The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Oct 29, 2012 22:26:06 GMT -5
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
Posts: 929
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Post by jspencer on Oct 29, 2012 22:29:05 GMT -5
Your pictures gave me a headache!
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jason12x12
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2011
Posts: 798
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Post by jason12x12 on Oct 29, 2012 22:38:07 GMT -5
2 part epoxy that dries clear should do it
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itsandbits
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Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Oct 30, 2012 1:12:49 GMT -5
i second the first and second comment but would add to try putting some crushed colour or grindings in the epoxy
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 30, 2012 2:31:56 GMT -5
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 30, 2012 5:15:48 GMT -5
I'll second Johns comment. My first thought was that I couldn't believe you cut that one. any laker that shows good banding and is over a couple ounces is usually worth a lot more untouched do some ebay searching on lakers like john suggested. should be some great cabs though and will take an awesome shine, cant wait to see those. I did a couple with holes in the middle and used ivory soap in the hole so the dop wax didn't get in there then when done just clean it in real hot water to get the soap out. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=ccabs&action=display&thread=52935Chuck
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keystonecops
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2010
Posts: 957
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Post by keystonecops on Oct 30, 2012 7:47:08 GMT -5
I agree with Chuck and John. It's not only Lakers, but Fairburn agates are worth more uncut. Later Clyde
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 30, 2012 8:01:38 GMT -5
Not a laker guy myself, but I know people who would cry if they saw what you did to that poor stone. Like others have said, those big ones with nice banding are worth a whole lot more uncut as collector pieces. But now that you've cut it, let the slabs soak in acid for a day before trying to fill the holes with epoxy. It'll clean any staining out of the holes. If they're crystal lined you might like them even better just cleaned real good.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Oct 30, 2012 13:06:47 GMT -5
He didn't come on here to be berated by the agate nodule purists, guys. Geez. Manners. I'm gonna go cut one up now and mail the slices off just to retaliate. Like in the movies where they send the ear or toe of the kidnapped hostage! :-)
Mario, I think mostly people fill vugs like this with superglue or epoxy (like Epoxy 330 I guess - although that stuff is pretty thin, you'd have to put a piece of tape across the back of the hole.) As far as the fracturing easily part, I guess Opticon or what is that stuff called . . . something like Halyx (??) (can't remember now) will seal the fractures good (if you believe the posts anyway - I haven't tried it).
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Oct 30, 2012 13:22:37 GMT -5
I dont get all the hubub about not cutting these agates. I say slice dice and cab them up. nice banded agates.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 30, 2012 13:36:56 GMT -5
yeah, as long as you can afford it go for it. Like I already said there will be some great cabs out of those and if I had a bunch of them I would cut a few too. I was just making sure the poster was aware that a good quality 1lb banded laker goes for $50 to $100 uncut.
Chuck
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 30, 2012 13:42:57 GMT -5
Now nobody's upset here or trying to make him feel bad, just letting Mario know he may have something of value if he cares about that. I tumble all my lakers so I'm not making any money off them either, but if i found a big one i might consider hanging onto it.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Nov 5, 2012 15:38:58 GMT -5
Well I appreciate all the answers and sorry took a while to get back to all of you....
To all who said not to cut them... I have more Lakers and Montana Agates than I know what to do with.... I have them sorted (more or less) by size in 3-5 gallon bucket as small, tumble / medium tumble, slab & large slab or sell or maybe even tumble a few. but if the market is good for the larger ones It just may pay for some new equipment...
Thanx for the info on the 330 & opticon/epoxy/superglue... I'll see what I have around the house and if nothing here is good I'll have to look at the local hardware too.
I'll have to see what I have in the larger sizes to put on ebay or even offer them here too if you peoples are interested... won't charge as much for RTH bros & sis's
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2012 18:38:29 GMT -5
I am no collector, nor a purist. To me, if a stone is uncut (as found) then to me it is just a rock. Once cut all the inner beauty shows and we can make something beautiful with it, then it is transformed into something new and wonderful
But hey, that's just me.
Beautiful laker's Dad OH!
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Nov 6, 2012 19:17:57 GMT -5
Hold on a minute, the notion that "big" Lakers are automatically worth a mint, is BS. That and the idea that whole Lakers are worth more left uncut depends on at least 6 factors, size being only one of those. I scored yours (very unofficially): 3 or 4 out of ten. Nothing to get excited about. Grading is only part of it too. There are many different recognized types of Lake Superior Agates: Pure Fortification, Quartzies, Floaters, Paint, Shadow, Paradise beach, Water-Level, Eye, Tube, Moss, Sagenite, Peeler, Mosaic, Brecciated, Skip-an-Atom, Wave, Copper... They are not all worth the same.
People picking agates at the gravel pits and selling them by the pound to rock shops know what they are doing. They sell the valuable ones individually, or keep them for their own collection - the reason they were picking Lakers in the first place. Yours originally came from a rock shop bin, right?
Many people window polish Lakers that are nice sized, but not worth a lot. Yours would have been great for that... but you slabbed it. I do that too. When I think it's worth it, I use Opticon to repair fractures, 330 Epoxy to fill vugs. Lakers seldom have vugs though.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Nov 6, 2012 22:59:53 GMT -5
Yours originally came from a rock shop bin, right? No, they were all hand collected by the husband of the person I got them from.. they lived in Minnesota at some point and collected the agates both locally and from Montana. I slabbed half of it, the other half is still sitting there waiting for me to do something with it.... that's what prompted this thread in the first place.... I don't want to cut it any further unless I can stabilize it.
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Nov 7, 2012 17:33:03 GMT -5
Yours originally came from a rock shop bin, right? "No, they were all hand collected by the husband of the person I got them from.. they lived in Minnesota at some point and collected the agates both locally and from Montana." Oh, for some reason I thought these came from an old rock shop bin. You might then have some Lakers you don't want to do anything to until you know what you have. The Lakers that are most valuable left uncut are the ones that are smooth and rounded, basically water washed. The smoother the better. Tight, highly defined bands of good color and contrast. More banding is better. Wide white bands are good. Multiple colors are good. Redder reds are good. Complete loops are better than partial. The less quartz the better, except floaters are not bad. Nice eyes, tubes, sagenite - all good. As you can imagine, smaller Lakers don't have enough surface area to be the best. If you can see all the great features of a Laker without even needing to polish it, and they are extra good examples - those are worth a mint. From what I can tell from your pictures, your Laker was somewhat irregular. Not bad, but not well rounded. The surface was kinda sharp and angular. I didn't see good examples of banding on the surface, except where it was broken at a sharp angle. It was a peeler. The middle isn't banded, and it has a vug in it. Vugs are very rare, but not in a good way. It was a nice sized Laker, (and I can't help saying this) but size isn't everything. If you have any other "big" ones, post pictures.
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