rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Feb 27, 2007 15:46:56 GMT -5
I haven't polished much for quite a few months, so I'll break my drought with this snowflake obsidian from a local rock shop. Pretty chippy stuff, for certain, no wonder the knappers like it. ;D I used only a three-stage grind for this. I figured since it was soft, I could skip fine grind and just do an extended pre-polish. Seems to have worked -- I don't know that it saved any time, but at least it saved one barrel cleaning. - 60/90 until shaped, about two weeks, one recharge - 500F for two weeks, no recharge - CPP polish for 17 days - 2 hour clean-up with ivory soap And here's a view from my part of the world... looking off our deck where I took these pics... no obsidian, but lots of snowflakes! ;D Thanks for looking, -Don
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Post by Cher on Feb 27, 2007 16:00:51 GMT -5
Don those are beautiful! ;D You sure "donned" them didn't you.
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Post by lbowman1 on Feb 27, 2007 16:05:21 GMT -5
Beautiful! Those are gorgeous.
Lori
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Post by stoner on Feb 27, 2007 16:30:37 GMT -5
Yep, you Donned a great shine on those as usual. Nice job Don. And that's about as close to snowflakes as I want to get.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 27, 2007 16:45:43 GMT -5
Man those are sweet. Got to put that down on my list of things to tumble soon....mel
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onewomanarmy
has rocks in the head
Carpe Silicis!
Member since January 2007
Posts: 645
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Post by onewomanarmy on Feb 27, 2007 16:50:09 GMT -5
ohhhh VERY shiny stuff....pretty reminds me of a saying a friend of mine always says reminds her of me...though I'm not sure I should admit it - "I was going to take over the world but then I some something sparkly." ;D hey - that thing with the ladder looking object in the last picture - that's not your neighbor's one story ranch sticking out of the snow there is it? XD
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Post by krazydiamond on Feb 27, 2007 16:56:43 GMT -5
what a superb batch of snowflake obsidian!! great shine, nice tip on the recipe, thanks!!
KD
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Post by Jurrasic Jonje on Feb 27, 2007 18:11:13 GMT -5
Dang that is one hot batch of snowflake.
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Post by Toad on Feb 27, 2007 18:12:30 GMT -5
Sweet shine, couldn't imagine them being any better.
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polished
has rocks in the head
Member since February 2006
Posts: 567
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Post by polished on Feb 27, 2007 18:16:31 GMT -5
Beatiful shine !! I can never get obsidian to work for me, but those are fantastic.
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Feb 27, 2007 18:40:12 GMT -5
Your the "Tumbler Master" Don! From what your backyard looks like, you picked an appropriate rock. Thanks for the recipe tips too. Beautiful Shine! Steve
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Post by Condor on Feb 27, 2007 19:29:38 GMT -5
Great job on that SF obsidian. You did a terrific job on the snow too. Very bright, just like stones. Heck, I figure if anyone could tumble snow, it would be you.
Condor
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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Post by earthdog on Feb 27, 2007 20:58:21 GMT -5
Those look great. Most of my obsidian turns out with whiteish edges, even though I use alot of pellets.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Feb 27, 2007 21:01:22 GMT -5
OOOOOOOOOOOOO I like those, looks more like that blizzard obsidian - shine's amazing
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one80mike
freely admits to licking rocks
@(-_-)@ Princess Leia!
Member since February 2007
Posts: 908
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Post by one80mike on Feb 27, 2007 21:03:52 GMT -5
They look sensational, mate. I think I'll be changing my computer desktop picture to that second photo for a few days. I have never seen rocks like those before. They are super cool. Nice job on getting them so shiney.
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Post by beefjello on Feb 27, 2007 21:34:43 GMT -5
Holy cow it's snowing!!
Those are really beautiful!! Did you use pellets with them?
Very impressive!!
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Post by Bikerrandy on Feb 27, 2007 21:37:44 GMT -5
Ahhhhhh jeeeze, you didn't smash those with a hammer did you? ;D Dude, those are sweet!! Now I'm really excited about starting up a batch of obsidian in a couple weeks. I sure hope that they turn out like yours!
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Feb 27, 2007 22:04:25 GMT -5
HOLY BLIZZARD, BATMAN! Beautiful tumble, Don. One of these days I'm gonna bust up the obsidian James sent me.
James, where are you? 8-)S
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Post by parfive on Feb 27, 2007 23:54:16 GMT -5
Outstanding as usual, Don. But you should tumble these in the summer and do some sunstone this time of year.
Rich
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Feb 28, 2007 2:56:23 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the kind words! Shannon - fortunately that's not my neighbours roof showing, just the top of our backyard brick firepit. The "ladder" is just a couple of sticks my daughter and her friends like to set on fire and run around the backyard with.... helps to keep the neighbours from getting out of line. Condor - you might be onto something! If I could figure out a way to tumble snow, I'd be in rockhound heaven all winter! Hey, wanna buy a flat-rater? ;D Beef - yep, used lots of pellets. Too many to start with -- things shaped up gently but very slowly. Then I tried too few -- things shaped up quickly but chipped a lot. In the end, things seemed to do okay using more pellets than with other materials, but not so many pellets that the rocks couldn't tumble each other. That's kind of vague, I realize, but yes to pellets, you just have to experiment a bit. And use pellets beginning in coarse grind. Rich - Oooh, you are right, I should have done sunstone. Or fire agate. ;D The irony of doing snowflake obsidian during winter didn't strike me until I was well on in the process. This was the first time I've tried tumbling obsidian, and while I was perturbed with how easily the stuff chips, in the end I was quite happy with the results. And thanks again for the compliments! -Don
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