karenfh
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,495
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Post by karenfh on May 28, 2007 22:22:11 GMT -5
Got my new Lot-O vibe, and finally bought some rocks along with it. Purchased 2 bags of agates, one bag of blue quartz, and a bag of tiger eye. (Finally found the candy! ;D)
I can handle the agates and quartz;
[glow=red,2,300]I need help w/the tiger eye![/glow]
I do have a WF; should I cut and shape, then use the Lot-O? Can I put them in with other stuff? Can I simply tumble them in my rotary? Again, if so, with what/how long/etc.?
They are obviously softer, and I'm afraid they will disintegrate. Also, I remember reading a thread quite awhile back, regarding baking tiger eye, to make it red (?) or harder (?).
Thanks, all
K
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firewalker45
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 929
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Post by firewalker45 on May 31, 2007 6:20:45 GMT -5
Hi K, you can tumble the tigereye with the others. A rule of thumb is try to scratch the stone with a pocket knife, if it does not scratch, the stpne is 5 or above in hardness. It is fine to tumble five and above together. You can heat treat the tigereye to change it to red. But get the recipe to do it safely. Hope this helps, Daniel
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lastl98
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2007
Posts: 410
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Post by lastl98 on Jun 2, 2007 11:34:26 GMT -5
Found this on the web: n most cases Red Tiger's Eye is not a natural occurrence. It is usually a result of deliberate heating. Heat treating can be done using the kitchen oven. First fill a can or some sort of metal container with sand. To protect the tiger-eye from thermal shock during heating. Cover slabs of ordinary, yellowish Tiger's Eye in fine clean silica sand, at least 3" deep. You can get this sand at your local lumber yard. It is used for sand blasting. Place them in a cold oven and increase the temperature 50°F every hour until it reached 400°F. Then turn the oven off. Do not open the door. Allow plenty of time for the container to cool all the way through. Never tried it myself but I just may give it a shot. Hmmmmm... Last  |
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fossilman
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2007
Posts: 256
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Post by fossilman on Jun 2, 2007 23:49:27 GMT -5
the tigereye treatment works, I heated it up to about 550 one time about 20 years ago. Didn't leave it in long enough at first, and it came out burnt orange, but that was OK since that's UTexas's colors |
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Post by akansan on Jun 3, 2007 15:05:23 GMT -5
Hey Karen - try PMing Earthdog. I think he heat treated some a while back with Takila's kiln. There's also a couple threads (ancient threads, by now  ) about ways to heat it using just a regular stove. |
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Post by stoner on Jun 3, 2007 15:11:19 GMT -5
I just put a piece in my fireplace one night with a good fire going and pulled it out the next day. It was red all the way through, but it had some fractures in it. I guess if I had put it off to the side a little bit instead of right in the coals, it might have worked better.
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karenfh
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,495
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Post by karenfh on Jun 4, 2007 23:54:11 GMT -5
Thanks, all!
I will tumble some of my tiger eye w/the agates and quartz in the rotary tumbler. I will try to cut a few pieces, and tumble those in the vibe.
I will also bake a few pieces, and see what happens! I need to find the right sand, or else I would have the oven on tonight. (No fireplace, unfortunately)
Thanks for your help!
K
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) about ways to heat it using just a regular stove.
