jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 8, 2014 15:00:09 GMT -5
Always could use a little coral James! I saw your Pm so watch the mail. It will be a few days before I can get to the post office. Keep on learnin us new tumbling ways pardner! Slabbin/cabbin/tumblin-which form do you prefer orrum. and an address, Quatzite, Seattle, Grand Rapids, Phoenix, Mexico City, Bogata-where are you ? |
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 8, 2014 15:16:26 GMT -5
Not going to roll this much longer, it's been 2 whole days. Getting close. Being tumbled with broken up SiC 60 grit grinding wheel. The chunks of the wheel are rounding, and time releasing SiC. So I dumped the barrel in a tray and did a settlement/separation. Was curious how much grit is free. I only found 1 tablespoon of grit. And most of it was 60-180 in size, pretty well crushed. Either this rhyolite is really soft or the grinding wheel chunks are efficient cutters. I did heat treat it, which probably speeds the rounding process. And pre-shaped about 1/2 of it. Lovely material bsky4463 Andy. Cloudy day in greenhouse, tray tilted to catch good light  Grit balls, were squarish and sharp. Interesting filler. Outside, more glare  About one tablespoon of loose grit, mostly broken down  |
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 8, 2014 15:52:41 GMT -5
Pretty! Lookin' good, James.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 8, 2014 18:49:55 GMT -5
Pretty! Lookin' good, James. That stuff is fun, like the bands/colors. maybe a polish will happen. Are you guys rock hunting yet ? |
|
|
|
Post by fantastic5 on Dec 8, 2014 19:43:00 GMT -5
Hmmm, they way the broken SIC grinding wheel is making short work of the rhyolite makes me anxious to get my hands on some of the SIC ceramics a local company promised me. If they will load me up with their rounded ceramics I may have a good alternative to costly SIC for softer material. I will make sure to send some down your way when I do get some.  Did you get the chance to cut that piece of Kingston agate/jasper? |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 8, 2014 19:56:07 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 8, 2014 21:28:08 GMT -5
Pretty! Lookin' good, James. That stuff is fun, like the bands/colors. maybe a polish will happen. Are you guys rock hunting yet ? Not until tomorrow, James, not until tomorrow. (Notice how I said it twice, so maybe it would get into that head of yours? LOL) Tuesday. |
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Dec 8, 2014 22:44:57 GMT -5
Go James go!!!!
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 8, 2014 23:33:46 GMT -5
Hmmm, they way the broken SIC grinding wheel is making short work of the rhyolite makes me anxious to get my hands on some of the SIC ceramics a local company promised me. If they will load me up with their rounded ceramics I may have a good alternative to costly SIC for softer material. I will make sure to send some down your way when I do get some. Did you get the chance to cut that piece of Kingston agate/jasper? I did Ann. It had a whole different color on the inside. Will post a photo, hope you guys did well at JXR and loaded up on that amethyst. Thought about you and the rain. Hope it didn't hinder or create problems. Wet and windy, you tough. Forgot you had mentioned those ceramics with SiC molded in it. Definitely worth a try. Especially when it's free ! Seems like the chunks are doing the cutting since there is so little loose SiC. Yep, you gotta give that stuff a go. I get used AO grinding wheels for cheap and have broken them up. They did little to agate, but did great with glass and removing the lime coating off coral. the AO pieces stay together longer than the SiC, like they are bonded better. |
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 8, 2014 23:45:28 GMT -5
james (and anyone else). Here are photos of some NM rhyolite just sitting out in my yard. It polishes to a very brilliant shine, must be a bit harder than the Montana and Utah material. I need to get rid of a bunch of it... so.... yep, you are smiling, I can tell... if you pay the postage, you can have all you want. Some of this is small so can do small flat rate box, but I'd suggest at least a medium size, as most of the rocks are large. best would be large flat rate box, there are rocks there that won't even fit in one of those! Email me direct off forum if you want some. Yes sir. I will pay postage. In a heartbeat. The big chunks interest me, like 3-12 pounds. Like breaking it with/cross the bands. I will PM to get you some money(smiling w/brilliant shine). LFRB(s) sound great !! Thank you for the very kind offer. Kid in rhyolite candy jar  . |
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
|
Post by Fossilman on Dec 9, 2014 3:23:43 GMT -5
Wowziers!!!! That's a hell of a deal James!!!! PS: Nice tumbles!
