NorthShore-Rocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2008
Posts: 1,004
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Post by NorthShore-Rocks on Jan 10, 2009 10:11:50 GMT -5
Opened up the load, rinsed and took a peek. They're rounding but a long way to go.
I Thought the slurry was a little runny. Not nearly like pancake batter. Not much grit left at the bottom. Didn't take any pics yet. Recharged with a little less water. added little-bity agates to 3/4 full and let-er rip for another round.
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randy
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2008
Posts: 117
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Post by randy on Jan 13, 2009 20:39:38 GMT -5
Oh Yeah!! I used some lakers as filler for some garnets that I did. I didn't even do a coarse grind and the lakers ended up looking fantastic anyway. Have fun.
Randy
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Post by NatureNut on Jan 13, 2009 21:29:54 GMT -5
Pics? Where's pics?
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NorthShore-Rocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2008
Posts: 1,004
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Post by NorthShore-Rocks on Jan 14, 2009 8:22:45 GMT -5
I'll take some Friday-Saturday Naturenut!
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 14, 2009 14:08:24 GMT -5
Steve: I've found Lakers to take over a month in rough grind to be finished the way I like (no pits or chips). Your mileage may vary depending on taste. I've found that if I leave pits they detract from the overall shine.
Make sure you have a full load as you progress because Lakers have a tendency to chip, in my experience. But then, they may have been abused by my inexperience at the time.
Chuck
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88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Jan 14, 2009 21:18:59 GMT -5
Suggestion: cut some of the larger agates in half and round off the edges so you can get the full view of what's inside the agates. I did this with some misc agates and they came out with great pattern showing that otherwise would have been invisible. A week or two's tumble on rough will round off the edges nicely.
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NorthShore-Rocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2008
Posts: 1,004
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Post by NorthShore-Rocks on Jan 16, 2009 15:10:43 GMT -5
Thanks for all your advice! The load in the original post has now been through 2 rough grinds. Only exception being the rocks I added after the first grind to bring the barrel back up to 3/4. I pulled the 2nd rough grind after the 6th day. It started getting loud like they were crashing together. I think I still need to back off the water a little...the slurry was still fairly runny. No grit left though. They are starting to shape up and also get some depth when wet. There's still a lot of pits, fractures and crevices though. I don't think some of them will ever come out unless I grind them down to nothing. lol! I didn't pull out any rocks yet. They're all going for a round 3 of rough grind. Did someone mention here that they use a dremel tool to help out the pits and crevices? If so, what bits do you use? It might be time to pause and do a little work on the tough ones to help out. I shot a few pics this time wet. Feel free to comment! The entire load. This is a pile shot from above. There's a lot rocks buried.  A few favorites  Eye Agates. I'm a little concerned about sending the orange one with the double eyes (Looks like an owl) through another rough grind. The eyes are on the surface and getting dangerously close to grinding. It still has a couple of small pits though, so my thought is to let it go 1 more round.  These are called Paint Agates. What makes them different than regular Lakers is the concentration of minerals within the bands. It is much higher than normal, making the banding appear very opaque. The minerals in the bands oxidized to a greater degree than a regular Fortification Laker.  I think this is a Sagenite Agate. They are unique and uncommon. They have radiating fan-shaped arrangements of tube-like structures. These formations occur when agate material replaces long, slender crystals already present in the cavity (rutile, tourmaline, or goethite).  The rest are single shots of some I like.      The last two are very deep agates. You can see the top layer of color casting shadows on the next layer of color.   Thanks again!  Steve |
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Jan 16, 2009 15:55:52 GMT -5
It's looking *great*, Steve! Thanks for the good pics and for the info about what you are doing. Keep it up.
You make an interesting point about not wanting to shave off some nice surface features. If this is the case, and you decide to move it along with some imperfections, you need to be careful about cleaning the pits (scrub them with a brush) in future stages. Some people like to leave druzy pits (as in ocean jasper) and they can still get a good shine at the end. You might consider running one batch of rocks that are totally smooth through to the end, and then run another batch of the more problematic rocks (so that the few problems don't potentially ruin the shine you can get on the smooth ones).
Using a dremel tool to speed up the process is a good idea. You can also try placing a chisel in the crack/crevice/hole and tap it with a rock hammer to split the rock at that point. You'll then have two smaller pieces that are ready to tumble. I do that to rocks that clearly are not going to be ready by the 4th or 5th round of coarse (some ocean jaspers have this problem).
Thanks for keeping us informed, please continue to do so! They are going to be spectacular when you are done!
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Saskrock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2007
Posts: 1,852
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Post by Saskrock on Jan 16, 2009 17:25:18 GMT -5
Those are turning out great. Your so lucky to have lakers where you live.
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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 16, 2009 18:17:53 GMT -5
Those look awesome!
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 16, 2009 18:28:58 GMT -5
Beautiful!
The eye agates are my personal favorites.
I'd love to go hounding with you this Spring if you're willing and if my wife gives me a kitchen pass.
Have you tried cutting off any of the difficult parts yet?
Chuck
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Post by Condor on Jan 16, 2009 19:14:11 GMT -5
Man, oh man, oh man! They are looking great. Keep up the good work.
Condor
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Post by sitnwrap on Jan 16, 2009 19:44:04 GMT -5
Wow, those are magnificent
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NorthShore-Rocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2008
Posts: 1,004
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Post by NorthShore-Rocks on Jan 16, 2009 21:47:14 GMT -5
Hard Rock, we can do something! Just let me know.
I haven't cut or chiseled any of them yet. I tried a few dremel bits tonight and they just aren't the right bits.
I recharged and started rolling round 3. I'll get some better bits this week, practice chiseling on some ugly agates and go at it when I take a peek next.
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NDK
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Jan 16, 2009 22:47:30 GMT -5
Wowzers! The banding and colors on them are unbelievable! :drool:
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Post by frane on Jan 16, 2009 23:46:05 GMT -5
You have them nicely rounding now. I think it is hard to get them completely smooth. Maybe it is just me and the bought stuff I have tried. I tend to get the chipping and a lot of druzy pockets show up and break through, allowing the slurry inside the agate...if you have pellets in the load and they get in...YUK! It is hard to get them back out. Just keep it full enough and that should really help.
Fran
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Post by NatureNut on Jan 17, 2009 10:59:58 GMT -5
NSR, I've used my Dremel to help smooth and I used the orange and green grinding drums, the abrasive points, and the 60 and 120 grit sanding bands that came with mine. They did a pretty good job, although I went through a few sanding bands (which are pretty good polishers when they worn down). I do plan to investigate some of the diamond attachments, though. I found some info on the attachments here at this Helpful Dremel Website . |
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 17, 2009 11:38:46 GMT -5
I've used diamond tip Dremel bits to drill holes. Just go slow and keep the rock under water. I move the bit in and out to clear the ground rock out. I recently bought a diamond blade to work some Thomsonites, but haven't used it yet. Now I wonder where I put it...
Chuck
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Post by llana2go on Jan 17, 2009 18:47:51 GMT -5
OW, love those lakers! They are so pretty.
llana
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fiftiesrock
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2009
Posts: 23
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Post by fiftiesrock on Jan 17, 2009 21:00:38 GMT -5
Those are great and what a great tumble---WOW
Charles
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