Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
|
Post by Warzy Raptor on May 2, 2024 18:39:08 GMT -5
So I find some gorgeous quartzite with colored inclusions at a local beach, but the problem with the inclusions is it usually leads to fractures. I was praying this one wouldn’t fracture but it just came out of the first rotary stage and welp… you can see that she’s gonna split. Has anyone ever found a way to like… cut and re-adhere a fractured piece of stone to continue tumbling? I want to make this one into a necklace for my mom. I have an adhesive called Uhu that I’ve used with RESOUNDING success on ceramics, I’m really tempted to carefully cut this piece at the fracture, adhere it, and then toss it back into a 60/90 tumble for a week to see if it survives. (And then use a microscope to check and see if any grit gets stuck into any adhesive that’s in the fracture, because science!) But yeah, curious if it’s been done before with any success. Dry and wet photos below.     |
|
khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
|
Post by khara on May 2, 2024 22:39:46 GMT -5
Well, it sounds like a good experiment for you to do and tell us about! I have made intarsia cabs and the epoxy held up just fine to the trimming and grinding process. It’d be interesting to see if it’d hold up in the tumbler.
I would probably intentionally cut this piece and reshape it so that I could wrap or set it into jewelry. It looks fairly large in your hand. Would it be too small if you just went ahead and cut it, or let it break on it’s own? Then smooth out the rough edges and allow it to continue on in the tumbler?
|
|
|
|
Post by pebblesky on May 2, 2024 22:49:53 GMT -5
Nice looking quartz. I probably can not refrain from breaking it along the fracture lines with my chisel and hammer, but I don't see too much of a point to glue the broken pieces together. They will look very far from an integral piece anyway.
|
|
Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
|
Post by Warzy Raptor on May 3, 2024 0:44:13 GMT -5
Well, it sounds like a good experiment for you to do and tell us about! I have made intarsia cabs and the epoxy held up just fine to the trimming and grinding process. It’d be interesting to see if it’d hold up in the tumbler. I would probably intentionally cut this piece and reshape it so that I could wrap or set it into jewelry. It looks fairly large in your hand. Would it be too small if you just went ahead and cut it, or let it break on its own? Then smooth out the rough edges and allow it to continue on in the tumbler? I COULD do that, I just… really love the way it looks as one piece with those inclusions, even with the fracture line. And it is a decently sized stone, hrmmm. I might try the tumbler experiment just for the sake of science and reporting back; I did pick up a few more stones like this off the beach today (this time carefully inspecting them for potential fracture points before taking them - live and learn!) so I can always make a secondary piece for mom. *REALLY* got to get on joining a local gem/mineral club, I know one of the two has a lab full of lapidary equipment for members to learn and use. Meanwhile all I have at home are sandpaper, chisels, tumbler grit and cerium oxide, diamond polishes galore, and two Dremels with different sized buffing pads and diamond cutting/shaping/drilling bits. Can I make do with what I got? Sure. Is it going to take me twenty times as long? YUUUUPPPPPPPP. -___- Nice looking quartz. I probably can not refrain from breaking it along the fracture lines with my chisel and hammer, but I don't see too much of a point to glue the broken pieces together. They will look very far from an integral piece anyway. I know I’m going to end up breaking her apart anyway, I so don’t want to but it’s either that or she splits on her own in another stage.  Gonna try the glue thing just as an experiment I think and use another stone for mom! |
|
titaniumkid
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 499
|
Post by titaniumkid on May 3, 2024 3:43:13 GMT -5
Your rock may not fall apart during tumbling, especially if you cushion it well with lots of small rocks/media, maybe something to thicken the slurry, so it doesn't fall a lot during tumbling. You would just need to make sure the fracture is very clean between stages.