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 9, 2014 7:49:14 GMT -5
Hmmm, they way the broken SIC grinding wheel is making short work of the rhyolite makes me anxious to get my hands on some of the SIC ceramics a local company promised me. If they will load me up with their rounded ceramics I may have a good alternative to costly SIC for softer material. I will make sure to send some down your way when I do get some. Did you get the chance to cut that piece of Kingston agate/jasper? Ann, those ceramics imbedded with silicon carbide sound like something you should try. Not sure how they will react to a rotary tumble with hard rocks hitting them. These grinding wheel chunks seem to break down in about the same time the SiC breaks down, about a week. So the full sized SiC powder is kind of time released into the tumbles. And then break down as loose particles. I can not say wether the time release of fresh SiC particles, or the chunks, or both are doing the grinding. Will know more when trying the chunks on agate/mohs 7 type rocks. They are the real test. If those ceramics hold the SiC particles too long their effective cutting ability may wear off at the face of the ceramic. So if you do a clean out and inspect the ceramic, you may have the SiC particles smooth with the surface of the hard ceramic. Just speculating here. I would definitely give those a try. And if they are worn smooth when you get them, it may be a good idea to break them with a hammer. Not sure what size they will be, but breaking them may expose fresh sharp SiC particles. Will be looking forward to how those work for you. Did a quick search and could not find good photos of those. Was wanting to see the amount of SiC in those ceramics, like 10,30,60 % SiC. Probably the more the better. |
|
|
|
Post by connrock on Dec 9, 2014 8:25:26 GMT -5
If the rhyolite rounded off that fast it has to be very soft and I think your headache with obsidian will be pains of joy compared to what your headed for with the rhyolite! LOL
connrock
|
|
|
|
Post by captbob on Dec 9, 2014 8:48:53 GMT -5
snort
|
|
|
|
Post by fantastic5 on Dec 9, 2014 8:55:25 GMT -5
Hmmm, they way the broken SIC grinding wheel is making short work of the rhyolite makes me anxious to get my hands on some of the SIC ceramics a local company promised me. If they will load me up with their rounded ceramics I may have a good alternative to costly SIC for softer material. I will make sure to send some down your way when I do get some. Did you get the chance to cut that piece of Kingston agate/jasper? I did Ann. It had a whole different color on the inside. Will post a photo, hope you guys did well at JXR and loaded up on that amethyst. Thought about you and the rain. Hope it didn't hinder or create problems. Wet and windy, you tough. Forgot you had mentioned those ceramics with SiC molded in it. Definitely worth a try. Especially when it's free ! Seems like the chunks are doing the cutting since there is so little loose SiC. Yep, you gotta give that stuff a go. I get used AO grinding wheels for cheap and have broken them up. They did little to agate, but did great with glass and removing the lime coating off coral. the AO pieces stay together longer than the SiC, like they are bonded better. Had a great time at JXR, and yes I got quite a bit of amethyst. I will post a few pictures once I get the pieces cleaned up. Rained just enough to make everything slippery and cold, but not enough to wash off crystal faces. So surface and dump collecting was even more difficult. Spent all 3 days down in the pit rolling and busting boulders, just couldn't pass up that opportunity. Christopher, Terry Ledford's son (the man who died prospecting for emeralds in Hiddenite, NC a few months ago) was gracious to open up the pit for the Memorial Dig. Such a great way to honor his father legacy!  |
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 9, 2014 9:25:10 GMT -5
