panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Jul 25, 2013 17:56:23 GMT -5
I have finished 4 batches in the last month or so, but have been too busy to post them. So I made the time to post the latest batch. It is mostly quartz: chevron amethyst, rose quartz, misc quartz, plus some obsidian and other stuff thrown in to fill up the batch. Since I really enjoy when people post the whole process, I will do the same here. Raw material shown wet. Material going into rotary for initial rough out. I used some ceramic even in this stage since quartz can be prone to fracture. After 2 weeks (washed and recharged once) in rotary with 60/90 grit On to vibe tumbler. First it was 2 days in 120 grit. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this stage. It was amazing though how much the ceramic filler had eroded at this stage. I have never seen it disappear so fast and I am not sure why it eroded so fast with this material. I had to keep adding more ceramic. This is after 2 days in 500 grit. Then 4 days in polish (with one rinse midway). I added a lot more ceramic and plastic beads for this stage to prevent chipping. This is the result. The Whole batch. The obsidian was a bit disappointing, but it wasn't chipped, so just needs a few more days in the final polish stage. chevron amethyst I think this is called crackle quartz. Apparently they dump hot quartz into cold water and it cracks and lets dye inside. Neat texture. Miscellaneous quartz. These large ones are about the biggest my vibe can handle = about 3 inches. Rose quartz and other. I forget the name of the green stone. ? Miscellaneous filler material. Even some pet wood beads. These are actually much shinier than it looks. I don't know how you all get such shiny pictures? Thanks for looking. - Mark
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,280
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2013 17:59:34 GMT -5
Nice looking colors Mark. I am impressed. Said you hang in NW Panama. Ever see these round stone up to 15 tons made by Diquis of Costa Rica. I saw about a 30 incher in a school play ground with half a dozen kids rolling it around. They are very accurate in diameter to the point scientist can not figure it out. Maybe Shotgunner's distant relatives had a 2 meter sphere machine. linkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_spheres_of_Costa_Rica
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Jul 25, 2013 18:42:57 GMT -5
Mark I think your green is aventurine. That large orange chunk is nice, is it natural or dyed?
Sent from my phone.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Jul 25, 2013 20:19:24 GMT -5
Mark I think your green is aventurine. That large orange chunk is nice, is it natural or dyed? Sent from my phone. Yes, The color is right for aventurine, but it didn't have the quartzy grain that I think aventurine has. It was more smooth and finer grained. But anyway I like the color. The orange is quite spectacular color and is natural. I found this of all places in the gravel of my brother's sidewalk in Florida, hiding amongst a bunch of limestone and other very plain rocks. I am always on the lookout, even looking in the xeroscaping. There are some nice rocks in Florida, just sparse.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Jul 25, 2013 20:27:02 GMT -5
Nice looking colors Mark. I am impressed. Said you hang in NW Panama. Ever see these round stone up to 15 tons made by Diquis of Costa Rica. I saw about a 30 incher in a school play ground with half a dozen kids rolling it around. They are very accurate in diameter to the point scientist can not figure it out. Maybe Shotgunner's distant relatives had a 2 meter sphere machine. I have heard a bit about them, but the link was most informative. Another mystery "how?" - like the the stone heads of Easter Island (now bodies have been uncovered it seems). The natives down there have some funny ideas. When a pre-Columbian stone ax head is found they insist that it was thrown down by the thunder and lightning and it will always be found at the depth of 6 feet. Maybe those stones are just round from kids rolling them around
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,280
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2013 20:40:41 GMT -5
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grayfingers
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575
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Post by grayfingers on Jul 26, 2013 7:18:47 GMT -5
Nice batch, Mark! Love the variety. I also put softer stuff like obsidian in with the harder stones, they take a so-so polish. I then save them aside and re-polish when I have enough for a full load.
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