And this may not be overly helpful, but there is the Japanese art of kintsugi where they repair broken pottery with lacquer and gold (or substitutes). Maybe that's an experimental option.
|
|
khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
|
Post by khara on May 3, 2024 6:30:45 GMT -5
Your rock may not fall apart during tumbling, especially if you cushion it well with lots of small rocks/media, maybe something to thicken the slurry, so it doesn't fall a lot during tumbling. You would just need to make sure the fracture is very clean between stages. And this may not be overly helpful, but there is the Japanese art of kintsugi where they repair broken pottery with lacquer and gold (or substitutes). Maybe that's an experimental option. I actually really like this idea! I saw it, or a version of it anyway, recently. It would be a great way to beautify a broken stone that is otherwise too great to be discarded simply because of a fracture. I’ll have to try and find what I saw the other day, because I wasn’t looking for it at the time, and I don’t think it was actual gold, I think it was a faux method, which could have its place as well, depending on the value of the stone. |
|
khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
|
Post by khara on May 3, 2024 6:45:40 GMT -5
Argh…. I am soooo bummed! I had an absolute favorite coffee mug fall and break recently. It had a black cat on it, reminiscent of my sweet little old lady kitty. It was a huge mug too. Great for warming both hands on cold days. And, it was pink.🥰 I figured oh well, spilled milk, I can’t (shouldn’t) keep everything. And so I tossed it. Well, I tossed the handful of pieces that fell off the main mug. There was still a mug-ish shape that could hold pencils and tools, I put it in my studio. This would have been a perfect solution and I completely forgot about it. The one time I really could have used it on a favorite piece. Argh, argh, argh.
|
|
titaniumkid
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 499
|
Post by titaniumkid on May 3, 2024 17:38:35 GMT -5
Argh…. I am soooo bummed! I had an absolute favorite coffee mug fall and break recently. It had a black cat on it, reminiscent of my sweet little old lady kitty. It was a huge mug too. Great for warming both hands on cold days. And, it was pink.🥰 I figured oh well, spilled milk, I can’t (shouldn’t) keep everything. And so I tossed it. Well, I tossed the handful of pieces that fell off the main mug. There was still a mug-ish shape that could hold pencils and tools, I put it in my studio. This would have been a perfect solution and I completely forgot about it. The one time I really could have used it on a favorite piece. Argh, argh, argh. I believe it can be done so that the broken thing is not just an artwork but can also be used.
Sorry about your mug. I stopped using my favourite mug and hid it at the back of the cupboard to protect it. That's probably as bad as smashing it, really. We should enjoy what we have even if that's only for a short time.
|
|
khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,979
|
Post by khara on May 3, 2024 17:55:12 GMT -5
titaniumkid My mom bought me a pretty set of dishes when I first left home. I always envisioned them being used for Thanksgiving dinners and other big family gatherings. I envisioned them in a beautiful hutch. Life away from home started and initially it was in a series of small apartments, a state away from any family. So the dishes sat safe in their original box in the closet. Time went on, several moves, the dishes kept safe. Eventually my significant other and I bought a starter home. Didn’t intend to stay long. Small dining room. No space for my beautiful hutch. Also, a lifestyle that just never became one of large family gatherings, not close to family. So the dishes stayed safe in their box. And… I’ve discovered that living with a man can be… hard on delicate things. So again, more reason to leave the dishes safe in the closet. It’s now been 19 years in this “starter home” of ours and those dishes have been in that closet the entire time.😕 I actually made a note to myself last night to get them out and just start using them as my everyday dishes. I don’t have my fancy hutch, but they will fit in my cupboards! And, if they break… so be it. I’ll get to try the kintsugi.🤓
|
|
titaniumkid
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 499
|
Post by titaniumkid on May 3, 2024 18:07:28 GMT -5
khara It's that tension between using something you love and possibly ruining it/using it up or keeping it safe with the intention of using it on a special occasion but in reality never enjoying it at all. Hope using those dishes brings you great joy 
|
|
|
|
Post by Pat on May 3, 2024 18:26:40 GMT -5
I’ve saved only those who can’t swim….😀
|
|
dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,158
|
Post by dshanpnw on May 3, 2024 18:43:00 GMT -5
That's a nice looking piece of quartz. I haven't tried to save a broken favorite rock yet, I just count it as a loss, and I have lost a lot of rocks that were favorites. I think it will still be nice even if it is two pieces, because it's a really nice piece of quartz, better than any I've ever found.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on May 5, 2024 11:15:46 GMT -5
If I was trying to bypass the fracturing I might try heating it up a little, then trying water thin super glue to see if it will penetrate in and seal the crack. For operations like that I do it on a piece of mylar like stuff, for me pieces of coffee bags, the glue won't stick to it too bad. If you have accelerator spray that may also help, but waiting an hour or so works too. And watch the fingers, my last cyanacrilate project left me with residue for a day or so when I didn't wear gloves.
|
|
Gonna try the glue thing just as an experiment I think and use another stone for mom!
