RedwoodRocks
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 762
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Post by RedwoodRocks on Nov 14, 2004 23:00:40 GMT -5
Here are a few shots of my latest batch  Some Botswana Agates  A closeup of the Botswanas  Some Apricot Agates from James  Some Blue Lace  Other Stuff. Thanks for looking Cal |
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Post by Cher on Nov 14, 2004 23:29:30 GMT -5
WOW Cal, that blue lace is just gorgeous. But then, so are those Botswana Agates ... and the Apricot Agates too. Aw heck, the whole batch is gorgeous, great shine!! Man, there's some in there that look like they'd make awesome pendants! Great job!!
Cher
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Post by stoner on Nov 15, 2004 0:08:42 GMT -5
Hey Cal. Nice job. Are those the same Botswana agates you showed me a couple of months ago? Everything looks really nice. What else do you have in the first pic? And, how long did it take to get the shape and shine?
Ed
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Nov 15, 2004 0:54:33 GMT -5
Cal, those are bee-u-ti-ful! I love the blue lace and the apricot and the botswana - well, heck, gotta agree with Cher, they are all fabulous!
llana
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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 Nov 15, 2004 3:54:45 GMT -5
Excellent job on everything!
But you didn't identify or explain the origins of a lot of the stuff in the "group photo". Inquiring minds want to know!
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Post by rockyraccoon on Nov 15, 2004 7:04:22 GMT -5
what a batch you have there! very nicely done cal.
kim
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Post by krazydiamond on Nov 15, 2004 7:50:20 GMT -5
what kind of polish did you use? those look drippingly shiny....perfect!
love the botswanas, they must have run for months! love them all, really! and yes, there are some pieces just waiting to be jewelry!
way to go, Cal!
KD
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aquababie19
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2004
Posts: 97
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Post by aquababie19 on Nov 15, 2004 9:45:12 GMT -5
soooooooo shiny ;D
those are beautiful!
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69beeper
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 377
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Post by 69beeper on Nov 15, 2004 9:56:07 GMT -5
Wow, that batch turned out beauiful... good Job!! Still tumbling the Botswana I received from you. It's been 6 weeks of 60/90 so far. They are starting to shape up a little... I was finally able to pull a few out for the next stage.  Jimmy |
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Post by Toad on Nov 15, 2004 10:38:16 GMT -5
I love that botswana.
Please let us know your process, how long in each stage...
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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 Nov 15, 2004 15:09:49 GMT -5
Very pretty rocks , GREAT SHINE !!
WOW
Thanks for the pics
Jack
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Post by connrock on Nov 15, 2004 19:25:04 GMT -5
Well Cal you've gone and done it!! Those are just the cat's meow!! You've got the "wet look" down to a science!!! Congrats and keep um coming!! Thanks,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Tom  |
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RedwoodRocks
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 762
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Post by RedwoodRocks on Nov 15, 2004 23:57:16 GMT -5
Hi All, Thanks for the nice comments. Sorry about not writing much, but I was really busy over the weekend, but really wanted to share some pics.
Most of the rocks are probably the Botswana Agates and Apricot agates. These were tumbled together. I put them together because the Botswanas were about an inch or a bit larger; and, I used the Apricot agates as the "filler" as they are about dime sized.
The other stuff is a hodge podge of stuff that I had ready to go. After getting a used tumbler off Ebay. I was so anxious to get rolling, I dumped in the hodge podge mix because I didn't want to break up any rocks with the kids sleeping. There is a quite a variety in this batch- Red and White Jasper, Blue Lace, Crazy Lace, Cornflake Carnelian, Graveyard Point Agates, Red Jasper, TigerEye, Sunset Jasper, Autumn Jasper, etc. I had some budstone in this mix, but it disappeared like magic. My guess is the budstone is quite a bit softer than agates/jasper.
As you can probably deduced, I got a bit impatient waiting for one full load of one or the other. I figured that all the rocks were either agates or jasper, I could tumble them all together.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the results. But, some of the stuff didn't polish very well. In particular the Autumn Jasper and the blue quartz. My thoughts are the Autumn Jasper has layers of different hardness'. The softer portions just get beat up by the harder rocks. This is my second time trying the blue quartz. It shines up, but doesn't have wet look.
I like the botswana the best, they came out with the wet look. And, the banding is just fantastic.
Here is process:
- Up to ten weeks in rough
- One week in 120/220
- One week in 500
- 4 days in 1000
- 4 days in cerium oxide
Cal
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Post by sandsman1 on Nov 16, 2004 0:32:29 GMT -5
hey cal lookin good man that botswana is too cool all around great lookin batch
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Nov 17, 2004 15:43:11 GMT -5
Hey Cal,
All I can come up with is ... WOW and a lap full of drool ;D
Thanks for the gorgeous photo's,
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 Nov 17, 2004 22:44:32 GMT -5
Very, VERY nice Cal. Those stones really took a shine! What was your formula?
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Post by Original Admin on Nov 18, 2004 18:20:24 GMT -5
Hi James Nice to see you checking in and around. Yes - these are "seriously polished" for certain. No doubts there. Andy. |
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Post by Original Admin on Nov 18, 2004 18:24:43 GMT -5
How is it that Blue Lace Agate always turns out shaped like cubes or rectangles?
Its one thing that really gets on my nerves about that stuff - I like the colour and I like the bands - but the shapes - dam it they are always the same.
My batch always looks the same as everyone elses batch - and viceversa - I reckon something different with that stone would be nice - but every time it goes in - it always goes into rectangles. Never rounded.
Hmmm
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Nov 18, 2004 23:34:20 GMT -5
Hi Andy, I still poke around here on a regular basis. I'm just don't have much time to chat.  Hopefuly, I have some time this weekend to post some pics. Hey, for the shapes with the blue lace, try using a grinder to preform them. It takes a little extra work but it's well worth it. |
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Nov 19, 2004 7:21:08 GMT -5
Pictures, James, pictures! We need pictures!
llana
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Hopefuly, I have some time this weekend to post some pics. 
