jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 18, 2017 23:20:54 GMT -5
Filled three 8 pound barrels with the crazy lace to 70% starting December 12. Crazy lace in photo below. Ran them at 55 RPM with overdose of 1.5 cups 1/4 to 3/8 inch bulk SiC and clay slurry thickener. Had to make a slurry adjustment after 1st day. The volume reduction after 6 days was substantial and allowed the contents of the three 8 pound barrels to be moved to two 8 pound barrels with 80% fill. Put the two barrels right back on the 55 RPM set up to continue fast grind rate. I am having great results with the bulk SiC. Just have to have barrels that can take the added abrasion. Will speed things up when the heavier barrels are completed. Maybe 80 RPM. Trying to shut down rotaries for longer durations to avoid fooling with them.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 18, 2017 23:34:27 GMT -5
Don't see a photo attached so cant see what they look like but DO you feel you are losing too much rock?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 19, 2017 0:04:46 GMT -5
Don't see a photo attached so cant see what they look like but DO you feel you are losing too much rock? Oops, I forgot to add the photo of 'before' Well, they are a long way from round or flatfish shapes. Crazy lace breaks like granite, way far from tumble shaped. So a bunch of grinding has to happen. No choice if you want round/oval tumbles. It is not unusual for hammer broken rocks to loose 50% weight/volume. So such a large loss is desirable for this situation. River rounded pebbles can be done with 10 or 20% weight/volume loss. Sure is better to start out with well broken or rounded rocks. This crazy lace was sawn to shape for a quick tumble:
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Post by MsAli on Dec 19, 2017 0:18:03 GMT -5
Thank you for explaining that and OMG that is just a really cool looking rock!!!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 19, 2017 7:32:00 GMT -5
Thank you for explaining that and OMG that is just a really cool looking rock!!! It was gifted to me. I basically cut it in half and tumbled that half and returned it to sender. Still got the other half to tumble. And some saw cuts.
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Post by captbob on Dec 19, 2017 8:30:29 GMT -5
I can't keep up with the threads to find where you posted it, but how is that big Mary Ellen tumble makin' out? Looking forward to seeing that finished.
The way it's grinding away, you gonna end up with a barrel of smalls with that crazy lace? The stuff bought a good size or would you have preferred a big bigger?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 19, 2017 9:23:15 GMT -5
I can't keep up with the threads to find where you posted it, but how is that big Mary Ellen tumble makin' out? Looking forward to seeing that finished. The way it's grinding away, you gonna end up with a barrel of smalls with that crazy lace? The stuff bought a good size or would you have preferred a big bigger? The Mary Ellen got regurgitated out of the little Mini Sonic barrels because the media was to big. I figured out that small media will allow such a big rock to sink in to the media and rotate. That Mary Ellen next in line. I got another 10 pound block of that same Mary Ellen to make big rock tumbles out of. toiv0 got it from that famous Mary Ellen mine. The size of the crazy lace was perfect for my liking. However to get nice tumble rounded shapes 50% of the rock will need to be ground away. No getting around that. UNLESS, I remove them from the rotary and spend time pre grinding the trouble areas off of them. And I probably will take time with the pre grinder to fix most of them. There was so much color in the crazy lace the slurry was red. That is some of the most colorful crazy lace I have ever seen. Highly suggested.
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Post by HankRocks on Dec 19, 2017 13:56:45 GMT -5
The Crazy Lace I have worked with is a strange material, tumbles fast, Preforms drill easier, and takes a good polish. Those traits should be mutually exclusive. It got to where I don't put the Crazy Lace Preforms in the tumble for the initial coarse run opting to put them in during the last re-charge so maybe 2 days of coarse where most everything else goes for 7 to 9 days.
Henry
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 20, 2017 2:28:29 GMT -5
The Crazy Lace I have worked with is a strange material, tumbles fast, Preforms drill easier, and takes a good polish. Those traits should be mutually exclusive. It got to where I don't put the Crazy Lace Preforms in the tumble for the initial coarse run opting to put them in during the last re-charge so maybe 2 days of coarse where most everything else goes for 7 to 9 days. Henry Thanks for the heads up Henry. Most of your Texas rocks are slow grinders. I never tumbled 100% load of crazy lace. Now I have 2 barrels full for the long haul to take notes on. Initial thoughts is it seems softer than most agates. I remember rolling the big chunk of crazy lace after pre-grinding it and it coarse tumbled fast to a vibe-ready status. Polished easily. It also pre-grinds like a granite. Breaks up like granite. Seemed to coarse and polish about the same rate as high grade Alabama quartzite which is on the faster side. No complaints here, something softer that polishes well sounds like a winner.
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Post by HankRocks on Dec 20, 2017 7:40:39 GMT -5
As mentioned in an earlier topic, it absorbs permanent marker color very well and does not all tumble away. It must have very fine layering of softer porous material mixed with very hard layers. The softer layers aid the quick tumbling and the easier drilling, the hard layers being good for polishing. It's definitely not Montana or Brazilian Agate, grinding or drilling those is work and permanent marker is definitely not absorbing into those.
Henry
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 20, 2017 8:43:07 GMT -5
As mentioned in an earlier topic, it absorbs permanent marker color very well and does not all tumble away. It must have very fine layering of softer porous material mixed with very hard layers. The softer layers aid the quick tumbling and the easier drilling, the hard layers being good for polishing. It's definitely not Montana or Brazilian Agate, grinding or drilling those is work and permanent marker is definitely not absorbing into those. Henry Yep, it's sure seems to be laminated with soft and hard layers. Looking closely in glare the polish is layered to. This batch tkvancil told me about is about as colorful as it gets. Even makes red/orange slurry.
