WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Jun 2, 2005 22:52:26 GMT -5
As previously stated, I recently did some collecting in Az and picked up some Apache tears, lots of work for a few tiny little blobs of glass. I am new to tumbling and have been afraid to try tears or slag glass for that matter. I know of the mystique surrounding this endeavor. I definitely suffer from Fear of Obsidian. Myths abound. However, I do so love the sparkly black little suckers. WARNING! "Don't tumble obsidian from different locations in the same batch, not even if collected a block apart", "My tumbler exploded when I tried it...", etc etc etc. Well, I was in the company of a knowledgable fellow this weekend and he told me, "It's no problem, just like any other rock. I mix obsidian all the time. There's a recipe on my website" so I decided to give it a go: DAY 1 - Tumbler would not roll. Belt slipping. Tightened belt, no problem. (Thanks, Sands). DAY 2 - Came home from work, barrels leaking. Oh, no! Slurry escapage. Don't get it on the Rock Rascal. (I could swear I tightened those nuts). Senior moment? or something more sinister.... DAY 3 - Home from work again. OMG the barrels are bulging, HUGE. Major gas buildup. Had to burp 'em just like babies. Weird foamy slurry. SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY PEEPS: What's your experience with tears? Anybody coveting a detailed recipe? S
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Post by sandsman1 on Jun 2, 2005 23:07:39 GMT -5
hi susan banjo has done a few batchs of tears and they can out excellent he had a thread posted awile back with his steps --- but his tears came out very nice and he did it more then once so it wasent a lucky batch ,,they are a hard rock to get perfect because they tend to chip ill look and see if i can find the thread for ya
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Post by sandsman1 on Jun 2, 2005 23:13:15 GMT -5
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
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Post by stefan on Jun 3, 2005 9:57:48 GMT -5
Treat tears carefully (if you believe in legends) Something is amiss! I would run them in 120/220 to start- and use plenty of pellets!
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phoenix1647
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
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Post by phoenix1647 on Jun 4, 2005 11:51:07 GMT -5
I ran a handfull with my other rocks and had no problems at all...will soon try a batch of just tears and see how they turn out...will let ya know Pho
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Post by krazydiamond on Jun 4, 2005 13:02:41 GMT -5
like most softer stones, you really need to treat them with care. i've only done one finished batch of obsidian and swore i'd never go down that road again. i had to do two full runs in coarse just to get enough to fill a barrel for 220. the stuff foamed wildly and i had to burp the barrels every day. try borax in the mix, NM, it has an "anti foaming" effect, well, at least it did for me. anyhow, i used Tin Oxide on them and they came out pretty nice. Banjo is definetly the King when it comes to apache tears tho.
KD
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Jun 4, 2005 14:08:26 GMT -5
Hmmmmm - Banjo seems to be The King of just about everything ;D. (Actually, he's the very fellow who debunked the Apache tears myths for me). Things seem to have settled down a bit the last couple of days. The barrels aren't filling up with as much gas, but I am still "burping" them daily. Don't want them to >EXPLODE< while I'm at work or anything...that second day the seals had broken, the nuts loosened, and much slurry leaked out under the tumblers. I plan to run these rocks in coarse for about 10 days. Some of them had "skins" on them. My Lortone tumbler booklet sez to tumble tears with pellets in every step. I'm not using pellets in the first step, but will for the next grinds. As I said, I'll post photos someday...good or bad, K? Thanks, Sands and KD, for your advice. I sure did have fun collecting them. Sun was hot, desert was beautiful, Corona was cold and Banjo was cantankerous. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. hahaha S PS: Hey, Banjo - did you go back for your camera?
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Tellfamily
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
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Post by Tellfamily on Jun 4, 2005 22:35:05 GMT -5
I have done batches of obsidian alone & mixed with other rocks (mostly Agate & jasper). Never had any problems. I have collected obsidian form different locations & mix them as well.
I can tell you that they are soft. I would not go any longer than 10 days. I take mine out after 7 days. I also do not use pellets in course & seldom in medium. (unless I have space to take up).
I usually need pellets to take up space in the pre-polish. As with any media, always use pellets in the polish stage.
I mix everything in the same barrel & have not had any problems. I just watch sizes & make sure the load is balanced. Sometimes I add ceramic pellets to help balance & take up space.
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Jun 6, 2005 13:36:44 GMT -5
I checked on my tears yesterday - opened the barrels, and the tears were "glued" around the sides of the barrels in a thick muddy mess of what should have been slurry. In the middle of the tumbler was a bunch of foamy water. Weird. I think someone else recently posted a thread about this problem... ANYWAY - I cursed the little boogers (which actually are shaping up fairly well...and display beautiful banding). Then I cleaned both barrels, combined the tears into one load (as I suspect there may not have been enough rocks in each barrel) and threw them back onto the tumbler for another week in coarse. Oh, and I started a load of Bruneau, too. Wish me luck! It's been an adventure from the beginning - Susan
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phoenix1647
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
Posts: 186
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Post by phoenix1647 on Jun 6, 2005 16:35:19 GMT -5
I just started a load of apache tears in 60/90 today. Will see what happens. I plan to do them as I normaly do all my loads. Will keep ya posted.
