donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 4, 2009 21:34:27 GMT -5
I know a picture is worth a thousand words and I will get some pics tomorrow! I tumbled some rock that started out as dark meaning that is what you see on the outside. It is a soft rock, tumbles smooth quickly! It's light pink in color with lighter pink or white barely noticeable banding. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
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Post by Toad on Nov 4, 2009 22:45:19 GMT -5
Rhodochrosite?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2009 1:17:25 GMT -5
My first thought when you said pink with lighter pink bands is Rhodochrosite as Todd said. Whether cabbing or tumbling you can grind it to nothing but mud in nothing flat. Be careful or you wont have any left!
Shan
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Nov 5, 2009 9:25:37 GMT -5
Hmm, my mind went in an entirely different direction... :nono: ;D Chuck
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Post by Toad on Nov 5, 2009 10:44:18 GMT -5
You crack me up, Chuck.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
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Post by mossyrockhound on Nov 5, 2009 12:47:58 GMT -5
Rhodonite is usually dark (sometimes black) on the outside and pink on the inside. Often it has black lines in it along with some very light pink (or white) areas too, but is not actually "banded". Rhodonite is also fairly soft, but not as soft as rhodochrosite.
Garry
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donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 5, 2009 15:34:15 GMT -5
O.K., here are pictures! The first 2 are what I am asking about. The next ones just happen to be in the pink family too, but are different. There is a lady here at a local flea market that sold me quart jars of rocks for $5.00 each. There was no telling what was in them. Some I recognized. Some of them were little slabs. It all went in the tumblers. Not all at once but in batches. I finally realized that some of them were softer and had to be done by themselves. They still aren't perfectly smooth and I don't expect they will ever get really shiny, but I still like them. I will have to do some over because in polish a rock broke.
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donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 5, 2009 15:36:20 GMT -5
This is a closer look!
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donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 5, 2009 15:37:20 GMT -5
This are not really soft!
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donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 5, 2009 15:38:30 GMT -5
These are soft, but not as soft as the light pink ones!
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donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 5, 2009 15:40:54 GMT -5
This shows the back side of the real pink one! Also on the light pink rocks, you can see how the edge of one of them is dark, well that is how they looked when they went in the tumbler. It wasn't until they came out that the pink showed.
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Post by Toad on Nov 5, 2009 16:11:03 GMT -5
The first two pics look like rose quartz - which is not soft. But inferior material could be prone to fractures and chipping. Also are you tumbling them with large stones or too much water? If a slurry does not form, the rocks will beat each other up more.
The last two pics look more like rhodochrosite - especially the ones at the bottom and at the right of each pic. The rest may be the same with matrix material, or probably rhodonite.
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donnies0
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2008
Posts: 9
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Post by donnies0 on Nov 5, 2009 16:59:38 GMT -5
At first I did not knowing what they were. After realizing they were getting smaller too fast I started tumbling softer stones with like. It only takes a day to make a measurable difference in the size. They don't have the clearness that rose quartz has. The outside before tumbling is very dark with no hint as to what is underneath.
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Post by akansan on Nov 5, 2009 21:37:59 GMT -5
I'm going to guess a pink onyx for the first ones - right patterning and would be as soft or softer than the rhodocrosite. The last group is definitely rhodocrosite. The middle group I'm going to guess wonderstone/hickoryite and jasper or rhodonite for the one with the black stripes.
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MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
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Post by MikeS on Nov 5, 2009 22:56:37 GMT -5
the first one looks like simply a very pale rhodocrosite to me...pherhaps the chemical differences that made it pale also made it a bit softer too? The last group also appears to be rhodocrosite. The middle group is jasper.
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