rockerfellerz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2008
Posts: 120
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Post by rockerfellerz on Oct 15, 2008 8:54:50 GMT -5
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Post by akansan on Oct 15, 2008 9:37:19 GMT -5
Great first tumble! A friend of mine spent three weeks up there...and brought me back very little that's workable, LOL!
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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 Oct 15, 2008 10:35:09 GMT -5
Nice tumble and cool post! Those Scots Bay agates can have some super patterns but you sure don't see them around much. Very rarely I see them for sale on ebay, usually mislabelled as coming from Newfoundland. Never seen one in person, but I've seen some stunning pics on some agate websites. If that's your B-grade, I can't wait to see what you do with the A-grade!!!
-Don
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Post by Bikerrandy on Oct 15, 2008 11:12:19 GMT -5
Hey, I've been to Halifax three times  Welcome to the board, those look outstanding!! |
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Post by Condor on Oct 15, 2008 18:21:22 GMT -5
Very nice rocks and you did a heck of a job polishing them. Some of them look like they probably could fluroesce under ultraviolet light.
Condor
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Post by sitnwrap on Oct 16, 2008 4:05:43 GMT -5
A beautiful shine on that first batch and looking forward to the A grade second batch. The patterns in those stones are beautiful so how do you determine what is A grade?
Welcome to the board and thanks for posting your pics.
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rockerfellerz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2008
Posts: 120
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Post by rockerfellerz on Oct 16, 2008 8:32:22 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind welcome. To sitnwrap, I don't really go through everything and give it a grade, but the best stuff I find I have been cabbing and making pendants mostly, The first tumble batch was a bunch of stuff didn't look so great from the outside at least, a lot of beach stones can be heavily pitted etc. The second batch I'm doing has a bunch of pieces I already cut and used some for a pendant, so I have seen what is inside  Here is a preview of the next barrel, this is after 3 weeks of grinding with 60/90 grit, I recharged it and now will grind for 3 more weeks, and check them again.  Here is a picture of some cabs I've done lately.  The ultraviolet light sounds cool, I've got to get a bulb and give that a try! |
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darrad
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2006
Posts: 1,636
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Post by darrad on Oct 16, 2008 19:17:03 GMT -5
Nice stuff you got there! Great shine for your first batch. I know my first did not look like that.
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Post by frane on Oct 16, 2008 20:38:16 GMT -5
Great job and a beautiful shine too!
Fran
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rockwizz
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2007
Posts: 971
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Post by rockwizz on Oct 16, 2008 23:38:12 GMT -5
Excellent first tumble...wondering how you got the final results?
Do you go past the 7 days on the rough grind?
Ozzy
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rockerfellerz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2008
Posts: 120
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Post by rockerfellerz on Oct 17, 2008 7:43:12 GMT -5
Rockwiz, the recipe for this batch was:
18 day grind at 60/90 grit (recharged once halfway through)
2 weeks at 220 grit
2 weeks at 600 grit
8 days polish with CO, used ceramic pellets
I picked up some useful tips here before starting, like
having a good range of sizes in the rough, and most important I think was making sure that the rocks and the barrel was thoroughly cleaned before moving to the next stage."Cleanliness is next to shinyness" I don't have a backyard or a hose or anything so I take them to the manual car wash and pressure wash everything with the "rinse" setting (no soap), gets them really clean. Then a final rinse at home.
The only thing with the first batch was I could have kept them grinding for a few more weeks as a bunch of them still are pitted more than I like, but it didn't seem to hurt the shine.
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Oct 19, 2008 12:58:59 GMT -5
Rinsing the barrel/rocks in a car wash - that's a new one to me! Good show, great rocks!
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Oct 20, 2008 12:42:15 GMT -5
I am thinking I need to get bigger barrels... The size of the rocks I start with to fit in my little 1.5# barrels end up pea size or smaller by the time I get to the polish stage, lol. Yours look so great!
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Post by Noosh9057 on Oct 20, 2008 14:29:32 GMT -5
You did a great job with that bach.
Roger
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cutter
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2008
Posts: 129
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Post by cutter on Oct 23, 2008 9:45:30 GMT -5
The batch of rocks are quite interesting and lovely, but the table under them is fantastic.
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rockerfellerz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2008
Posts: 120
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Post by rockerfellerz on Oct 23, 2008 12:19:57 GMT -5
Ah yes, the "table". Nice of you to notice. It's not a table (not yet anyway), it's a slab of thuya burl wood that I sanded and polished. I have some other pieces made from this wood as well. It is the most beautiful wood I have ever seen so far. I have added a few more pictures that also show the wood quite well.    I'm now hooked on the "burl" just like I'm hooked on the rocks! |
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Welcome to the board, those look outstanding!! 
Here is a preview of the next barrel, this is after 3 weeks of grinding with 60/90 grit, I recharged it and now will grind for 3 more weeks, and check them again.
