stonedagain
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2004
Posts: 114
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Post by stonedagain on Feb 9, 2005 6:49:47 GMT -5
Greetings All- I recently purchased a box of mixed rock at a rock show silent auction and am in the process of breaking them up into chunks to tumble. I can't identify many of them.(I was thrilled that I won - I bid $4.00 for a box of about 40 relatively large rocks!).
Is there a visual guess I can make as to the hardness of the rocks so I can determine which will tumble well together? For example, some of them are definitely quartz and some are definitely agates, but some are gritty like relatively hard sand stone. Based on the grittiness of this one and some of the others that seem to break quite easily, can I assume that these are softer and can't be tumbled with the quartz & agate?
Thanks for your help.
A surprise came out of one of the crystal type rocks I broke up. It was full of talc powder! It was SO cool! ;D
Happy Wednesday~ Rhonda
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Post by krazydiamond on Feb 9, 2005 7:33:49 GMT -5
congratulations on the good deal on the rocks. yes, you seem to be on the right track here. the quartz and the agates are ok together. if you take a piece of quartz and scratch what you think might be softer rocks, then they probably are too soft to tumble with the harder stuff you have.
have you got them wet? sometimes you can get a little better idea of what you have that way, too.
KD
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stonedagain
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2004
Posts: 114
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Post by stonedagain on Feb 9, 2005 7:52:07 GMT -5
Thanks KD- I'll try the scratch method, though I expect I know the answer already. I haven't gotten them wet, but will try once I've gotten them broken up.
Thanks a million!
Rhonda
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Post by creativeminded on Feb 9, 2005 8:29:25 GMT -5
Scratch test is the best. Finger nail scratch - 2 1/2 hardness Coins scratch - 3 1/2 Knife Blade scratch - 5 1/2 Gladd Scratch - 6 Quartz Scratch - 7 Those are easily accessible, the book I got this information from also shows a kit of hardness points rating from 3 to 10. I don't k now how they made them, they look like they are metal.
Tami
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stonedagain
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2004
Posts: 114
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Post by stonedagain on Feb 9, 2005 8:48:42 GMT -5
Thanks Tami! This list is VERY helpful. Enjoy your day~ Rhonda
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Post by creativeminded on Feb 10, 2005 9:40:49 GMT -5
I got that out of a book called "ROCKS AND MINERALS" ISBN 0-7894-9106-0 it is a Smithsonian handbook. I have found it very useful. Another book that I found very useful is "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ROCKS, MINERALS, AND GEMSTONES" ISBN 1-57145-562-0. You might be able to find these books at your local library or if you want to buy them, I found them on www.amazon.com I don't remember how much I paid for them but it was worth it. In the second book it gives you areas that the stones are found in. Tami
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