bunnybunnybun
starting to shine!
Discovering my cooking is like tumbling. Both result in inedible rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 42
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Post by bunnybunnybun on Sept 24, 2016 13:52:11 GMT -5
After my flawed first attempt with the flourite, I've gotten hold of a collection of rocks. Here's some of them. I... don't really know what most of these are, however. I believe the clear ones are sea glass rather than quartz, as the sides are smooth to the touch. Some petrified wood, peacock ore, the faded green cube in the back looks almost like jade (but doubt it). Interestingly enough, the piece of peacock ore has a chunk of gold on the corner. Now I learned from the first one that more crystaline stones like flourite or quartz need a softer touch. and I imagine they do not get put into the same batch as rougher stuff like most of these. So yes, I'm leaving out the glass and what I think is quartz inside one of the bigger stones. I'm also adding some from other sets I've gotten. Here is my picks. I did not include the peacock ore shown above, but added two other chunks. Also a piece of ruby/sapphire, and a piece of Apatite. The more crystaline pieces I'll be doing along with some topaz and labradorite in another batch (maybe some of the flourite too in later stages). Now, before anyone tells me, yes. I know what happens with peacock ore. With this ore, I did my research. The pretty colouring is only skin-deep and will turn an ugly green or such (depending on the mineral within) when tumbled or polished. I've added only 2 pieces, as I wish to experiment with them. I'm hoping that once I've smoothed them into a fine shape, I can recreate the process to add the color back in. (I've seen on other forums that soaking them in vinegar with some copper will do the trick) I have 6 other pieces of the ore I can play with if this experiment works. I'm going to start it tonight or tomorrow. If I'm about to do something really stupid, please let me know in advance.
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Sept 24, 2016 14:12:50 GMT -5
I won't say that you are about to do something really stupid as some people prefer to learn by experience, but I do not think this batch will turn out. Consider reading this:
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 24, 2016 14:28:15 GMT -5
Oh you sound just like me a few months ago. I agree with Dottyt. Try a gimme first and get some agate and Jasper and some pet wood and get that experience so you will be better prepared to deal with this batch of rough, which looks like it could be another tricky one.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 24, 2016 15:57:13 GMT -5
Ditto
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Post by tims on Sept 24, 2016 17:00:25 GMT -5
Those are pretty chalcopyrite just as specimens. It's gorgeous stuff and seems pretty solid, but mine tends to fracture and fall apart just from normal handling.
I'm a newb and like to see treasures in everything so these questions come to mind: Could the cream-yellow pieces be common opal? Is the purpley quartz considered amethyst? Is the one with the smooth cratered rind an agate? Are the black spots in that pink material crystals (maybe tourmaline)? Forgive me if these are dumb questions. That is a colorful collection of specimens.
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bunnybunnybun
starting to shine!
Discovering my cooking is like tumbling. Both result in inedible rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 42
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Post by bunnybunnybun on Sept 24, 2016 17:45:02 GMT -5
I've read through the tutorial a few times. Some of it sounds off, at least in timing. Like phase one taking 2-4 weeks, and every phase after being 10-14 days. I assume it to be because of the model of tumbler she uses. As for the identifying, I wish I had a better way to show them. the 'cream-yellow' pieces are the ones I think are sea glass. The sides are smooth and have a glassy texture. I think the red ones may be jasper. Alright then, I'll hold off on this particular lot. but I've got too many pieces already to go getting even more to do agates specifically. Instead I'll do a collection of ruby/sapphire stones. All the same type, and aren't a crystaline, so shouldn't be TOO hard? (gonna add at least one peacock ore, though, at least for phase 1. just to test if the colour can be returned) btw, does anyone have a site that has a collection of pictures of roughs for stone types I can help identify what those others are?
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Sept 24, 2016 18:09:09 GMT -5
If I were you, I'd just go for it and see what works and what doesn't. Most tutorials offer sound guidelines, but they're not steadfast rules. A lot of the timeframes are arbitrary.
