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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 12, 2012 18:53:17 GMT -5
I am getting to the bottom of my lake superior agate supply so the quality is not what it was when I was able to cherry pick the good ones. I ran them with some montana agates and they worked well together. these spent 7 weeks in 60/90 (rotary) then the rest of the stages were in the vibe. ok this one made it all worth it for me (I want a barrel full of these next time) Thanks for looking, Chuck
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herchenx
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Member since January 2012
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Post by herchenx on Dec 12, 2012 18:53:48 GMT -5
Those are really nice! Great batch Chuck.
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snuffy
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Post by snuffy on Dec 12, 2012 19:02:30 GMT -5
Purdy,purdy,purdy!! snuffy
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2012 19:14:12 GMT -5
looks fabulous to me!
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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 Dec 12, 2012 21:12:35 GMT -5
those are really good looking stones, guess I'll have to leave mine in longer next time, for the rough course.
thanx for sharing!!
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Dec 12, 2012 21:54:02 GMT -5
Beautiful stuff Chuck. If you aren't already familiar with "The Other Lake Superior Agates" by John Marshall, you should check it out. rockhoundstation1.com/pdfs-etc/June2009.pdf It's big. You might want to download it first and then open it. The moss agates start on page 53.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 12, 2012 22:15:53 GMT -5
Thanks Daniel, that is a great PDF. I saved that and will read it when I have some time.
Chuck
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Thunder69
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Thunder 2000-2015
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Post by Thunder69 on Dec 13, 2012 17:27:03 GMT -5
What a nice batch...John
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Post by Bikerrandy on Dec 13, 2012 18:59:40 GMT -5
Those turned out great!! Especially the last one
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carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Dec 13, 2012 19:26:07 GMT -5
Great tumble. Those agates show really nice color.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Dec 14, 2012 4:02:41 GMT -5
Fine looking stuff and way rounded off Good teamwork
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 14, 2012 4:06:27 GMT -5
Forgot to ask,how many 60/90 grit changes do you think you made Chuck?Those materials are hard agates and sure knocked the corners off.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Dec 14, 2012 4:26:45 GMT -5
That Lake Superior PDF info is from another planet.Those shores would be tooo addictive if i knew material like that was in the mix.I have seen photos of that lake.The landscape is also from another planet.The wave action is also amazingly powerful.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 14, 2012 6:57:02 GMT -5
James - this batch some material I pulled from a 12lb barrel that had been through 7 weeks of 60/90 changing grit every week. I have a bunch in the barrel still running and I bet some go through as much as 10 weeks in 60/90 before I move them to the next stages. All rocks take patience to tumble but these take extreme patience. I have been reading all the posts lately about switching to a lower grit with agates but to be honest I just go with what has worked for me in the past.
Chuck
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,310
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Post by jamesp on Dec 14, 2012 13:12:04 GMT -5
I have tried speeding up and larger diameter.It is not a fast process.The only way to round them like that batch of yours is with the good ole rotary,weeks running time and grit changes. Years ago i ordered a 5 gallon bucket or two of grit from Washington Mills.The salesman contacted me and wanted to visit my tiny tumbling operation.He also delivered my 5 gallons of grit.He said the shipping costs him more than the grit on a single drum!!I live close to the industrial district of Atlanta and he passes by my place on the way to his big customers there.He often has 100's of pounds of grit w/him. He also has a young son and a mother in law that tumble.A swapping operation began a long time ago-rocks for grit.....He orders samples of all kinds of grit.AO 36,54,70,90 SC 8 16 36 46 54 60 70 90.I have become a test ground on rock tumbling coarse grit stage.He already knew the facts;he just verified with me.He said you will get best performance with 46 54 70 grits.The coarser grits break down inefficiently.I insisted on trying the 8 and 16 SO.The grits broken to size at the mill have the sharpest cutting edges that last the longest.The size range of 46-70 maintains it's size longest.The 8's are giant,brittle and shattered quickly into inefficent flat sheets and then mud,as does the 16.I was amazed and fortunate to see this with my own eyes.36 may be OK.46 is my favorite.The 16 was bad about getting stuck in the rocks too.The 90 was slower than 46-60,but not much.Even 220 rounds a good bit. One of his customers has a 24 inch vibratory industrial tumbler that they gave him from an upgrade.He is thinking about rebuiling it.Probably a several $1000 machine.
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Post by beefjello on Dec 16, 2012 10:38:17 GMT -5
Awesome bunch of Christmas candies there!! :drool:
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