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Post by Cher on Oct 12, 2004 16:15:05 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]If you see any red X's, right click and click on "show picture".[/glow] Here's the whole group of them. I did have several in there, noids (no id) that didn't take a shine but are still nice and smooth. Just don't know the magic ingredient for shine on them.  These are the few that I think are the nicest. The agate in the middle reminds me of a bear paw. All of these, except for that funny little pink and gray thing on the upper left corner have awesome shine.  Here's the quartz that Cookie sent me. I don't understand why all the fractures. It didn't look like it had many when I first put in it. Sure took a great shine though!!  Here's some local quartz. Now I can understand the fractures because most of it I had to whack to break into smaller pieces. Believe me, a saw is making much more sense every day. Some of it looks like I heated it and dropped it in ice to make it crackled. Such a disappointment.  Sure has lots of shine so I did something right but with all the fractures - fractures - fractures about 90% can go in the trash. I'd give 'em out for Halloween but I don't want egg on my house. Thanks for looking, appreciate any suggestions as to what may have caused the fractures. Is it possible they were there and I just couldn't see them until they were shiney? Even some of the agates have fractures and I sure as heck didn't beat on them. (Ok Puppie, I posted my noids so I want to see your's too.) Cher |
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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 Oct 12, 2004 16:34:09 GMT -5
Hey, I think a lot of those look really good! You should be proud of your first batch!
Fractures in quartz is just the way things are. If quartz has no fractures or inclusions then it is gem material and is used for faceting. You only get that kind of quartz from crystals. The quartz that forms as massive rocks, then weathers out and makes it way to streams for you to find, is almost always going to have fractures. True, some is a lot worse than others, but once it's polished a lot of those fractures shouldn't be noticeable unless light is shining through the stone. I can't really tell from your photos whether you have "bad" fractures or "okay" fractures. But with quartz you will rarely have no fractures unless you're tumbling crystals. Some people are quite bothered by this though, and I've seen some folks here say they prefer to tumble opaque materials like jaspers because opaque materials tend to hide their fractures.
As for why some stones shined and others didnt', I'm guessing that is because you had a mixed batch, so hard things like quartz and agate took a shine, and any softer materials got scratched up by the harder stuff so never got a bright shine. That's just a guess, but you could try re-running the stuff that didn't shine by itself through the pre-polish and polish (or maybe just the polish stage) and see if that will give it a shine.
Congrats on your first batch!
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 12, 2004 16:49:01 GMT -5
Those are beautiful! The shine is great too! I like the agate (bear paw?) the best! Wow!
On the quartz, you'll like having a saw to trim them up. Sometimes, the fractures can add to the stone...if they're embedded. Lousy and need to be cut away or not tumbled if they're near the exterior of the stone.
I have alot of quartz and amethyst I've been tumbling. I pulled alot of it to clean up before I return them to tumbling again! *say no to fractures*
;D
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Post by Cher on Oct 12, 2004 16:49:48 GMT -5
Thanks!! I notice like on that little gray and pink one, in the bend it's much shinier than on the sides so you're probably right. I just put another batch into tripoli today, maybe I should go through it and see if there's anything that might not take a good shine that I could run back through with the other pieces and try 'em again. Appreciate your comments and compliments, thanks again. Cher PS .. Thanks Em, we must have been posting at the same time.  |
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Post by cookie3rocks on Oct 12, 2004 18:28:11 GMT -5
What an incredible shine for your first batch! You did a really great job, the agate is mouthwatering. And, hey, I like the quartz! Yours looks much better than any of mine has come out so far, I really love that wet shine. Fractures in quartz, as rollingstone said, is the nature of the beast. But as long as they are internal, as yours seem to be, it just gives them character ;D And don't throw them away, send them back to me. I'll brag that I did 'em  cookie |
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AgateHunter
starting to spend too much on rocks
LAKE SUPERIOR AGATE Minnesota State Gemstone
Member since September 2004
Posts: 107
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Post by AgateHunter on Oct 12, 2004 18:52:03 GMT -5
I like em!!!!! I see a couple lakers ;D Most of the quartz I have tumbled have natural fractures. I have not broke any rocks, I'm afraid to. I do not know how I would not end up with alot of fractures if I did.  |
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Post by sandsman1 on Oct 12, 2004 19:09:47 GMT -5
hey cher great looking batch dont throw any out if you realy dont like some of them save and use for fill but i like the fracturs like otheres have said gives them attitude hahaha---i dont think i have a piece of quartz here that dosent have them
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Post by Cher on Oct 12, 2004 19:22:08 GMT -5
Cookie, thank you very much but no you can't have them, not my Georgia quartz. *smile* I wouldn't part with those no how because they were a gift from you. They do have a nice wet shine don't they. This was the first batch I started on Aug. 24 so they made their way through the stages slowly. Agatehunter, yes you do see a couple of lakers in there. I totally forgot to add this closeup photo.  Sands, thank you. Being that I've never done this before and I was so careful, I guess I was expecting more. Someone had mentioned to look at the rocks dry between stages, would the fractures show then? Maybe that's how I missed them. Thanks you guys, I appreciate all the compliments. Cher |
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Post by connrock on Oct 12, 2004 20:03:08 GMT -5
Cher,,, FANTASTIC!! You did an outstanding job on your first batch!! There are people who have been tumbling for quite a few years that still can't get a shine like you did!! As others have said the quartz is quartz.I just finished some and it looks the same.I also finished some water clear quartz today and it is BEAUTIFUL,,,,,,,I only had a few pieces of it so I thought i'd give my tumbler a treat with them!! LOL Bravo Cher,,,,,,,,,,,Bravo!! Tom |
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Post by rockyraccoon on Oct 12, 2004 21:38:35 GMT -5
cher those are absolutely beautiful. you sure don't need a frowny face by that batch.
kim
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Post by Cher on Oct 12, 2004 22:30:21 GMT -5
Thanks Tom and Kim. I change it to a smile. You guys sure made me feel better about the fractures and stuff. I had figured I'd done something really wrong and stupid so it was good to know that fractures are just bound to be there.
