scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Jan 12, 2017 14:27:58 GMT -5
Mine are rolling with a soft filler and 80 grit as I type. However, given the picture above I think that I will be looking at changing the game plan. Will leave them for a week and see
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scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Jan 12, 2017 14:30:39 GMT -5
Oh lordy lordy.... just got mine and am thinking farmakusta.... wft am I going to do with these. Guess the only saving grace is that every one has the same.... in they go to roll........  Dry  Wet Farmakusta? I see some re potential there. Clean breaks. Not hackly splintered or large grained. Farmakusta is just a more vocal way of saying WTF.... Plenty of very fine fractures in this material.... just difficult to see. Also is soft and fairly grainy |
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Jan 12, 2017 14:38:06 GMT -5
captbob, thanks. I wasn't really thinking this would be such a "soft" material. It looked like all my picture jasper so I treated it as such. I only put the amethyst in there so it would be easy to tell the two apart. I'll see how everything looks tonight.
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scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Jan 13, 2017 0:04:32 GMT -5
It's defintely soft just had a quick peak at mine afer 24 hrs rolling and they are about five days ahead of where I thought they would be.... so time for plan B
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259 
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Post by vera on Jan 16, 2017 12:28:23 GMT -5
I received my rocks at the beginning of last week and dumped them out in a flat box on my worktable. I was surprised at the amount of rocks - enough for two 3 pound barrels. I want to take pics before I start them, but have not been to the store for batteries for my camera that has not been used for several years. I look at my rocks each time I pass the table and think I will be breaking some of the larger ones to smaller pieces just because I prefer smaller rocks. After seeing Jugglerguys's rocks after only 5 days we know we have plenty of time to get our work done. His are looking very nice!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 16, 2017 15:37:32 GMT -5
I received my rocks at the beginning of last week and dumped them out in a flat box on my worktable. I was surprised at the amount of rocks - enough for two 3 pound barrels. I want to take pics before I start them, but have not been to the store for batteries for my camera that has not been used for several years. I look at my rocks each time I pass the table and think I will be breaking some of the larger ones to smaller pieces just because I prefer smaller rocks. After seeing Jugglerguys's rocks after only 5 days we know we have plenty of time to get our work done. His are looking very nice! They don't look so great dry. |
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scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Jan 16, 2017 22:22:06 GMT -5
I received my rocks at the beginning of last week and dumped them out in a flat box on my worktable. I was surprised at the amount of rocks - enough for two 3 pound barrels. I want to take pics before I start them, but have not been to the store for batteries for my camera that has not been used for several years. I look at my rocks each time I pass the table and think I will be breaking some of the larger ones to smaller pieces just because I prefer smaller rocks. After seeing Jugglerguys's rocks after only 5 days we know we have plenty of time to get our work done. His are looking very nice! They don't look so great dry. I would think twice about leaving things two long. As Jugglerguy says they look bad when they are dry... This will be a very difficult tumble to get right and it may take a lot longer than one thinks to get a good result. I have institued a plan B with mine... and I think that the approach taken in my plan B will result in a very gentle grind but that it will be a very long grind (now there's a hint for you)  |
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scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Jan 16, 2017 22:22:45 GMT -5
that should have read "too long before starting"
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on Jan 17, 2017 0:00:45 GMT -5
No worries - I plan on starting them as soon as I get pics, but with the nasty weather I haven't been out to get batteries for the camera yet. I do get that hint scottyh - thanks! ;-)
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on Jan 17, 2017 13:06:06 GMT -5
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metalsmith
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
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Post by metalsmith on Jan 17, 2017 16:56:13 GMT -5
Beautiful banding looks promising to me all right!
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on Feb 4, 2017 20:56:53 GMT -5
I checked my rocks today and the sharp edges are mostly rounded, but still a long way from moving to the next stage. There was actually one stone that was totally smooth, but it does not show a lot of the pattern the others have, so I threw it back in too just to see if a little more tumbling will erode out a larger variety of colors. I still have the six largest pieces that I need to break up and throw in to keep the barrel full as needed.
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scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Feb 5, 2017 19:10:45 GMT -5
Hi Vera,
Good on you for the progress, My picture jasper rounded up very nicely within a couple of weeks. After that I have shifted to a much less agressive plan to try to get them just right before moving on to the 220 and 600 stages. Just a quick question why not try to tumble the larger pieces whole?...
Good luck
Cheers Scott
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on Apr 10, 2017 14:11:01 GMT -5
Hi Vera, Good on you for the progress, My picture jasper rounded up very nicely within a couple of weeks. After that I have shifted to a much less agressive plan to try to get them just right before moving on to the 220 and 600 stages. Just a quick question why not try to tumble the larger pieces whole?... Good luck Cheers Scott I just saw this Scott - I prefer smaller rocks, so it's just a personal preference to break the larger rocks up. |
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on May 14, 2017 20:07:21 GMT -5
Well, I just entered the contest. Should get my rocks this week. They will probably arrive before my tumbler, hahaha! I don't think I'll be much competition for you guys (this year) but I like to have a goal to go for. I ordered a Lorotone 3A with grits, small ceramics, and an extra barrel for the polish. I need the ceramics for a project that was going to be my first one but now this will be my first. Nothing like jumping in the deep end!
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on May 15, 2017 20:17:54 GMT -5
I can't believe I got my rocks already! Lovely colors, but there seems to be a big difference in hardness between the pieces. Since there is no way it'll all fit in a 3# barrel, I'm wondering if I should put similar harnesses together? Or throw in a variety? Or does it matter for the first coarse grit?
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on May 15, 2017 20:19:43 GMT -5
I meant HARDness, not harness! duh!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,494
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Post by Sabre52 on May 15, 2017 21:32:08 GMT -5
Holy crap, could they give you anything more difficult? Looks like some kind of not so silicated rhyolite type stuff. That kind of stuff usually goes straight to my reject pile *L* as just flat being an annoying booger to tumble. Can't wait to see your results....Mel
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on May 15, 2017 22:00:10 GMT -5
I can't believe I got my rocks already! Lovely colors, but there seems to be a big difference in hardness between the pieces. Since there is no way it'll all fit in a 3# barrel, I'm wondering if I should put similar harnesses together? Or throw in a variety? Or does it matter for the first coarse grit? They do ship them really fast! One thing you may want to know about the rocks (at least the ones a few of us got) is that some of them will look like they are doing really well and then when you are almost ready to move them to a finer grit they will start showing rotten places. I think the people here call them vugs or something like that. The rocks that I saw that on I took a cold chisel and hammer and broke them on the bad places before I started tumbling them. That way it could tumble off and give me a smoother surface. The ones above I tumbled for about 4 months in coarse grit to get them that smooth. They are now in their final polish. I still have quite a few that are almost ready for 220 grit now, but they have to wait until I take the other ones off the machine. I also jumped in with both feet after not tumbling anything since the 1980's. I really do not expect a prize, but it is fun to compete - it makes the hobby more interesting! ;-) |
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