James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Nov 21, 2004 14:01:58 GMT -5
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Post by sandsman1 on Nov 21, 2004 14:21:05 GMT -5
hey james i expected nutting less there great very cool looking mixed batch of obsid. great job man
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Post by rockyraccoon on Nov 21, 2004 14:23:46 GMT -5
been missing those fine pics and batches james! how big were they when you put them in for you to still have stones and the barrel be down to 1/3 full? they sure did turn out great.
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 Nov 21, 2004 14:40:08 GMT -5
Hi guys! Thanks for the compliments. Rocky, when I filled up the barrel that full, I took into considerate how sharp and angular the rocks were. A lot of the space was taken up simply because the rocks were so jaged. In reality, they really only lost about 30-40 percent of their origonal mass.
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Post by hermatite on Nov 21, 2004 14:52:36 GMT -5
Talk about your mirror shines! WOW (hey..did you ever sell a kettle on EBay? KIDDING). Gorgeous job and I'm going to try your recipe on my obsidian.
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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 21, 2004 15:32:41 GMT -5
I've been looking forward to seeing more pics from you. Man, those are just so darn amazing!!
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Post by Cher on Nov 21, 2004 16:03:39 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]WOW[/glow] James those are totally awesome! I'm really confused though, I thought obsidian was just black, this opens a whole new world to me. I mean I knew about the snowflake stuff, which is so cool ... really does look like snowflakes too but orange and black, red and black? That red/black striped one is gorgeous! What a fantastic job, thanks for posting them. Do you add sugar all the time?
Cher
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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 21, 2004 16:56:06 GMT -5
Thanks again guys!
Cher, Yeah there are many varieties of obsidian. The orange/black stuff is refered to as mohagany, the orange is called punkin, the one you like with the red and black stripes if triple-flow. I have some rainbow obsidian in the pic too but you cant see it because it's too dark. There are many other varieties out there as well. Midnight lace, gold sheen, purple sheen, silver sheen etc..
As far a sugar goes, I only use it with fragile stones. It just thickens the viscosity until the grit breaks down enough to further thicken the medium. This does a good job at cushioning the the stones during the grind. I added a ton of plastic pellets to the 1000 and polish cycles instead of sugar.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Nov 21, 2004 20:55:41 GMT -5
Sooo..., Some of the softer stones I'm having trouble with, that seem to scratch so easily, sugar as a buffer is the answer? Have you ever used it in polish, or is that a bad idea? I'm using a vibe, btw, don't know if that matters. And I hate pellets, if I can avoid them I will. As usual, I literaly gasped when the picks pulled up. I can't seem to do squat with any stone under an 8 MOHs.
cookie
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Tellfamily
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 476
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Post by Tellfamily on Nov 21, 2004 21:22:43 GMT -5
Wow, I have a batch going right now and I can tell by how good yours look, that I need to use your recipe.
Is the sugar used as a buffer?
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Post by Toad on Nov 21, 2004 21:47:04 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300] WOW[/glow] James those are totally awesome! I'm really confused though, I thought obsidian was just black, this opens a whole new world to me. I mean I knew about the snowflake stuff, which is so cool ... really does look like snowflakes too but orange and black, red and black? That red/black striped one is gorgeous! What a fantastic job, thanks for posting them. Do you add sugar all the time? Cher Cher, check out the tsone age web-site, it appears they have most if not all the stones James used. stoneageindustries.com/rough_stones.htmlJames, beautiful work. Once again the toad is green with envy.
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Post by Cher on Nov 21, 2004 22:05:03 GMT -5
Thanks Toad, they have some nice stuff there.
Cher
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Post by stoner on Nov 21, 2004 23:51:29 GMT -5
Hey James. As usual, excellent job on the polish and some beautiful stones. Love the colors, but I was wondering, is there any yellow on the stones, or is that a reflection of the trees above with yellow leaves?
Ed
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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 22, 2004 2:28:10 GMT -5
Hi Cookie. I wouldn't describe sugar as being a buffer but rather an additive to increase the viscosity of the liquid. Pellets would be a buffer, as would crushed walnut shells etc... I supose that it wouldn't hurt to use sugar in polishing, or any other stage for that matter. In fact it might be the solution for your problem with the vibe. I don't have a vibe, so I couldn't tell you for sure.
Hi Ed. Yeah, that yellow really stands out doesn't it? The color is from the leaves of my neighbors birch tree.
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Post by krazydiamond on Nov 22, 2004 8:26:16 GMT -5
Superior Shine! i've wondered if leaving rocks in polish for longer (than a week) would make a difference..... that is a great batch, Jame, you are a master tumbler! 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 22, 2004 9:56:57 GMT -5
those are BEAUTIFUL!!!! super shiny!
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Post by connrock on Nov 22, 2004 20:04:59 GMT -5
Well I guess you proved your point about obsidian not having to come from the same area to produce good results! I'm from CT and don't know a thing about obsidian except for what I read or try myself. I won't have to either thanks to you James!! I have never seen obsidian that beautuful and your photo's do them justice!! Thanks,,,,, Tom
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JKowalski33
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 451
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Post by JKowalski33 on Nov 22, 2004 23:52:47 GMT -5
i cant remember, has it been said whether or not titanium dioxide polish works well with obsidian, i think i remember someone saying it does work well....
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Post by puppie96 on Nov 23, 2004 0:23:00 GMT -5
Beautiful, and the color variety is awesome. great job!
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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 30, 2004 13:45:52 GMT -5
James !!!! those are so amazingly beautiful, I still have to learn a trick or two to get mine shine like yours.
How often did you check them to make sure the slurry would not be too thick?
I have had to add water to some batches , and others had too much water. It is more difficult to see in a bogger barrel .
In one lot I added too much water and made it too thin again which caused a lot of breakages.
I keep on trying and will get it right one day haha.
I am now trying out to leave them longer in 220 grit since I can't get 600 grit. Initial results look promising. Slurry got quite thick and I had to add some water . checked a day later and found it still to be too thick so added a wee bit more aqua and yes it rocks along just fine. Got impatient and washed them all . They look good ....to me....but I wonder , if I leave them in another week , they should be even better before going into polish. I may have to give them a second going in 220 grit and then go the extra length.
You did WELL
Jack
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