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Post by chris1956 on Nov 13, 2023 17:41:12 GMT -5
Ok, maybe I am a week or two early but they are mostly done so here are the latest ornaments. The idea for the cross and Christmas tree I got from Rob Jugglerguy from Michigan Rocks. The snowman, snowflake and candle I think I thought up but if Rob has done them, that is probably where I got the idea. If not the idea, the inspiration. The snowman has a quartz body that came from some rock from the Rock Shed. The hat and scarf are rocks I found in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Not sure what they are (the scarf may be some sort of basalt). I had a piece of unakite I was going to use for the scarf but it broke in the tumbler.  Would have been more colorful. The scarf is a piece ontop of the one piece quartz body. The hat is attached to the top and is slightly thicker than the body. Haven't epoxied the small pieces yet. I have another batch in the Lot-O right now with lots of small rocks so will see if I get something better. The nose is unakite from Michigan. I still need to polish up the holes on these. The quartz and hat were a little thick and I will make them thinner next time (ie, snowman needs to go on a diet to be able to hang on a tree). Two photos, one with three buttons and one with two. Let me know which one you like best. And before you ask, it was a cold day so his mouth is covered by the scarf.    Snowflake and candle are quartz from the Rock Shed. The cross is some sort of chalcedony and the Christmas tree is unakite. Both cross and tree rocks were from near my brother's home in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan.    Hope you enjoy, Chris |
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 13, 2023 17:50:05 GMT -5
Those are really nice!!! You are a talented guy. |
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Post by liveoak on Nov 13, 2023 19:34:02 GMT -5
Those are all really nice & great ideas. I think the snowman looks better to my eye with 2 buttons.
I'm not sure I want to thank you for the inspiration - they look like a LOT of work !
Nice job though, Patty
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 13, 2023 20:07:50 GMT -5
Wow these are super adorable!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 13, 2023 22:04:16 GMT -5
Those all look great! I think I prefer the snowman with the 2 buttons, but it looks good either way. You have a lot of patience.  |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 13, 2023 22:08:07 GMT -5
Those are awesome. I love the snowman and the snowflake. I'm actually just upstairs for a minute waiting for some epoxy to dry on some new designs I'm making for this year—mittens and Santa hats. I hope to have a video out about them on Friday.
I might try making a snowflake because I had a request to do one by one of my YouTube subscribers. I made some maple leaves this fall and engraved the veins on with my new laser engraver. She suggested that I engrave some snowflakes. I will if I have enough time, which I'm always short of.
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Post by chris1956 on Nov 13, 2023 22:38:51 GMT -5
Those are really nice!!! You are a talented guy. Thanks. Those are all really nice & great ideas. I think the snowman looks better to my eye with 2 buttons.
I'm not sure I want to thank you for the inspiration - they look like a LOT of work !
Nice job though, Patty
Thanks. Sounds like most people like two. The snowflake is a lot of cuts on the saw and getting the small stones attached to the snowman will be an effort. Wow these are super adorable! Thanks. Those all look great! I think I prefer the snowman with the 2 buttons, but it looks good either way. You have a lot of patience. Thanks. I think the two buttons looks good too. Those are awesome. I love the snowman and the snowflake. I'm actually just upstairs for a minute waiting for some epoxy to dry on some new designs I'm making for this year—mittens and Santa hats. I hope to have a video out about them on Friday. I might try making a snowflake because I had a request to do one by one of my YouTube subscribers. I made some maple leaves this fall and engraved the veins on with my new laser engraver. She suggested that I engrave some snowflakes. I will if I have enough time, which I'm always short of. Thanks. I forgot to mention that I think the snowman and candles would look better with a milkey quartz or white quartzite but I didn't have any slabbed when I started on it. I saw the maple leaves video and they looked great. Of course, now I want a laser cutter/engraver. The snowflake was a lot of cuts on the saw and I had to get out the dremel with a thin disk to get to the bottom of the smaller cuts. |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on Nov 13, 2023 22:43:29 GMT -5
Very cute! It’s a great way to make shapes like these, using the tumbler, would be too hard or impossible on a cabber. I like the 2 button snowman best!👍
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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 Nov 14, 2023 6:55:13 GMT -5
Very cool!
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Post by liveoak on Nov 14, 2023 6:59:50 GMT -5
Chris, you might try using a diamond ball bur to make a small depression for the buttons and like.
More surface area for epoxy.
