Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
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Post by Fossilman on Dec 22, 2016 13:46:45 GMT -5
I need to go to Lowes and get a bag of sand,so I can cook some rock... Got my wife's old roaster,so no excuse now...LOL
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Post by Garage Rocker on Dec 22, 2016 14:10:26 GMT -5
txrockhunter , are you tumbling your rocks "whole" or do you usually cut them in half? I've noticed on a bunch of your pictures (and Garage Rocker ) that there appears to be a nice flat surface. Just curious if you do anything to prepare your material for tumbling. I've just been throwing the rocks I bought from you in whole since they were already a nice size. Jeremy's San Jacinto rocks are the perfect size for tumbling whole, no need to cut. That doesn't mean I won't cut them though, if they are big enough. That way I get two tumbled rocks instead of one and I get to see what's inside also. I haven't bought crushed rock from a vendor for quite a while, most everything I have needs to be broken down before tumbling. When I added my last tumbler and increased the volume of rock going in, I started breaking more rough with the hammer. The tile saw facilitates quicker tumbles IMO, because I can cut through divots and grind a little on the side of the blade, but it does take time if you have a lot of rough to prepare. A good mix of cut, broken and whole rock makes for a nice variety.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2016 17:14:05 GMT -5
I need to go to Lowes and get a bag of sand,so I can cook some rock... Got my wife's old roaster,so no excuse now...LOL If it is slabs, you might test simply heating and cooling the slab. Sand is to slow the cooling so as to not induce stress in the stones A thin slab should cool evenly without stresses. Do a test piece first.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Dec 22, 2016 18:47:22 GMT -5
Melting rocks richardh ? That is taking it to a new level. I have seen our common quartz melted by lightning. And when developers use a blower to burn trees in a hole at extreme temps. It looks like melted glass.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Dec 22, 2016 18:49:47 GMT -5
I need to go to Lowes and get a bag of sand,so I can cook some rock... Got my wife's old roaster,so no excuse now...LOL I heated Rio moss agate. I was way to hot as they turned brown. Temperatures are posted on the inet for various agates and cherts.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Dec 22, 2016 18:55:33 GMT -5
txrockhunter , are you tumbling your rocks "whole" or do you usually cut them in half? I've noticed on a bunch of your pictures (and Garage Rocker ) that there appears to be a nice flat surface. Just curious if you do anything to prepare your material for tumbling. I've just been throwing the rocks I bought from you in whole since they were already a nice size. When I 1st discovered the San Jacinto gravels, I cut just about everything to see what it looked like inside. Some of the flats that you see are old cuts that are just getting tumbled. Now, unless it's cool enough & big enough to cut slabs, I break at cracks with a chisel or tumble them whole. I do break most of the pet wood before tumbling. Take a chisel to cracks or low spots that will take forever to tumble. I think you get better patterning on the pet wood if it's broken vs cutting, at least on the San Jacinto stuff anyway. I am working on a jamesp inspired "super grinder" to pre-shape rocks before tumbling. It significantly cuts down on tumbling time, especially when some of these are rolling for up to 10 weeks. The one I built was cheap and simple. Very basic. Different type 5/8" cups easy to change out. Have ground many hundreds of rocks on it. Partners well with the tumbler. Been watching the gang saw type. Been too lazy to make one and the cup wheels do well enough.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Dec 22, 2016 19:47:09 GMT -5
Melting rocks richardh ? That is taking it to a new level. I have seen our common quartz melted by lightning. And when developers use a blower to burn trees in a hole at extreme temps. It looks like melted glass. We actually melted cracked/broken Pyrex beakers and a cracked fused Quartz UV cell. It was pretty interesting as silly as it sounds.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Dec 22, 2016 20:02:56 GMT -5
I need to go to Lowes and get a bag of sand,so I can cook some rock... Got my wife's old roaster,so no excuse now...LOL I heated Rio moss agate. I was way to hot as they turned brown. Temperatures are posted on the inet for various agates and cherts. No big surprise there based on my reading. It definitely sounds like different materials all respond differently and the temperature has a big impact on the final result. It sounds like it is easiest to work with slabs and when working with new materials ramping up in stages and checking results along the way to avoid overcooking is your safest bet. As much as I would love to play with this I think it would have a strongly negative impact on my lifestyle to do so.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Dec 22, 2016 20:24:23 GMT -5
I heated Rio moss agate. I was way to hot as they turned brown. Temperatures are posted on the inet for various agates and cherts. No big surprise there based on my reading. It definitely sounds like different materials all respond differently and the temperature has a big impact on the final result. It sounds like it is easiest to work with slabs and when working with new materials ramping up in stages and checking results along the way to avoid overcooking is your safest bet. As much as I would love to play with this I think it would have a strongly negative impact on my lifestyle to do so. I cooked coastal plain coral. If glassy do 550-575F, if grainy do 600 to 650F. I could collect it in large quantities and cooked 100 pounds at a time. So I was familiar with this particular rock that occurs in many different shades and heats to many different colors. Never tried too many other types of rocks. But familiar with the coral. Petrified palm is a great candidate. It is common in yellows and some red. In most cases, heat changes rocks yellow to orange, orange to red, red to deeper red. Purple rocks can be hard to predict. It may be the iron colors that the heat alters easiest.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Dec 22, 2016 21:22:56 GMT -5
I'm perfectly happy with my unaltered rocks. If knapping, I understand the benefit, but otherwise...why? Something to do?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Dec 22, 2016 21:30:32 GMT -5
I'm perfectly happy with my unaltered rocks. If knapping, I understand the benefit, but otherwise...why? Something to do? For color. Most of the coral here lacks color. Boring. The heat makes it come alive. I get into it big time. Botryoidal structures from coral: unheated bot heated bot
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Post by Garage Rocker on Dec 22, 2016 21:36:42 GMT -5
That's probably an exception James, I've seen your before and after pics and agree that there was improvement. That said, most people have no need to fool with it.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Dec 22, 2016 23:40:08 GMT -5
That's probably an exception James, I've seen your before and after pics and agree that there was improvement. That said, most people have no need to fool with it. Heat treating is a trip. Once turned a rusty colored 25 pound coral head totally purple. Many strange colors not found commonly in the mineral world. Could not wait to see what the rocks looked like after heating them. Bet you could get some wild colors out of Kentucky cherts.
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