Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
If you cannot see Amazon ad banners directly below this text, please whitelist this site in your ad blocker(s). The ads below have been hand-selected for relevant content, and your patronage directly benefits this forum community, thanks!
I ordered a few pounds of the large size Mexican Lace Agate from The Rock Shed recently and am having a hard time with it. Some of it is rounding nicely, but most of it the layers are just chipping off. Even the ones that are rounding are leaving behind a bumpy texture. This is the first thing I've ordered from The Rock Shed that has left me feeling disappointed. I know not every rock can be "perfect" but normally they seem to be a small percentage of the batch. I haven't started all the ones I've gotten, but most of the ones I have started do not seem like they are going to turn out super well. I thought the rough was promising.
Here is a short video I made during my weekly cleanout this past weekend. I think these have been tumbling for about 3 or 4 weeks at this point. I'm only adding about 5 pieces into the barrel (QT6) and the rest is medium/small sized Botswana Agates. I added extra pea gravel for the last 2 weeks to try and provide a little more cushioning, but not sure it's helping. Any tips? Just be patient and see how they look in another 3 weeks?
Mexican Crazy Laces are stunning but I had the same problem in tumbling as you described. 1. The lace layers could chip off easily. 2. The crushed rocks have a lot of fractures. 3. There are some porous areas that don't polish and can collect black residue. 4. The agates have quite a few softer areas.
IMO It doesn't matter where you ordered them. My suggestion is to get prepared to start from large roughs and grind them to much smaller. Also preform them as much as you can, for example I will make faces that are perpendicular to the lace layers which reduces the chipping off. I also buy roughs and make thick slabs and cut them into smaller pieces to avoid the fractures as much as possible (absolutely not cost effective). Here are some of my journeys (and rants): forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1318928/thread Still I enjoy them a lot when finished: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1307902/thread
Last Edit: Aug 5, 2024 13:02:47 GMT -5 by pebblesky
Mexican Crazy Laces are stunning but I had the same problem in tumbling as you described. 1. The lace layers could chip off easily. 2. The crushed rocks have a lot of fractures. 3. There are some porous areas that don't polish and can collect black residue. 4. The agates have quite a few softer areas.
IMO It doesn't matter where you ordered them. My suggestion is to get prepared to start from large roughs and grind them to much smaller. Also preform them as much as you can, for example I will make faces that are perpendicular to the lace layers which reduces the chipping off. I also buy roughs and make thick slabs and cut them into smaller pieces to avoid the fractures as much as possible (absolutely not cost effective). Here are some of my journeys (and rants): forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1318928/thread Still I enjoy them a lot when finished: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1307902/thread
I guess I should adjust my expectations then. One of the very first rocks I tumbled when I started in 2021 was some Mexican Crazy Lace and didn't have this problem. The only thing I have besides my tumbler is a Dremel. I do use it sometimes... usually to cut off a protrusion or something like that. It's very slow going.
Most of my Mexican Crazy lace depends 3 to 9 months in course (which I why I will only order the large size). Some pieces are a lost cause (my last batch of 25 pounds saw maybe 1 to 2 pounds that just were never going to behave). Some stuff goes pretty quick, but most of it takes a long time and a lot of patience. cutting or grinding out the bad spots will speed things up.
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
It's been a while since I've tried to upload any photos, so I'm hoping this works. My last order of crazy lace from The Rock Shed is acting similar. It seems to be chipping and what I think of as delaminating. The photos are not the best, but I hope they offer a glimpse of the problem. To me, it seems as if there are layers with a weak cement in the rock, allowing the pieces to flake off. I do have a several more pieces that I've started to polish, and it's starting to do the same. I will update with more photos when I get a chance.
Yup pretty typical crazy lace. I tend to take pieces like that and smack them with a hammer and chisel. I would rather take care of the problem in course than have it fall apart in later stages.
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
This space is for temporary chat only and all posts drop off automatically and are not saved.
Members with real questions or comments that need an actual response, please post on the main forum - not here! Casual PG-13 posts only, no politics or religion please!
parfive: BOLO – Sara w/no h.
Nov 13, 2024 15:20:39 GMT -5
RickB: Surf's up - Pastrami on the hoof
Nov 13, 2024 16:44:09 GMT -5
*
Wooferhound: I make my Sandwiches without the Bread
Nov 14, 2024 12:56:46 GMT -5
amygdule: I like my meat warmed to Body TempoF... Then wrapped with a slice of Cheese
Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
*
rocknrob: That was one heck of a windstorm that thankfully missed me. I guess Seatac almost hit 60mph gusts. I bet those were some fun landings
Nov 20, 2024 21:55:16 GMT -5
Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
It's been a while since I've tried to upload any photos, so I'm hoping this works. My last order of crazy lace from The Rock Shed is acting similar. It seems to be chipping and what I think of as delaminating. The photos are not the best, but I hope they offer a glimpse of the problem. To me, it seems as if there are layers with a weak cement in the rock, allowing the pieces to flake off.