Apatite will weather away pretty quickly and probably won't take a great polish in a rotary. You can certainly use stage 1 to shape, but I would check the barrel after a day or two. Ditto for labradorite.
If you're using SiC grit, rounding the rubies and saphhires will be a slower process, since SiC is only marginally harder.
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bunnybunnybun
starting to shine!
Discovering my cooking is like tumbling. Both result in inedible rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 42
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Post by bunnybunnybun on Sept 24, 2016 20:13:24 GMT -5
I'm going to treat the labradorite like flourite, or quartz I assume. going to do it in a batch of all crystal-like ones, following some instructions someone pointed me for that sound about right. about 20 hours for first round, and 12 hours for each after.
I may have a vibratory tumbler by the time I get to that. Someone I know is investing in another one and giving me theirs. I'll just need to get the barrel for it. Though first, I'll focus on getting to know the rotary one.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 24, 2016 20:46:58 GMT -5
I'm going to treat the labradorite like flourite, or quartz I assume. going to do it in a batch of all crystal-like ones, following some instructions someone pointed me for that sound about right. about 20 hours for first round, and 12 hours for each after. I may have a vibratory tumbler by the time I get to that. Someone I know is investing in another one and giving me theirs. I'll just need to get the barrel for it. Though first, I'll focus on getting to know the rotary one. I have some labradorite that I ran with some harder materials such as Quartz and it got beat to heck. I ended up setting it aside as something to come back to later when I have a better understanding of tumbling softer materials. I am running a batch of all Quartz (I have several pieces of rose, smoky, amethyst and some white/clear ones that came in bags of "tumble mix") that so far appears to be doing well at least up to the 120-220 grit stage. I have a box of other rocks that I would REALLY like to get polished but I have no idea how. It contains some messed up pieces of indigo Gabro, labradorite, blue appetite, Septarian and a couple of other things. I have tried so many things to get them polished and they end up looking great at the end of the 120-220 stage but get really ugly in the 500 grit stage. I kept trying all these sorts of difficult materials without success and was starting to get so discouraged that I was going to put my tumbler away permanently. Finally I have in and tried a batch of nothing but red Jasper and had some success that really got me excited about rocks again.
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Sept 25, 2016 0:32:17 GMT -5
I kept trying all these sorts of difficult materials without success and was starting to get so discouraged that I was going to put my tumbler away permanently. Finally I have in and tried a batch of nothing but red Jasper and had some success that really got me excited about rocks again. I was doing all 7's with some success but when I ventured into labradorite, it was a disaster. But I can understand not wanting to buy agates when you have already bought 2 rock packages. I haven't had much luck buying agate pieces online (I stick to the lower price tumbling, not cabbing material). As you would expect it is lacking in color or pattern and/or it has severe pitting or cracks. It does get shiny though. In another thread Garage Rocker, who should be addressed as The Exalted One based on the quality of his tumbled rocks recommended "Ocean Jasper" from RockTumbler.com. So I bought some of that plus 2 lbs of their Brecciated Jasper. The "Ocean Jasper was actually "Jaspers Ocean" and not Ocean Jasper(tm), but this is sort of beside the point. These were some of the best tumbling roughs I have bought online. I would rate 50% of the "Oceans Jasper" as 3's or better on a scale of 1-5 and 90% of the Brecciated Jasper as 3 or better. But now I will get to the point. They have a mix called "Beginners Mix Rough" which they say is "a blend of rock materials that are specially selected for tumbling success." They say the rocks are the right size for a 3 lb. barrel and tumble well together, although the do not say explicitly that they are all the same Mohs. I can't vouch for it as I have never bought it (and they say what is in the mix changes all the time). But this is what I would buy if I wasn't having some of the problems bunnybunnybun may have and richardh did have. I have bought the Tiger Iron from the Rock Shed and it tumbles well and is a beautiful stone. There was not a "dud" piece in mine, ymmv. But I would certainly recommend that if you do not care about having a variety. If I recall correctly it is less expensive.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 25, 2016 8:26:02 GMT -5
