dillonf on Nov 7, 2023 21:36:18 GMT -5
Real black onyx is rare and extremely expensive. A better alternative would be ilmenite. From what I'm reading, isn't ilmenite on the softer side? I'd be nervous about it getting banged up in the bag. I'm fine with things being a fake black onyx. In my amateurish research, it looks like it might be a black chalcedony, which might hold up a bit better. I have some black flint that would be durable and take a nice shine. |
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