thomtap
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 237
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Post by thomtap on Mar 21, 2008 17:52:10 GMT -5
I just finished my first batch in my Raytech vibe tumbler. The jasper and agate really did great! I mean it got a MIRROR finish!!! I was thrilled with this for my first batch. However, I did have some citrine, milky quartz, smoky quartz, rose quartz, and amethyst in the batch, and they did not do so well. The edges of these were white while the faces and rounded parts were fairly well polished, but not like the jasper and agate.
Should I not mix the batch with crystals and agate - jasper? Are there differences in hardness between these types? Any suggestions on my next batch are welcome! I hope to start a new batch in a couple of days...
Thanks!
Thom Tapp
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Mar 21, 2008 18:18:08 GMT -5
They are the same hardness. But the crystals seem to be more fragile (from what I've read here). Seems like most people separate out the crystals from the jasper/agates.
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Mar 21, 2008 18:24:47 GMT -5
Both are quartz, but the agate and jasper are cryptocrystalline, and the amethyst, citrine, smoky, rose are crystalline. Very very tiny crystals vs much larger crystals; they're all SiO2 but the agate and jasper are tougher, something you'll quickly notice if you do any sawing, it's quite amazing. So don't mix them, the tough agates and jaspers will beat up the rest. The white edges are caused by countless little hammer blows and you'll need to go back a stage or two to repair 'em.
SirRoxalot
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Post by deb193redux on Mar 21, 2008 20:11:03 GMT -5
Mixing in early stages is also more acceptable. The crystilline ones will shape more quickly and be set aside.
In finer stages and polish, begin to seperate so the crystalling ones can be provided with more cushioning to prevent minor glazing on the edges. Or course if you grind until they are well rounded w/o edges, this is less of a problem
I have tumbled nuggets of roze quartz and gotten a good shine. But there were no "edges".
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