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tkvancil
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Post by tkvancil on Dec 20, 2017 9:57:26 GMT -5
As mentioned in an earlier topic, it absorbs permanent marker color very well and does not all tumble away. It must have very fine layering of softer porous material mixed with very hard layers. The softer layers aid the quick tumbling and the easier drilling, the hard layers being good for polishing. It's definitely not Montana or Brazilian Agate, grinding or drilling those is work and permanent marker is definitely not absorbing into those. Henry Yep, it's sure seems to be laminated with soft and hard layers. Looking closely in glare the polish is layered to. This batch tkvancil told me about is about as colorful as it gets. Even makes red/orange slurry. The batch I did also went from three down to two barrels after the first cycle. The reddish slurry is typical and can get very thick in the first few weeks. There is some variation in hardness indeed. Undercutting is going to happen in some areas. There is a white mineral (?) that always undercuts in some pieces. Sometimes the layers in the banding/fortifications vary and one line /color will undercut. There are also areas that will have pits in them. The pits won't go away for the most part, grind past one and you'll find another. Good news is your going to see all this in the rough grind so you can decide early on whether it's a cull or not. It's not one of those rocks that looks good until the polish cycle then goes bad.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 20, 2017 10:14:34 GMT -5
Yep, it's sure seems to be laminated with soft and hard layers. Looking closely in glare the polish is layered to. This batch tkvancil told me about is about as colorful as it gets. Even makes red/orange slurry. The batch I did also went from three down to two barrels after the first cycle. The reddish slurry is typical and can get very thick in the first few weeks. There is some variation in hardness indeed. Undercutting is going to happen in some areas. There is a white mineral (?) that always undercuts in some pieces. Sometimes the layers in the banding/fortifications vary and one line /color will undercut. There are also areas that will have pits in them. The pits won't go away for the most part, grind past one and you'll find another. Good news is your going to see all this in the rough grind so you can decide early on whether it's a cull or not. It's not one of those rocks that looks good until the polish cycle then goes bad. Sounds like all is on the same wavelength here. I think the main reduction in volume was the sharp edges more so than weight reduction. I'll take soft spots and pits any day if the rock is this sexy. Next time I will get some of his big chunks for doing some single big rocks. He has slab size too.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 20, 2017 15:23:13 GMT -5
This crazy lace was sawn to shape for a quick tumble:
Here's what it looked like before James got his hands on it - Photos taken dry.
Yes, I paid $2 for it at the swap! 1.5 lbs. Pretty good price for some old stock.
Nice patterning and color.
Crazy lace is some beauteous stuff! James said he cut it in half, so has a bit more to play with. The tumbled half is on my dresser, where I see it everyday! (It's next to and amongst the tumbled corals.)
Keep on tumbling those big 'uns, James.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 20, 2017 15:55:33 GMT -5
It is quickly becoming on of my favorites
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 20, 2017 18:35:18 GMT -5
rockpickerforever MsAliKingsley North is the supplier of the most colorful crazy lace. It is rare to find such nice crazy lace. If you are a tumbling man.... If you are a tumbling lady.... It's the way to go. Jean's piece was probably purchased from an estate sale where the good stuff hides.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 20, 2017 18:40:05 GMT -5
A look down fish
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Post by MsAli on Dec 20, 2017 18:47:21 GMT -5
rockpickerforever MsAli Kingsley North is the supplier of the most colorful crazy lace. It is rare to find such nice crazy lace. If you are a tumbling man.... If you are a tumbling lady.... It's the way to go. Jean's piece was probably purchased from an estate sale where the good stuff hides. I am for sure a tumbling lady (doesn't sound right) I have pound I bought from them a while back that's been sitting in line for tumbling. I will be buying more and want to check out the quality from the Rock Shed
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Post by rockpickerforever on Dec 20, 2017 18:50:00 GMT -5
jamesp , I think the guy I bought it from buys out abandoned storage lockers (ala Storage Wars), then resells the spoils at the swapmeet for sometimes not even pennies on the dollar. I've bought some stuff from him over the years, most not rock related at all. For the most part, people that do this have no idea on the rarity or value of rocks. Good for me! Two bucks for a 1.5 lb chunk of primo, old school crazy lace - Now that's one of the reasons I get up in the cold (at o'dark thirty, when I can be sleeping in on Sundays) and go to the swapmeet. Thrift stores and garage sales, too. Estate sales can be good, but only if the deceased didn't have children that were also addicted to rocks. In that case, they sometimes think they are worth more than they actually are. That polished big 'un is every bit as nice as when I received it - excepting the layer of dust patina on it, lol. It is also sitting next to the hollow cave-shaped coral, too. I look at them all regularly.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Dec 20, 2017 19:25:42 GMT -5
jamesp , I think the guy I bought it from buys out abandoned storage lockers (ala Storage Wars), then resells the spoils at the swapmeet for sometimes not even pennies on the dollar. I've bought some stuff from him over the years, most not rock related at all. For the most part, people that do this have no idea on the rarity or value of rocks. Good for me! Two bucks for a 1.5 lb chunk of primo, old school crazy lace - Now that's one of the reasons I get up in the cold (at o'dark thirty, when I can be sleeping in on Sundays) and go to the swapmeet. Thrift stores and garage sales, too. Estate sales can be good, but only if the deceased didn't have children that were also addicted to rocks. In that case, they sometimes think they are worth more than they actually are. That polished big 'un is every bit as nice as when I received it - excepting the layer of dust patina on it, lol. It is also sitting next to the hollow cave-shaped coral, too. I look at them all regularly. Estate sales and swap meets like that might get me out of bed. Nobody around here is into rocks. You'll only find clothes, a vacuum and maybe a waffle iron at a garage sale or swap meet here.
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