showet
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2015
Posts: 65
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Post by showet on Jul 14, 2015 14:25:49 GMT -5
A couple of weeks ago I posted a question about tumbling solid quartz geodes tumbling geodesWell I have tumbled them for two weeks so far and so I thought I would post the results. So far not much color of any kind but I am going to finish them up and see what I get. Here are some progress pictures after two weeks. full loadclose up of three
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Post by Peruano on Jul 14, 2015 15:00:10 GMT -5
What you get will either be wonderful or disappointing. My original thought was that the rhyolite rind of the geodes will be tumbled way, but how far and to show how much of the quartz nucleus will depend on luck, time, and the shape of the nucleus. Lets see what comes out with time. Thanks for updating us. Tom
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Post by orrum on Jul 14, 2015 15:22:00 GMT -5
Interested and closely observing. They cleaned up pretty good hey?
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Post by captbob on Jul 14, 2015 16:44:03 GMT -5
Do you have a before picture of them? My thought is more time in coarse to get past the crust. Maybe there won't be pretty insides, but it sure is an worthwhile tumble and one I'm interested in watching the progress of.
Please keep us updated!
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showet
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2015
Posts: 65
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Post by showet on Jul 14, 2015 17:47:54 GMT -5
Here are some geodes similar to the ones I tumbled. They are not the same ones but were collected the same day in the same location, they are just a little larger than I tumbled. rough
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Post by gingerkid on Jul 15, 2015 4:56:08 GMT -5
Very interesting tumbles, showet! I have not seen anyone tumble whole geodes before and looking forward to seeing how your geodes turn out. What tumbler are you using to tumble 'em?
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showet
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2015
Posts: 65
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Post by showet on Jul 15, 2015 8:03:36 GMT -5
I am new to tumbling so I just went and bought a dual drum 3# Chicago Electric unit from Harbor Freight. I am sure I will upgrade this soon because this is a interesting hobby.
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Post by orrum on Jul 15, 2015 10:11:26 GMT -5
Go for it Showet!!! Outside the box ain't nothing!!!! You are outside the tumbler!!! LOL
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Post by captbob on Jul 15, 2015 11:29:17 GMT -5
You running these in a 3 lb barrel? What are you using for smalls / filler?
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showet
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2015
Posts: 65
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Post by showet on Jul 15, 2015 12:49:24 GMT -5
I am using only the geodes, 60/90 grit and a few pieces of ceramic media. I was not sure how delicate the geode might be once I tumbled the crust off so I was not sure what else to use for smalls as far as hardness. As I said I am a beginner still trying to see what works, so far so good.
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moogie
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2013
Posts: 77
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Post by moogie on Jul 16, 2015 22:35:19 GMT -5
Dang, that's very interesting. Where are you collecting geodes?? It would be awesome to find some on one's own and open them up, of course. Would love to see the results of tumbling them.
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showet
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2015
Posts: 65
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Post by showet on Jul 17, 2015 8:17:44 GMT -5
These are Keokuck geodes from Keokuck Iowa. They are very plentiful, all sizes from a as much as a couple of hundred pounds to marble size. It is comparatively easy to pick up buckets full in a days time if you have a place to hunt them. Almost everything is private land. Only a small percentage of them are hollow with nice quartz crystals inside with other inclusions. If interested, look at this link where thousands of geodes are collected every year Geode Festival
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 17, 2015 10:02:31 GMT -5
Question-Please don't take this the wrong way-How come you don't or (didn't) cut them in half,than tumble the Geodes? PS: They are nice!!!
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showet
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2015
Posts: 65
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Post by showet on Jul 17, 2015 11:31:41 GMT -5
The reason I did not cut these or break them (which is more appropriate) is because I determined that these that I tumbled are more than likely solid. The reason for breaking rather than cutting is that when they are broken the crystals inside are kept intact rather than being cut as they would with a saw blade.
With some experience you can make a good guess at the ones that are solid. If they are solid usually they are just a solid milky quartz which is not especially attractive if cut or broken. I don't have any real use for the solid ones of this size so I thought I would try and tumble some since I couldn't find anyone who had tried or could tell me for sure what I was likely to end up with. It is still and experiment, but these solid geodes I can afford to loose even if the results are not interesting.
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Jul 17, 2015 12:57:37 GMT -5
What a great experiment. The only issue I see will be how long you wish to keep up the 60-90 grit grind. It is going to take a long time to totally eliminate the pits in the crust, but in my mind, it will be well worth it. I really like the tan-gold geode that you show. Please keep us posted as you progress, and I bet no matter if it is beautiful or not, others will give it a try with the small geodes they have collected. Thanks for the show so far!
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Jul 18, 2015 21:12:29 GMT -5
I haven't done much with quartz nuggets but I just pulled a few out of my Chicago Rotary tumbler so for grins I can show you how they came out: I don't know the proper terminology. I only call them geodes if they are hollow and nuggets if they are completely filled. But I know what you're talking about. As you can see, one of my large pieces was a Botswana Agate with a very disappointing (TINY!) layer of actual banded agate. The rest of the nuggets are quartz nodules I think might be similar to what you have. They take a great polish! My picture is poor quality and doesn't really show the high polish these stones take.
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