I did Ann. It had a whole different color on the inside. Will post a photo, hope you guys did well at JXR and loaded up on that amethyst. Thought about you and the rain. Hope it didn't hinder or create problems. Wet and windy, you tough. Forgot you had mentioned those ceramics with SiC molded in it. Definitely worth a try. Especially when it's free ! Seems like the chunks are doing the cutting since there is so little loose SiC. Yep, you gotta give that stuff a go. I get used AO grinding wheels for cheap and have broken them up. They did little to agate, but did great with glass and removing the lime coating off coral. the AO pieces stay together longer than the SiC, like they are bonded better. Had a great time at JXR, and yes I got quite a bit of amethyst. I will post a few pictures once I get the pieces cleaned up. Rained just enough to make everything slippery and cold, but not enough to wash off crystal faces. So surface and dump collecting was even more difficult. Spent all 3 days down in the pit rolling and busting boulders, just couldn't pass up that opportunity. Christopher, Terry Ledford's son (the man who died prospecting for emeralds in Hiddenite, NC a few months ago) was gracious to open up the pit for the Memorial Dig. Such a great way to honor his father legacy! Looks like a Georgia clay pit. Nice and slick, and full of pretty quartz. That is close to kaolin territory, world of white clay. Looks like a big vein in the ridge to the left. Always wondered what that place looks like. I know you were right at home. That is a shame about Mr. Ledford's accident. You guys look like mice in that big opening. Well, a famous spot for world class amethyst. Can't wait to see the finds. |
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 9, 2014 9:29:22 GMT -5
If the rhyolite rounded off that fast it has to be very soft and I think your headache with obsidian will be pains of joy compared to what your headed for with the rhyolite! LOL connrock May have to varnish them Perhaps same song and dance eh?, thanks for the heads up. Maybe in the aquarium ? LOL |
|
|
|
Post by connrock on Dec 10, 2014 6:35:17 GMT -5
James I bought what was listed as rhyolite on Ebay years ago and it was almost like talc! LOL It looked good in the Ebay photos but it wasn't rhyolite. I used a very pretty, top grade rhyolite to make handles for a Bowie knife I made for myself and it was pretty hard material,,,,,,,  I tumbled the scrap pieces I had from the handles and they came out great. I think our problem with tumbling soft materials stems from "clogages of the brain" where we get hung up on thinking of doing agate,jasper,etc. Once we get the clogages cleared and realize we are working with much softer material(s)we're in clover again! The word "clogages" goes back to an old Lithuanian guy I worked with who spoke broken English.He said his wife was "inwalid" and had clogages of the "weins" in her legs! LOL Good luck,,, connrock |
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 10, 2014 9:11:17 GMT -5
Are those faceted jewels in the hilt ? Fine looking knife, did you polish the rhyolite with the brass in place or just the rhyolite ?
Glued the rhyolite ?
That rhyolite I have seems hard when breaking it. Well, it breaks like glass, so that does not mean much. It is dense.
The way it is rounding so fast, seems soft unless those grit balls are miracle grinders.
Had a set back with obsidian. I had a nice finish coming out of vibe 3 days in AO 500. Best 500 I have had by far.
The second day in AO 1000 I let it get dry.
Well, it made a mess of the obsidian and chipped the thinnest pieces of glass media. Oh me, when's it gonna stop.
I never did adjust the eccentrics to a lighter vibration. It has cranked out 2 fine polishes on agate, working on a third. No problem there. Got it whipped.
A white thick paste with the 1000. I suppose that is too dry. Kept the 500 wetter, and it did fine. Still had the bruises from past runs though.
guessing the AO should stay shiny wet ? And not dull pasty damp?
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
|
Post by jamesp on Dec 11, 2014 7:56:48 GMT -5
Day 4, switched rhyolite to AO 220 and glass filler at 32 RPM. Darn grit balls were still intact, reduced from 1 cup volume to 1/4 cup volume. I like them.
|
|
.
Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
*
Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
*
Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