I kept trying all these sorts of difficult materials without success and was starting to get so discouraged that I was going to put my tumbler away permanently. Finally I have in and tried a batch of nothing but red Jasper and had some success that really got me excited about rocks again. I was doing all 7's with some success but when I ventured into labradorite, it was a disaster. But I can understand not wanting to buy agates when you have already bought 2 rock packages. I haven't had much luck buying agate pieces online (I stick to the lower price tumbling, not cabbing material). As you would expect it is lacking in color or pattern and/or it has severe pitting or cracks. It does get shiny though. In another thread Garage Rocker, who should be addressed as The Exalted One based on the quality of his tumbled rocks recommended "Ocean Jasper" from RockTumbler.com. So I bought some of that plus 2 lbs of their Brecciated Jasper. The "Ocean Jasper was actually "Jaspers Ocean" and not Ocean Jasper(tm), but this is sort of beside the point. These were some of the best tumbling roughs I have bought online. I would rate 50% of the "Oceans Jasper" as 3's or better on a scale of 1-5 and 90% of the Brecciated Jasper as 3 or better. But now I will get to the point. They have a mix called "Beginners Mix Rough" which they say is "a blend of rock materials that are specially selected for tumbling success." They say the rocks are the right size for a 3 lb. barrel and tumble well together, although the do not say explicitly that they are all the same Mohs. I can't vouch for it as I have never bought it (and they say what is in the mix changes all the time). But this is what I would buy if I wasn't having some of the problems bunnybunnybun may have and richardh did have. I have bought the Tiger Iron from the Rock Shed and it tumbles well and is a beautiful stone. There was not a "dud" piece in mine, ymmv. But I would certainly recommend that if you do not care about having a variety. If I recall correctly it is less expensive. Great post. You recommend Tiger Iron before and I checked the Rock Shed's website and couldn't find it. Maybe it is something they don't sell at the moment. I looked on line and it is different from the rock that I had that I thought might be tiger iron but the pictures I saw of it looked quite pretty.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 25, 2016 8:44:34 GMT -5
richardh, check out the difference in pictures when you Google 'tiger's eye' vs 'tiger iron'.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 25, 2016 8:56:13 GMT -5
richardh, check out the difference in pictures when you Google 'tiger's eye' vs 'tiger iron'. Yes the Tiger Eye is beautiful but to me so is the Tiger Iron. I think the rock I had was Yellow Jasper but there was one photo of Tiger Iron that looked a lot like my first shiny rock.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 25, 2016 9:12:45 GMT -5
richardh, check out the difference in pictures when you Google 'tiger's eye' vs 'tiger iron'. Yes the Tiger Eye is beautiful but to me so is the Tiger Iron. I think the rock I had was Yellow Jasper but there was one photo of Tiger Iron that looked a lot like my first shiny rock. Yup, there's yellow jasper and also what someone is calling 'yellow jacket jasper', which looks a bit like tiger iron. www.t-rocksinquartzsite.com/product/yellow-jacket-jasper/
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bunnybunnybun
starting to shine!
Discovering my cooking is like tumbling. Both result in inedible rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 42
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Post by bunnybunnybun on Sept 25, 2016 9:37:47 GMT -5
One of these days I was gonna ask, if someone else hasn't asked before, where people's favorite sources for rough are online. Mostly I get mine via ebay. Just wish they would mention sales in pounds, rather than carats. how can you even determine carats to a rough?
Anyway, okay... guess I have to do each type seperately then. I was hoping to put the labradorite in with some red topaz I have to save on number of batches. Guess I'll be patient. I've gotten some filler ceramics from rocktumbler.com (all 3 sizes) so hopefully have everything I need now
...all 7s?
