iamnoone
having dreams about rocks
If it's not shiny, it's not finished
Member since October 2013
Posts: 69
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Post by iamnoone on Dec 14, 2013 23:00:21 GMT -5
I did a mixed tumble with my uv-18 vibe. The amethyst seem to have a lot of tiny pits that filled with grit in all the phases, then polish and borax in the final stages. I did 24 hrs at 220, 24 at 500. 24 at 1000 then 5 days at polish. Burnished for 4 hours with borax. The amethysts were very disappointing. The jasper on the other hand was beautiful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've considered rerunning the amethyst but can't decide
Thanks.
John
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marinedad
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2010
Posts: 813
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Post by marinedad on Dec 14, 2013 23:11:51 GMT -5
I believe jasper is harder than the amethyst and has dinged it. rerun the amethyst by itself or with same hardness rock.
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Marie
starting to shine!
Member since March 2013
Posts: 40
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Post by Marie on Dec 16, 2013 11:22:03 GMT -5
Pictures? Did you put them through a rotary first? Were they smooth to start? If they had a lot of pits to start with the UV will be slow to get them out. Also, the previous reply about hardness has a point, especially if the jasper pieces are larger. This problem can also be compounded by not enough small stones or ceramic pieces, or if the UV is not filled enough the UV will be extra violent with the stones. Put them with quartz and agates. I actually just finished a load with my UV 18 that had some amethyst pieces from the rockshed that came out beautifully, so keep trying!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Dec 16, 2013 12:57:37 GMT -5
Yeppers, treat ammey like obsidian. Run only by itself or with other crystalline quartz, lots of pellets, full load so they don't knock together as much etc. Jasper and agate will chew it up pretty good causing fractures and dings...Mel
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Post by pghram on Dec 16, 2013 16:33:18 GMT -5
That's the great thing about tumbling, you can always back up a few steps if you are not satisfied.
Rich
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iamnoone
having dreams about rocks
If it's not shiny, it's not finished
Member since October 2013
Posts: 69
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Post by iamnoone on Dec 16, 2013 23:23:29 GMT -5
We do not have a rotary. Should we just rerun all the quartzes and enough media to fill it up? We have amethyst, rose quartz and regular quartz that can fill it up.
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Post by pghram on Dec 17, 2013 15:01:34 GMT -5
Filler-up, have plenty of smalls, & keep going (with re-charges if necessary) to get rid of the pits & imperfections. Then move to the next grit.
Rich
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2013 16:01:19 GMT -5
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iamnoone
having dreams about rocks
If it's not shiny, it's not finished
Member since October 2013
Posts: 69
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Post by iamnoone on Dec 19, 2013 13:14:00 GMT -5
Thanks for all the great advice. I will put it to good use after we return from the holiday. Btw Happy Birthday Andrew!!!!
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iamnoone
having dreams about rocks
If it's not shiny, it's not finished
Member since October 2013
Posts: 69
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Post by iamnoone on Jan 5, 2014 1:30:06 GMT -5
Reran the scuffed amethysts they are looking better. I'm about to start burnish. Found a labrodite in there that is looking great! Will do an update with photos when I'm done
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Jan 5, 2014 1:49:44 GMT -5
can't wait to see pics.
i ran quartz points and rutilated quartz in with jaspers and was unhappy as well, started separating them and things got much better. Can't wait to see what you got!
I can get away with some quartz varieties in with agates, but the clearer/finer ones I run separate.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 5, 2014 7:47:51 GMT -5
Amethyst can be tough. Much of what is available for tumbling is fractured. Where the fracture meets the polished surface, you often get some chipping along the seam. If the fracture is perpendicular to the polished surface, it is not too bad. If the fracture meets the surface at a shallow angle and runs just below the surface, it is more likely to chip.
Use LOTS of ceramic media. A UV-18 is a big bowl to fill. Good luck and post your results.
Darryl.
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