James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Sept 8, 2004 20:05:03 GMT -5
These are Botswana agates from Africa. They are a very close relative to Lake Superior agates. Infact, I somtimes get the two confused. They come in a variety of dark colors ranging from midnight blue to maroon. Some of them are white to gold in color as well. Most of them have extremely fine parallax banding. I ran these for a couple months in 60/90. Then they went into 120/220 and then aluminum oxide pre-polish for a week each. They finished up nice in Titanium oxide polish in less then 4-1/2 days.   Here is a prime example of parallax banding. This one is even more rare, due to the fact that the banding has somewhat of a zig-zag to it.  Here's one of my favorites.  Look at how fine the banding is on this one. There are probably a hundred or so individual bands on this piece. This stone is only about the size of a quarter!  I call this next stone my "Galaxy agate" because it looks like a swirling galaxy of stars.  This last pic is of the stones I just finished and some more Botswana agates that I havn't done yet. You can really see the difference before and after.  Thanks for looking!  |
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JKowalski33
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 451
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Post by JKowalski33 on Sept 8, 2004 20:24:51 GMT -5
You just continure to amaze me, but i guess I should just be used to you producing such nice rocks!!
What/how many tumblers do you have? Because you always are saying that they took a few months in the course, but you seem to have a new batch every week or so...
My favorite is the blue one in the bottom left corner of the "galaxy rock" pic
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Post by rockyraccoon on Sept 8, 2004 20:29:40 GMT -5
i just love it when you post pics. i'm working on some of these right now that i got from redwood rocks (cal). i hope mine turn out as good as yours!
kim
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Sept 8, 2004 20:58:12 GMT -5
JKowalski33, Right now I'm using four (4) Thumlers Model B tumblers. I also have a Model T1 and T2 but I retired both of them for now.
There was a period of almost 3 months that I didn't turn out any finshed stones. It will probably be another 1-1/2 to 2 months before I finish another. I have all barrels grinding away. Soon I'll be on a roll again and produce weekly loads of finished stone.
Hi Rocky, the agate Cal gave you, are from the same place I got mine from. I'm sure they will be just as good if not better. Good luck!
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Sept 8, 2004 22:04:46 GMT -5
I've run out of superlatives to describe your tumbled stones....wow!
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Post by Cher on Sept 8, 2004 22:32:12 GMT -5
I am in total awe of those gorgeous blue Botswana
agates. Man I can't wait until I get some of mine done.
Thanks for sharing, those are definitely droolers.
[glow=red,2,300]~ Cher ~[/glow]
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Post by cookie3rocks on Sept 8, 2004 22:43:42 GMT -5
James,
Looks like you didn't have to lose alot of volume, judging by the last pic, from coarse to polish. Why is that? I was thinking, when I looked at the first pics and saw your time line, that they may have started out really large. Do agates like this not lose much volume in, say, amonth or more?
cookie
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JKowalski33
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 451
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Post by JKowalski33 on Sept 8, 2004 22:55:54 GMT -5
WOW four model B's!! I wish i could have a setup like that... Thats great, I'm happy for you James. You really make goods rocks with those tumblers.  I really love that blue rock in the "galaxy" picture!!! Its awesome!! ;D ;D Also, do you remember where you got the model B's from, or know where to get the best price on them? |
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Post by mrbrett on Sept 9, 2004 6:47:16 GMT -5
James did you buy those already broken up? Im still trying to get my rocks to be more of a consistant shape. I like the shapes your rocks always turn out. Great job
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Post by krazydiamond on Sept 9, 2004 7:15:53 GMT -5
outstanding bunch of rock, James, you really do turn out some nice stuff.
i got a few pieces of the botswana in coarse right now, but only a handful for grins.
again, superlative shine,
KD
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Sept 9, 2004 7:52:20 GMT -5
James, do you ever turn out a bad load? LOL! These are absolutely beautiful! The whole batch is awesome. The closeup pics are wonderful because they really bring out all the details in the stone. The banding is incredible. If I had to pick my favorite from the closeup shots, I'd be hard pressed to do that!
llana
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Post by sandsman1 on Sept 9, 2004 8:30:19 GMT -5
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Post by creativeminded on Sept 9, 2004 9:18:49 GMT -5
Those are some beautiful agates. Isn't it amazing the difference between polished and unpolished.
