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Post by gaetzchamp on Dec 30, 2004 22:43:40 GMT -5
Do any of you ever try to grow your own crystals? I've pulled a couple of recipes off the net, but nothing to brag about.
Do you have any good recipes or web sites to pull material from?
thanks,
Gaetz
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Post by docone31 on Dec 30, 2004 23:16:41 GMT -5
Most home grown crystals are too soft to tumble or facet. I have the equipment but the expense is not worth it. I can get foreign gemstones for a fraction of growing them. I can also purchase Choralski Pulled Crystals, and flux rubies and saphires for less than the cost to make. Crystals fascinate me also. Most home grown crystals are too soft to facet, cab, or tumble. I have faceted Selenite but it is really soft and must be set with care.
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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 Jan 1, 2005 5:33:48 GMT -5
Hey Gaetz,
If you are talking about growing things like quartz crystals, then you are way out of my league. If you are talking about growing crystals using common or easy-to-obtain chemicals, then I do have some experience there.
Assuming the latter, I haven't done any crystal growing for at least a year (though I did pick up a crystal growing kit at a garage sale this summer...should get back to that sometime....) and I have bought a couple basic books on the subject.
In my limited experience, the biggest key is to use chemicals that naturally form big crystals quickly. Salt and sugar are slow and small. Alum is fast and produces big crystals. When I played with alum a couple years ago I was able to produce near perfect crystals just over an inch in size, or somewhat imperfect crystals to two inches in size. I recall from public school science-project days that one kid grew perfect crystals using copper sulphate (deep blue colour) at least two inches in size.
It's been awhile, but I seem to recall that I grew "base crystals" in a saturated solution, then took the biggest of these and tied them to thin fishing line, and used these to regrow into big crystals.
Hope that is of some use.
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Post by gaetzchamp on Jan 1, 2005 23:18:55 GMT -5
Rollingstone-
Yes, I was refering to crystals grown from home-grown type kits. I thought it would be fun to do w/ the kids. Some of the kits I've tried haven't been the best, and I was hoping someone on this board had some experience w/ this.
thanks,
gaetz
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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 Jan 2, 2005 3:20:08 GMT -5
Gaetzchamp, I won't go into specific recipes since like I say it's been awhile, plus they are easy to find on the internet. I would recommend that you start with alum (can pick it up at a drug store or sometimes a grocery store) -- often comes in the size of spice jars (and in the grocery store you are likely to find it in the spice section). When you first start off with your string suspended in a super-saturated solution, I found it best to not try to grow full size crystals on that piece of string -- they would often fall off as they got big, or grow together with other crystals. Instead, let crystals grow on that string overnight or for a day, at which point they should be pea-size or maybe a bit smaller. Then select the best crystal (perfect shape, not intertwined with other crystals) and tie it to the end of a piece of fishing line or thread. This is a pain to do, so feel free to cuss as much as necessary Then use this crystal to grow to full size, it will grow around the thread. Take it out when you are happy with it, dry it off, and you are done. Most importantly, have fun! Here's a pic of a couple of alum crystals that were grown for at least a week, maybe two. The one on the right ended up a kind of double crystal. (Quarter used for scale, same size as US quarter). PS: Growing "crystal gardens" using laundry bluing + ammonia and I forget what else, is also a lot of fun -- it doesn't really form obvious crystals, but it's amazing how much crystal "snow" will form -- will grow right out of the bowl.
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Post by sandsman1 on Jan 2, 2005 4:17:17 GMT -5
hi guys i gotta ask can you polish and use these crystals when there done ,, what i mean is are they hard enuff for a pendent or other uses or are they just for looking at ?
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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 Jan 2, 2005 15:03:18 GMT -5
Sands,
The Mohs hardness for alum is only 2 - 2.5, so they're just for display.
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Post by sandsman1 on Jan 2, 2005 15:17:18 GMT -5
ok thanks rollin i was gonna have to have a go at it --if you could use them hahaha my daughter is nutts for them ---i still might have to give it a try and give them to her she loves crystals
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