Patty
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ashley
Cave Dweller 
Member since February 2023
Posts: 936 
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Post by ashley on Nov 14, 2023 12:42:47 GMT -5
Those are awesome!!
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Post by chris1956 on Nov 14, 2023 14:27:14 GMT -5
Very cute! It’s a great way to make shapes like these, using the tumbler, would be too hard or impossible on a cabber. I like the 2 button snowman best!👍 Thanks. Planning on going with the 2 buttons. Thanks Chris, you might try using a diamond ball bur to make a small depression for the buttons and like. More surface area for epoxy. Patty Thanks. I usually rough up the surfaces I am joining with a diamond ball bur (like the hat and scarf) but hadn't thought of that idea for the buttons and like. I was trying to figure out how I was going to do it. So now I can just make a pencil mark and then rough it up to where I can see it. Thanks. That suggestion really helps. Thanks. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 15, 2023 9:31:25 GMT -5
Oh my gosh Chris! That snowman is fantastic! I love all of them...but that snowman is super special! Way to go!! |
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
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Post by iamchris on Nov 15, 2023 10:30:45 GMT -5
Great ideas and execution! I will have to give some of these a try too  |
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Post by chris1956 on Nov 15, 2023 11:05:53 GMT -5
Oh my gosh Chris! That snowman is fantastic! I love all of them...but that snowman is super special! Way to go!! Thanks. Great ideas and execution! I will have to give some of these a try too Thanks. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 17, 2023 10:38:28 GMT -5
Thanks. I forgot to mention that I think the snowman and candles would look better with a milkey quartz or white quartzite but I didn't have any slabbed when I started on it. I saw the maple leaves video and they looked great. Of course, now I want a laser cutter/engraver. The snowflake was a lot of cuts on the saw and I had to get out the dremel with a thin disk to get to the bottom of the smaller cuts. A actually liked the more icy looking rock for the snowman. I know that real snowmen don't look like that, but that rock just looks cold, which works well for snowmen. I really like it for the snowflake. |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
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Posts: 1,979
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Post by khara on Nov 17, 2023 15:58:56 GMT -5
How much time in the Lot-O was required to get these parts polished after you cut the shapes?
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Post by chris1956 on Nov 17, 2023 19:29:18 GMT -5
How much time in the Lot-O was required to get these parts polished after you cut the shapes? I generally follow times that I got from Rob Jugglerguy in one of the Michigan Rocks videos. Sometimes I vary as noted below. - 2 Tbs of 220 for two days. I always watch this closely as sometimes you can wear away a lot at this stage. For instance the snowflake probably had a little more rounding on the points than I would have liked. - 1 tsp of 500 for 3 days. Lately I have not added the borax Rob suggests and added a little more polish. Rob suggested 1/2 tsp and a Tbs of borax. I leave the borax out in the summertime because I have to walk across the yard to get to the woods and we have too many ticks here (Yes, even walking accross my mowed yard is dangerous here in Missouri). In the wintertime, I switch back to using the borax and less polish. - 1 tsp of Kingsley North Micro Alumina for 2 days. Again, I deleted the borax and added a little more polish as Rob suggests 1/2 tsp of polish. If I don't think I am getting the typical rotation in the Lot-O I may extend these times by a day or two. Especially, the final polish. I typically "burnish" with detergent and water between each stage and final polish. I usually do once for 15 to 60 minutes just to loosen everything up and then after rinsed, I repeat for 2 to 4 hours (if I have the time). Lately, I have been using an ultrasonic cleaner after the final cleaning. It is surprising how much material comes off in that. Hope this helps. |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by khara on Nov 18, 2023 6:14:31 GMT -5
chris1956 Very interesting. Thanks for the info. I can see being interested in getting a Lot-O for projects like this.👍
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 18, 2023 14:57:25 GMT -5
I hope it's not considered hijacking your thread if I post last night's video here. It's basically a remake of the one you keep referring to, chris1956 . It shows my two new designs, but I still like your snowman the best. That's just awesome. |
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Would have been more colorful. The scarf is a piece ontop of the one piece quartz body. The hat is attached to the top and is slightly thicker than the body. Haven't epoxied the small pieces yet. I have another batch in the Lot-O right now with lots of small rocks so will see if I get something better. The nose is unakite from Michigan. I still need to polish up the holes on these. The quartz and hat were a little thick and I will make them thinner next time (ie, snowman needs to go on a diet to be able to hang on a tree). Two photos, one with three buttons and one with two. Let me know which one you like best. And before you ask, it was a cold day so his mouth is covered by the scarf. 
