rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Jan 19, 2008 20:35:10 GMT -5
Last spring Jamie (Desertdweller) was kind enough to send me a box of tumbling rough, including some material from last year's Woodwood Ranch trip. So... almost a year later , here's what I did with it. Rough - the rough that seemed softer (like chrysocolla in quartz and starburst jasper) is shown in this photo of the rough, but not in the tumbled pics because after coarse grind I set it aside to run with other softer stones later: Here's a subset of the tumbled material, that I've been told several times the name of, yet once again I have forgotten . The white areas seemed quite a bit softer than the rest of the stone and undercut during coarse grinding, so some of the shapes are a bit knobby. Surprisingly, it did fine in later stages, and the white areas took quite a nice shine in the end. And here's a bunch of pics of the rest -- the mossy stuff is the WWR, and I also see some pieces of Arizona petrified wood in here, and some carnelian. The other stuff, only Jamie knows ;D And this one is my favourite, so here's three views of it, front, back, and backlit. The first two views remind me of pietersite. Thanks for looking, and thanks for the rough, Jamie. -Don
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Post by Bikerrandy on Jan 19, 2008 20:49:26 GMT -5
Beautiful stones bud, looks like a perfect batch!!
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 19, 2008 20:51:54 GMT -5
Nice Don. How long a course grind to get all the smooth stones?
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on Jan 19, 2008 21:12:02 GMT -5
Nice batch! The closeups of the last two pieces are killer. Good work!
Rick
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 19, 2008 21:41:22 GMT -5
Man, that is a primo batch of tumbles. Outrageous shine, nice shapes and a heck of a variety too. Is the white and clear material that Pastelite that Jamie gets around Burro creek? I like the pattern in that stuff a lot too.....Mel
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Post by Condor on Jan 19, 2008 22:24:52 GMT -5
Dude, those are outstanding. I have lots of WWR agates, and I've never gotten them that shape or highly polished. What was your recipe for getting them like that? Great work.
Condor
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Post by stoner on Jan 19, 2008 22:32:31 GMT -5
Your talent in tumbling stones never ceases to amaze me Don. That is a fantastic batch, even the ones that undercut. Your tumbled WWR material puts my WWR cabs to shame!
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,787
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Post by adrian65 on Jan 20, 2008 0:47:51 GMT -5
Beautiful batch, as always! I like the white soft ones too, especially due to their strange shapes and to the contrast between the glass shine and the dull shine. The close ups show amazing patterns.
Adrian
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Tigger
freely admits to licking rocks
The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers is I'm the Only One!
Member since January 2008
Posts: 896
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Post by Tigger on Jan 20, 2008 10:47:03 GMT -5
Very bright shine!! I love them all. I hope mine will shine that bright!! Very cool batch, Thank you for the inspiration.
T
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Jan 20, 2008 11:00:21 GMT -5
:oDON! Automatic Drool Warning for me...so I was prepared! ;D What a gorgeous batch of tumbles! That shine is so amazing...you are definitetly the 'King of Shiney Tumbles'! I really like the 1st material. It has such nice, sub-dued, soothing colors...Jamie...what is it??? And the rest is just awesome. Is any of that material from her Pipeline Canyon Area??? Thanks for making my cold winter day a bit warmer! Steve
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Post by Cher on Jan 20, 2008 11:06:13 GMT -5
Ooooooooooo how pretty! Gorgeous colors there and killer shine. Great pics too Don.
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huffstuff
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2007
Posts: 1,222
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Post by huffstuff on Jan 20, 2008 20:51:10 GMT -5
Wow, killer shine! What's your secret? And how large a tumbler did you use?
Hope mine end up so shiny!
Amy
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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 21, 2008 2:54:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the generous words! As for the recipe... these were done in a 6 lb Lortone rotary, running at about 35 rpm for coarse grind, then adding pellets and going to 25 rpm for subsequent stages (I didn't physically slow the tumbler, I just have one tumbler that runs 10 rpms slower than the other, so I use the slow one for all the stages after coarse grind). Coarse grind until shaped - not really sure how long since I remove shaped material and add new rough each week when I clean the barrel. fine grind (120/220) for 7-8 days pre-polish (500F) for 11 days CPP polish for 17 days. Mel, yes, PASTELITE! Thanks for the ID. Ed, kind of you to say these are better than your WWR cabs, but I looked at a pic of some of your recent WWR cabs, so I know that to be the overstatement of the year! Different techniques, and both produced nice results. Guess I won't compare them any further than that or I'll lose. -Don
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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 Jan 21, 2008 5:35:00 GMT -5
Yeah! Those are a super batch, Don! That last one is mind blowing.
I guess I might have to arrange a FRB from the group going to WWR to head down to the land of OZ.
Mike
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Post by Titania on Jan 21, 2008 8:10:41 GMT -5
I think I've been blinded by that shine! Those are outstanding!
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Post by creativeminded on Jan 21, 2008 8:20:29 GMT -5
Those turned out great. Love the glassy finish you got on those. Tami
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desertdweller
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2006
Posts: 1,803
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Post by desertdweller on Jan 21, 2008 11:23:12 GMT -5
Oh my God Don! You are magic, those look incredible, thats amazing. I remember the outside of the woodward ranch stuff was so rough, most of those pieces were just little biscuits or parts of biscuits, I was feeling bad because that was all I had to send but wow. The whole purpose of this board just came into view. I sent you a PM. Thanks for all of the pictures and for the heads up.
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Post by Tonyterner on Jan 21, 2008 12:25:04 GMT -5
Now that is a shine! Real nice job there Don. I love the variety.
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MidNight~Rocksi3
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2008
Posts: 1,716
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Post by MidNight~Rocksi3 on Jan 21, 2008 13:11:11 GMT -5
Wow those did take a great shine! and awww man, Now I want some of them WWranch rocks too..
*smiles*
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Post by krazydiamond on Jan 21, 2008 13:28:05 GMT -5
so good to see you posting another killer batch, Don. that shine is amazing!
KD
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