Tom, you going to post some pics of that clear water quartz? I'd like to see it.
Cher
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Post by puppie96 on Oct 13, 2004 3:40:35 GMT -5
Cher, they are great, and I did see what you said up there about my noids, when I get confident with the camera again -- and have some time -- I'll give it a shot. Thing is, it's been a work in progress. I look at the photos up here and decide that the completed stuff still needs work. Fractured quartz clearly has a role here. Yeah, it does that. Now here's one for ya. I've got my new 12 pounder going with a bunch of local rock from a creek gravel bed -- this is an actual recorded site that I found in a book -- I washed it out today after one week of 60/90 and among the few I took out as ready to go onwards, there was a handful of beautifully rounded milky quartz stones -- they looked for all the world like your standard beach stones - only I didn't put anything like that in the batch starting out and I don't know what they popped out of or morphed from. The mysteries only deepen.
Oh, and Cardinals rule.
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deepsouth
fully equipped rock polisher
He who rocks last rocks best
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,256
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Post by deepsouth on Oct 13, 2004 5:04:24 GMT -5
Hey Cher , well done on your first batch !!
They do look great as far as I can tell.
as happens with mixed batches , you get mixed results. All of my batches are mixed and some I wonder what I've been doing wrong haha.
I also find that over time a lot of the rocks seem to improve and i think that it is because they are drying out more and showing more shine.
Keep it up .
Jack
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Oct 13, 2004 8:05:07 GMT -5
Well gal, you must be livin' right to turn out a first batch so pretty! Great shine! Noids - LOL, I love that and am sure I will be adding it to my rock vocabulary, if you don't mind.
I have never done any quartz without fractures - some worse than others. I think it just the nature of the rock. If you worry about quartz with fractures in it, you'll be grey headed long before your time! ;D I sure wouldn't throw them away! They have a great shine and are pretty - fractures and all.
I almost always do batches of mixed hardness. The ones that don't shine I am just setting aside, then when I get around to it will put them back in either tripoli are 1000 grit, then polish them again and see what happens.
Great first batch!
llana
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Post by krazydiamond on Oct 13, 2004 8:13:16 GMT -5
those turned out great, Cher, congratulations on your first batch! my amethyst, quartz, citrine, adventurine and a lot of prairie agate all came out fractured....bit they shine nicely, so join the club!
i love those agates in the last pic.....
KD
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Post by hermatite on Oct 13, 2004 12:57:05 GMT -5
Cher, is anything better than your first batch? And maybe I'm weird but I like those fractures in quartz. I think it adds character... You did a great job there and now it's upwards onwards! (or is that Round and round in the tumbling world?  |
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Post by Cher on Oct 13, 2004 15:44:31 GMT -5
Awww Puppie, to have a 12 pounder for rough, that's my dream ... lol in line with a saw and a grinder and and and .... Does it seem like the milky quartz doesn't fracture like the clear or is it just that you can't see it as much?
Llana, the "noid" came from my African violet group and I realized that it totally applies here too, by all means, add it to your "rock vocabulary". *smile* I'm going to take the ones that aren't quite shiney enough and do just that ... put them in a container and wait until I have enough to go into another couple of polish cycles. I have some AO 1000 grit, maybe that will help put a shine on 'em.
KD, is that the prairie agate I sent you that you slabbed or did you have some other stuff?
Herm, NO .. I don't think anything is better than the first batch but does it ever wear off? I'm thinking all batches are going to be just as exciting.
Jack, and everyone else ... Thanks! Your compliments mean alot to me and definitely turned my frown into a smile.
Cher
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Post by krazydiamond on Oct 13, 2004 17:39:06 GMT -5
no, Cher, that is still in 60/90 and so far so good....i was referring to some other prairie agate i bought somewhere (?), also brazilian agate that had a lot of internal fracturing.....
as soon as the stone you sent me gets through the cycle, i will post them!
KD
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Post by puppie96 on Oct 14, 2004 0:38:00 GMT -5
TEXT
Cher, good point, I hadn't thought about it but yes, they do seem to not only be fracture-free, but they are perfectly shaped with no chips or abraded-feeling spots on the surface. In my experience this is really unusual, with my quartzy stuff like amethyst the problem wasn't just the appearance of the fracturing inside, but the continual chipping off during the tumble or afterwards -- they are so fragile. I go nuts trying to get the surface imperfections out.
I posted more stuff about the new tumbler in the general section a little while ago.
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Post by Cher on Oct 14, 2004 10:36:15 GMT -5
I don't find much of the milky quartz up here, mostly the stuff that looks like ice cubes. I did find a few last time out so will have to keep an eye when I put them in. Puppie, I can't wait to see your pics, get that camera going!!
KD, how the heck do you take pics that show up so well in spite of the shine?
Cher
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