Tami
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Sept 9, 2004 9:31:37 GMT -5
Hey James, Another absolutely beautiful batch ... My mixed batch of stones is just about ready to go to the 600 grit. They have been in 400 for a week now and are really showing some nice stones. Thanks for sharing your photo's, as they are always enjoyed John |
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Sept 9, 2004 11:52:26 GMT -5
Thanks again for all the kind words. Superlative? That has to be the most flatering one yet! ;D
Hi Cookie, Looks can be deceiving. When I first started these agates I overloaded my tumbler on purpose. I filled it up to 7/8 full. I even added new rough by the handful as each week progressed to keep the level around 3/4 full. As some of the rocks shaped up I would remove them and add even more new rough. By the end of whole operation, the barrel was lees than half full! These are very hard stones.
JKowalski, Sandsman1 (Johny) posted the link to where I buy my tumblers from now. They have the absolute best prices around! I would strongly recommend getting a Model B with a 3000 rpm motor. Standard rock tumblers come with a 1500 rpm motor.
Now, the 3000 rpm motor should only be used for coarse grit and only for stones with a moh's hardness of 6-6.5 and greater. This thing has been a real life-saver for me. It grinds away at twice the speed and even does a better overall job. I ordered 50lbs 30-60 grit to test out. I believe that this combo will dramatically reduce the amount of time I spend on the coarse grind.
Brett, These rocks were already fractured when I got them. That's the nice thin about them. You don't need to break them up. If I were to get a complete or partial nodule, I would cut it rather then break it. I only break up my "ordinary" rocks.
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JKowalski33
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 451
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Post by JKowalski33 on Sept 9, 2004 17:09:49 GMT -5
Thanks sandman and james for the help on where to get the Model B. I was having trouble because i clicked on the link in that post, and i couldn't find any tumblers there! but then i saw the name of the thread and figured it out. James, how do you know if your getting the 1500 or 3000 rpm motor? Do you have to request for it and does it cost more?
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Post by connrock on Sept 9, 2004 19:01:06 GMT -5
James ya did it again and again and again and,,,,,,,, VERY nice !! Question. Why did you deliberately fill the barrel 7/8 full to start?? As you know I ust the 3000 rpm motor for rough and #30 grit but I still fill only to the 3/4 mark and use 1-1/2 cups water. The load usually comes to about 10+ lbs so I use about a lb of #30.I have to change the load about every 3-4 days and start over. You are totally right about cutting the roughing time down. The last #30 grit I bought was from Graves and I won't buy it again.I found a LOT of filler in it.The filler looks kind of like very small slivers of wood. Graves is a big company too,,,,,you figure?? Thanks for the pix,, Tom |
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Sept 9, 2004 21:51:42 GMT -5
JKowalski, when you order the tumbler, just ask for the 3000 rpm motor. It's typically used for polishing brass shell casings. I think it's only a few dollors more then the 1500 rpm.
Connrock, The reason I fill the barrel that full (in my 3000 rpm tumbler) is because I find that most of the rough edges of the stone break down rather quickly. In which case, the rock level drops dramatically. I only fill the barrel about 3/4 way full with water. After a few days, the level of rock and water is equal at about 5/8 full. This way, the rock in the load grinds down at the same rate, opposed to adding new rough every recharge (which I do regardlees). When you're rotating at a rate of 3000 rpms you still get signifiacat grind even with an overloaded barrel. This method has become routine for me.
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JKowalski33
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 451
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Post by JKowalski33 on Sept 10, 2004 0:21:15 GMT -5
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Sept 10, 2004 1:43:08 GMT -5
Yeah, that was before I got one from ebay not knowing it had a 3000 rpm motor. I quess it was a blessing. Sorry if I sounded like John Kerry Flip-flopping all over the place! Lol!!!  |
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