Post by NorthShore-Rocks on Jul 5, 2009 13:50:36 GMT -5
Hi everyone! Life has gotten very busy and a little-bit crazy. I apologize for being generally absent and not contributing lately. I hope I haven’t missed any important announcements or posts. Having said that, my tumblers have been faithfully grinding away in the background of all of life’s noise!
Last week I pulled a load out of burnish, and I was very happy with the results. My previous load was mostly fortification agates with a few other agates sprinkled in. The goal with the new load was to show some of the other material this region offers. I’ve broken the batch into 5 categories and I should be able shoot and post one group per day for 5 days.
The whole load.
First group up… Hematite Jasper
I was a little concerned about tumbling a mixed load, especially the Hematite. But, as long as it was high-grade, it tumbled well with the other very hard stones. I did get a lot of foaming at first during the rough grind, but a tablespoon of Borax every grit change seemed to do the trick and minimize the foaming.
The very pure Hematite was difficult to photograph. It’s glass smooth and looks like shined-up silver in person. One angle produced heavy glare. Another produced a dark almost black appearance. I chose to show you the black version in order to see more of the entire rock.
Thanks for all your help!
Steve
Next up… Stromatolite
Last week I pulled a load out of burnish, and I was very happy with the results. My previous load was mostly fortification agates with a few other agates sprinkled in. The goal with the new load was to show some of the other material this region offers. I’ve broken the batch into 5 categories and I should be able shoot and post one group per day for 5 days.
The whole load.
First group up… Hematite Jasper
I was a little concerned about tumbling a mixed load, especially the Hematite. But, as long as it was high-grade, it tumbled well with the other very hard stones. I did get a lot of foaming at first during the rough grind, but a tablespoon of Borax every grit change seemed to do the trick and minimize the foaming.
The very pure Hematite was difficult to photograph. It’s glass smooth and looks like shined-up silver in person. One angle produced heavy glare. Another produced a dark almost black appearance. I chose to show you the black version in order to see more of the entire rock.
Thanks for all your help!
Steve
Next up… Stromatolite
