Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,487
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Post by Roger on Oct 15, 2017 0:09:25 GMT -5
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Post by orrum on Oct 15, 2017 4:13:27 GMT -5
I reslly.like those spheres!!!
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 15, 2017 6:57:20 GMT -5
Be still my beating heart! You have some beautiful spheres there, Roger. I love the CA druzy! Wow! But, they are all so nice. I can't believe you made a sphere of gaspeite! Now that is just down right right decadent! You certainly know how to pick them.  |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 15, 2017 11:04:43 GMT -5
Those are awesome. My favorites are the Turkey stick agate and the aquamarine. I can’t believe you did all of those in a month. I can’t remember seeing your sphere machine. Can you show it to us?
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Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,487
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Post by Roger on Oct 15, 2017 12:04:49 GMT -5
Those are awesome. My favorites are the Turkey stick agate and the aquamarine. I can’t believe you did all of those in a month. I can’t remember seeing your sphere machine. Can you show it to us?
I have a couple photos of it in my previous thread with the Collawood Sphere. These are some of the setup photos when it arrived. It is the Highland Park High Speed Sphere Machine.
Uncrating and setup.
The crate
The crate opened
Uncrated
Setting it up
Assembled
With cups and grinding the colla wood sphere 
Roger
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 15, 2017 12:41:35 GMT -5
I missed that thread, Roger. I've looked at the videos of those on the Highland Park website. It looks like a really nice machine. Thanks for posting the photos again. That's quite the crate that it ships in. I expected it to have the Italian word "FRAGILE" printed on it.  |
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Post by fernwood on Oct 15, 2017 15:17:37 GMT -5
Just wonderful. I like the ones with druzy pockets. Very unique. Have seen some where people filled them in with epoxy or something. I like them left natural.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,722 
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 16, 2017 9:08:50 GMT -5
That Biggs Jasper is totally awesome! Looks like a great idea to do with thundereggs....
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Roger
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,487
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Post by Roger on Oct 16, 2017 10:07:20 GMT -5
I can’t believe you did all of those in a month. I can’t remember seeing your sphere machine, can you show it to us? A few more photos of the equipment. The new machine after 100+ spheres have been through it  This is an old machine that has been reassigned to polishing only. There is a really nice Brazilian in it. [URL=http://s1326.photobucket.com/user/vibratumble/media/00_Spheres/_Sphere %20Machine/2_zpsrsl6qahv.jpg.html] ![]() i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u657/vibratumble/00_Spheres/_Sphere%20Machine/2_zpsrsl6qahv.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Mixed sizes ready for 400#  A box of 2" spheres ready to start pre-polish  Best way to run the HSSM is run things in batches. It is a very fast machine. 2"-3" spheres rough grind in 3-10 minutes, depending on hardness and how well they were preformed. It is definitely a game changer in relation to the production capabilities for spheres. The older, slower machines, can take hours on the rough grind. My friend and I have been making preforms for several years. He actually has over a decades worth of preforms in various stages. I have also been lucky and picked up quite a few preforms in some collections. We had been making a finished sphere every now and then but, because of the time sink in making them, I stayed mostly focused on cabbing with an eye toward buying a high speed machine at some point. I am really glad I finally pulled the trigger on one. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 16, 2017 17:55:46 GMT -5
When I made my first comment on the time involved, I was thinking about hours per sphere, not minutes. The sawing sounds super time consuming too, it's nice that you found some preforms already done. No matter how you're doing it, it's an impressive number of spheres.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 16, 2017 20:01:03 GMT -5
Wow! Kind of overwhelming. Beauty overload. I love the red moss agate and the Turkish stick agate, but they are all amazing! Glad you've got a system figured out. Hopefully, we'll see these on a regular basis.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 17, 2017 4:14:24 GMT -5
Those are great. The tube agate is my favorite.
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wader
starting to shine!
Member since November 2017
Posts: 39
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Post by wader on Nov 8, 2017 18:40:40 GMT -5
My machine is basically a high speed machine. You can really crank out the spheres. Definitely agree with running in batches. I usually have about 5 performs and run through the grits swapping each sphere for its turn. Can have them done in a weekend.
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Post by MsAli on Nov 8, 2017 18:50:43 GMT -5
Phantom Quartz is incredible! I always wondered how those were made-Thank you!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 11, 2017 10:39:53 GMT -5
Those are stunning! Thanks for sharing. I think the Turkish stick agate is just made for a 3d application like a sphere!
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Post by Psycho on Nov 12, 2017 1:20:58 GMT -5
All so very very nice
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Post by broseph82 on Nov 13, 2017 15:32:38 GMT -5
wow! Cant wait to see those roughs all polished up too!!
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 13, 2017 18:50:59 GMT -5
Great job. Love the stick agate.
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Post by roy on Nov 13, 2017 19:24:23 GMT -5
man those are some high grade ball's buddy !keep the wheels turning
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,602
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Post by jamesp on Nov 16, 2017 15:39:17 GMT -5
Stunners, all of them. Nuggets of solidity.
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