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 25, 2016 9:40:52 GMT -5
Yes the Tiger Eye is beautiful but to me so is the Tiger Iron. I think the rock I had was Yellow Jasper but there was one photo of Tiger Iron that looked a lot like my first shiny rock. Yup, there's yellow jasper and also what someone is calling 'yellow jacket jasper', which looks a bit like tiger iron. www.t-rocksinquartzsite.com/product/yellow-jacket-jasper/So many similar names and similar looking materials, my head is spinning! Now I just need to find some cash so I can try them all!
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Sept 26, 2016 0:49:41 GMT -5
Yes the Tiger Eye is beautiful but to me so is the Tiger Iron. I think the rock I had was Yellow Jasper but there was one photo of Tiger Iron that looked a lot like my first shiny rock. I checked my invoices and they said "tiger eye" but I think it is really tiger iron as there are bands of iron in it and they attract magnets. (Wish I knew a good photo-hosting site.) I also bought from another source over 1 year ago and may have mixed the bags together. Their material was great too. I no longer have the invoice for that "tiger whatever." Anyway, tiger eye is considered more gemmy than tiger iron and I do not think it would tumble worse (probably better). It's another 7. Just check the sample photos to make sure the material looks good for whichever you decide to get.
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Sept 26, 2016 1:07:01 GMT -5
One of these days I was gonna ask, if someone else hasn't asked before, where people's favorite sources for rough are online. Mostly I get mine via ebay. Just wish they would mention sales in pounds, rather than carats. how can you even determine carats to a rough? Anyway, okay... guess I have to do each type seperately then. I was hoping to put the labradorite in with some red topaz I have to save on number of batches. Guess I'll be patient. I've gotten some filler ceramics from rocktumbler.com (all 3 sizes) so hopefully have everything I need now ...all 7s? All the stuff I have gotten has been measured in pounds. I thought carats were usually for single stones. Anyway there are 2268 carats in a pound. (I found an online mass conversion tool.) The "7"s mean 7 on Mohs hardness scale. It works out best to tumble stones of similar hardness together and 7s work well, plus there are a lot of them. Quartz, jasper, and lots of agates for example. If you know the names of your stones you can search for their name + Mohs and find out how hard they are. P.S.: It was called a "mass conversion tool" but since no one is taking their tumbler to the moon or anything (as far as I know), one can think of it as weight.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 26, 2016 6:41:42 GMT -5
Yes the Tiger Eye is beautiful but to me so is the Tiger Iron. I think the rock I had was Yellow Jasper but there was one photo of Tiger Iron that looked a lot like my first shiny rock. I checked my invoices and they said "tiger eye" but I think it is really tiger iron as there are bands of iron in it and they attract magnets. (Wish I knew a good photo-hosting site.) I also bought from another source over 1 year ago and may have mixed the bags together. Their material was great too. I no longer have the invoice for that "tiger whatever." Anyway, tiger eye is considered more gemmy than tiger iron and I do not think it would tumble worse (probably better). It's another 7. Just check the sample photos to make sure the material looks good for whichever you decide to get. Thanks for the update tiger eye is definitely beautiful stuff.
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Sept 26, 2016 8:24:28 GMT -5
One of these days I was gonna ask, if someone else hasn't asked before, where people's favorite sources for rough are online. Mostly I get mine via ebay. Just wish they would mention sales in pounds, rather than carats. how can you even determine carats to a rough? Anyway, okay... guess I have to do each type seperately then. I was hoping to put the labradorite in with some red topaz I have to save on number of batches. Guess I'll be patient. I've gotten some filler ceramics from rocktumbler.com (all 3 sizes) so hopefully have everything I need now ...all 7s? I have bought all of my tumbling rough from The Rock Shed. Here is a picture of various rocks after running them thru their rough grind stage using 60/90 grit in a rotary tumbler. These are all wet, not polished yet.
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