mikie
off to a rocking start
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Post by mikie on Jul 15, 2013 15:37:43 GMT -5
Here is some of the results of my first ever load of rocks in my tumbler. My wife's Great Uncle was a rock hound and I got a lot of his collection. These are chipped pieces I gathered up and tumbled. Maybe y'all can identify what each rock actually is. The batch: ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/001_zps631252a8.jpg) ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/002_zps3ed3ce77.jpg) ![]() ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/004_zpsa0e6baf6.jpg) ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/007_zps3e216967.jpg) ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/008_zpsf399e4e7.jpg) ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/009_zpseffbc8d5.jpg) Anyone have any idea what the last rock above is? I love the green colors! Thanks for looking!!
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riverrock
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Post by riverrock on Jul 15, 2013 19:11:18 GMT -5
Wow nice for a first batch, great shine. Much better than my first batch. You are only going to get better from now on. Looking forward for more post from you.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 15, 2013 21:04:20 GMT -5
I think that third picture is horn coral. I like all the variety in your batch, but if the rocks are of different hardness, the softer ones may not turn out as well. If they're all the same hardness, variety isn't usually a problem and makes for a more interesting bunch of rocks.
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mikie
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 13
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Post by mikie on Jul 16, 2013 7:19:15 GMT -5
Thanks Riverrock........ ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Juggler Guy.... Yes, I saw some rocks in this batch that did not take a shine at all. They did get smooth and that was all. This one in particular: ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/Dull_zpsc7a56789.jpg) So, this one is softer than all the other rocks in the batch? All the rocks were just chips and pieces that I found in the collection. BUT, i don't know anything much about rocks and much less about each rocks hardness. I thought the above rock was a larger piece of the last one in my first post. SO, I suppose they are actually different rocks. Any ideas what these green rocks might be? Here is the other green one that did polish: ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/009_zpseffbc8d5.jpg) Thanks for looking everyone! Mikie
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mikie
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 13
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Post by mikie on Jul 16, 2013 7:34:21 GMT -5
OH..... one other question. Do you want to keep the general size of rocks in the tumbler the same? In my first batch I had rocks of all sizes. ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) Mikie
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 16, 2013 8:02:09 GMT -5
I'm not very good at identifying rocks either. Hard rocks polish easier than soft rocks, but take longer. If you mix hardnesses, the soft rocks suffer. I have some soft rocks that I've never been able to tumble to a shine, but I can shine them up on a flat lap.
As for the size, mixing them up is good. If you use just bigger rocks, they won't make as much contact as they're moving around. You need small rocks to get in between the gaps in the larger rocks.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jul 16, 2013 8:04:34 GMT -5
You will either need a variety of size rocks in your batch or you can add a smaller filler like ceramics to move the grit and polish more evenly to all the surfaces. If you get a chance post some details about your process and maybe we can help you along a bit. Rotary or vibe tumbler? how many grit stages? how much grit and polish did you use? and how long did each stage run?
I agree that the third picture could be a horn coral and that one is very cool. The (2) black rocks with shells in the first picture are turitella agate and the large rock that looks like at has a needle pattern looks like palm wood. The brown rock near the bottom of the same photo is tigereye. Light blue rock that is half shown at the bottom of the first photo is blue lace agate.
Chuck
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mikie
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Member since April 2011
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Post by mikie on Jul 16, 2013 16:35:53 GMT -5
Chuck:
I have a rotary tumbler. It was a kit and came with 4 bottles of grit / polish. I let each stage run at least a week and sometime if the results weren't there it ran longer.
Thanks for the advice about the large and small rocks. I just started a new batch of agate so I will add in some small pieces for filler.
Mikie
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Post by My Dixie Wrecked on Jul 17, 2013 12:51:43 GMT -5
thats way cool i am reading about tumbling so i can polish some yards rocks i got
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mikie
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 13
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Post by mikie on Jul 17, 2013 16:48:05 GMT -5
thats way cool i am reading about tumbling so i can polish some yards rocks i got Well, I bought a tumbler, read about it, got a few rocks and it all just sat there for months until I just decided to give it a try. The above is my first attempt and yes, I learned from it. SO.... JUST DO IT ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png)
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rockpickerforever
Cave Dweller
RIP Jean Bradley, you are forever loved
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 17, 2013 17:41:03 GMT -5
Good job, Mikie! You left this one off: ![](http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/Mississippi_Mike/Tumbled%20Rocks/006_zps10d7cee9.jpg) Got one too many "http://"-s in the code (it already has one provided where you enter the URL, and will double up if you let it!). Other than that, you did fine. You can go back in and edit it if you want, I'll take this one off. I'm still trying to get used to the new software. Just do it - I like that philosophy. Welcome aboard, Mikie! Jean PS - it also helps to reduce the size of your photos, it makes them more easily viewed on iPads, smart phones, etc. It will also keep you from filling up the capacity on your photobucket account so fast. You can resize using software in Photobucket, or before you upload to Photobucket, using Photoshop (what I use) or something similar.
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carloscinco
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Post by carloscinco on Jul 17, 2013 19:48:36 GMT -5
Nice variety and finish on them babies! You're in for a fun ride, welcome.
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pporky
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Post by pporky on Jul 18, 2013 6:17:11 GMT -5
Welcome to the board Mikie, nice mix and a good finish especially for your first I think the green one first asked about is a green moss agate and I have a piece of jade that looks similar to the last one. Also the white and clear ones have dendrites, the black patterns in them Keep on rolling. Bill
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mikie
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
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Post by mikie on Jul 18, 2013 12:16:32 GMT -5
Good job, Mikie! Just do it - I like that philosophy. Welcome aboard, Mikie! Jean PS - it also helps to reduce the size of your photos, it makes them more easily viewed on iPads, smart phones, etc. It will also keep you from filling up the capacity on your photobucket account so fast. You can resize using software in Photobucket, or before you upload to Photobucket, using Photoshop (what I use) or something similar. Thanks Jean.... Yep, I did forget that one. Thanks for fixing my boo boo. Thanks for the advice about reducing the size of my pics. I will do that next time. Mikie
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mikie
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 13
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Post by mikie on Jul 18, 2013 12:19:53 GMT -5
Welcome to the board Mikie, nice mix and a good finish especially for your first I think the green one first asked about is a green moss agate and I have a piece of jade that looks similar to the last one. Also the white and clear ones have dendrites, the black patterns in them Keep on rolling. Bill Thanks for the ID on the rocks! I have a large pile of things I got from an old rock collector that used to live out in Wyoming in the 1930's and 1940's. The ones I polished were just the ones that were broken into small pieces. Mikie
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Post by Bikerrandy on Jul 18, 2013 20:37:37 GMT -5
Awesome first batch!!
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panamark
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Post by panamark on Jul 19, 2013 11:30:53 GMT -5
Since no one is identifying the rocks much for you, I will take a stab. Note that I have only been doing this for a year and there are people on this board that are real experts, while it seems I have forgotten more than I'll ever know. LOL Anyway, I don't think any of your material is nephrite or jade. At least from what I have seen of Wyoming jade, that doesn't look quite right. I have labelled a few of the rocks. The experts can correct me where I am wrong. Sorry it is a bit hard to read some of the text Great first batch by the way! ![](http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh44/shotgun_tycoon/pic1_zps3b259de7.jpg)
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mikie
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Post by mikie on Jul 19, 2013 14:49:14 GMT -5
Thanks so much Mark for your ID input!
Mikie
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