Pho
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joanna
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2004
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Post by joanna on Jun 7, 2005 4:23:17 GMT -5
I've had no problem with polishing them in the tumblers, even had a few slip by me into the quartz batches and they shined up really nice. I was pretty generous with the extra filler for buffering from the 500 grit and on stage, though.
I have a two batches waiting for the 1000 grit round which I plan to do in the vibe ..... I bit worried how it will do in there. May just chicken out and send them through the tumblers.
I know they liked to stick to the bottom of the barrel a lot for me when I was running them through the 60/90 stage.
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
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Post by stefan on Jun 7, 2005 13:35:06 GMT -5
yuck sticky foamy mess- my guess a bit light on the water?
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Jun 7, 2005 20:04:08 GMT -5
Stefan, I started these tears in two 6# barrels, each barrel was a little over 1/2 full. They ran a week in coarse, and I experienced the aformentioned problems. Today my worn out belt finally broke, and I'm running that tumbler with 2 rubber bands (until I can get another belt...). I strongly suspect the barrels weren't full enough. When I recharged I combined both loads into one - of coarse the rocks shrank a little in the last week, so I ended up with a FULL 3/4 barrel. I will check them next Sunday. They already look pretty, as I said they are banded tears. I had a great deal of fun gathering them. S
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Post by americanbulldogsnj on Jun 9, 2005 8:12:14 GMT -5
Tears are cool, I just started a 2lb batch Monday, I got them for my birthday from my little man. I put them in course with alot of pellets (yeah I know I baby my rocks too much) and alot of water. The tears are coming along, and I have noticed the seal is bulging alittle when I open it, but no foamy mess, descent slurry tho. I can't wait till they are done! I'll probalby post some of my famous crappy pictures of them to show them off... Marian
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Jun 26, 2005 8:56:04 GMT -5
These are the little boogers in question (Apache Tears from Burro Creek, Arizona). They just came out of coarse. They actually settled down after about a week and quit producing gas. I suspect the problem I had with the sticky gooey mud on the bottom of the barrels had to do with an old stretched out belt that was causing very slooooow rotations. A new belt corrected that situation and they have been happily rolling along in 80 grit for about 3 weeks. I'm awaiting a grit shipment from The Rock Shed and will post pix after polish. They really are pretty, displaying faint grey banding. S
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stefan
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Post by stefan on Jun 27, 2005 9:33:41 GMT -5
looking good!
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chassroc
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Post by chassroc on Jun 29, 2005 8:05:59 GMT -5
Quote from NMRocks: These are the little boogers in question (Apache Tears from Burro Creek, Arizona). Me, I was just wondering if there is anything good that doesn't come from Burro Creek, Arizona. I know where I'm retiring! csroc
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Jun 29, 2005 8:16:58 GMT -5
NM...this is very topical...Tell sent me about 20# of tears recently and I started a big batch in my 12# Thumlers about ten days ago...I made it an Oversized load, heeding all the warnings about "shrinking tears"....Checked it Sunday, starting to shape but more shaping needed, so I recharged and will check on Saturday(hope that is not too long), maybe take some pictures to post so we can compare these "sad" puppies and monitor their progress(or lack therof?).
Let me confess right now: I tumbled some Mahogany and Snowflake Obsidian unsucessfully (Oh the shame!) a year or two ago. Came out smooth and dull! Why? Could have been any number of things, who cares anymore, I will shine these up flawlessly and reclaim my pride and dignity! csroc
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phoenix1647
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
Posts: 186
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Post by phoenix1647 on Jun 29, 2005 8:18:12 GMT -5
Hmmm..still see a few pits in there. I have a batch I just took out of 120/200 and will start them on 500 today...will post a pic as soon as I can.
Pho
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WyckedWyre
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2007
Posts: 1,391
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Post by WyckedWyre on Jun 30, 2005 17:50:06 GMT -5
The Tears went into medium today with a ton of plastic pellets. I took the lot to work yesterday to show my co-workers what I had picked up at Burro Creek and my boss (THE DOCTOR) just kept plunging her hands into them over and over again. They really are satin smooooooooooooth already, can't wait to see them finished. Speaking of do-overs, I have been running 2 double-barreled tumblers nonstop since Christmas, and still haven't finished a batch. Talk about picky....... I do have a mixed batch (quartz, jasper, agate, p-wood) of "graduates" in pre-polish as we speak, hope to finish them in July. You should see my do-over pile! These guys keep getting bumped in favor of "better rocks"...or at least newer rocks... hahaha. They'll be in coarse forever! ;D S
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