lsmike
spending too much on rocks
Maxwell's demon lowers tumbling entropy
Member since January 2007
Posts: 468
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Post by lsmike on Aug 10, 2008 6:48:21 GMT -5
;D I just bought a three pound piece of Labradorite on Ebay.NormallyI would cab this,but I'm thinking of using my big vibe to make a polished specimen.Any tips?
Any tips on cabbing it in case I go that way?Mike.
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Post by connrock on Aug 10, 2008 7:44:10 GMT -5
Hi Mike,
I have a few slabs of Labradorite but have never cabbed them yet.
I "think" it's a lot like Tigereye as far as cutting orientation goes.
If you do it as a specimen in your vibe I would take it easy at first to see how it reacts.Of course that depends on it's condition and shape to begin with.
Something I like to do to make nice specimen pieces out of bigger rocks is to cut them at different angles to make a sort of geometrical shape out of them.I cut one side for the bottom so it will free stand and then put it in the vibe (if it fits), or flat or vibe lap it.
I don't know which polish would work best on Labradorite but I'm sure others will.
connrock
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lsmike
spending too much on rocks
Maxwell's demon lowers tumbling entropy
Member since January 2007
Posts: 468
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Post by lsmike on Aug 10, 2008 20:01:40 GMT -5
Connrock:good ideas,thanks.Mike.
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lapidopterix
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2008
Posts: 216
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Post by lapidopterix on Aug 11, 2008 15:37:05 GMT -5
I had a lot of problems with undercutting when I tried to tumble labradorite. Mine had a lot of metallic inclusions that wore away a lot faster than the rock.
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Post by Condor on Aug 11, 2008 18:28:06 GMT -5
I have some pounds of that stuff that I've tried tumbling with bad results. I've mostly done them on the rotary and they are nice and round, but after the the third stage they get banged up. What I might do when I get a round tuit is to go through 60/90 rotary, then use the vibrating tumbler the rest of the way.
Condor
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Aug 11, 2008 19:14:40 GMT -5
I've always wanted a round tuit. Most of my tuits are misshapen so are of little help.
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Post by connrock on Aug 12, 2008 5:05:52 GMT -5
Condor & Steve,,,, Here ya go,,,,,Your own personal "Round Tuit"!  Now you have no excuses!!! connrock |
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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 Aug 15, 2008 2:44:02 GMT -5
A couple of years ago, I tumbled Labradorite in a rotary, and it turned out fine with just a standard recipe. (I got my rough from Dad's Rock Shop). The hard part was taking pics of the finished product to show the flash. The stones only "flash" in a very limited orientation, and aligning them properly for a photo is like getting 20 cats to line up for a photo. Add to that that not every piece flashes. The good news is that the pieces that do flash are spectacular. Here's a few pics: General pic of the tumble-load, very few pieces orientated to show the flash:  Some of the better pieces oriented to show the flash:  The best piece, not oriented to show the flash:  And now oriented to show the flash:  |
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Post by connrock on Aug 15, 2008 4:58:12 GMT -5
WOW,,,You did an amazing job on the labradorite!!
Is your standard recipe the "basic" recipe?
connrock
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lsmike
spending too much on rocks
Maxwell's demon lowers tumbling entropy
Member since January 2007
Posts: 468
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Post by lsmike on Aug 15, 2008 13:55:55 GMT -5
Twenty cats posing!!That's why I have a slight preference over dogs-dogs are too eager to please,cats are less needy.Mike.
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