mrflake
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 58
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Post by mrflake on Sept 16, 2003 18:03:02 GMT -5
Firtsly congrats to Andy on your half century of members, "if you build it they will come". Secondly with all those members I wondered what is everyone tumbling right now, To get the ball rolling I have in my little 3lb barrel:- Haematite,carnelian,emerald,flint,ruby,tiger eye green/gold & blue, and a load of stuff from the beach. Because of the varying hardness' in the one barrel it gets checked daily and smoothed stones put in the next barrel. First time i have added haematite and it caused me to panic a bit, the day after adding it I opened the barrel to find a red/brown slurry instead of the grey I am accustomed to, The red was the same colour as the barrel ( one of the hard plastic drainpipe type) and I began to think the grit was wearing the barrel rapidly, only later did it click that the haematite has a high iron content and this was the cause of the colour. Wondering what the extra iron will do to the garden plants where the slurry gets poured! Anyway i expect to see fifty posts from here down.................
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Post by Chu Jo on Sept 16, 2003 18:40:16 GMT -5
I have a mix of agate, Jasper and going, I see now that a need a barrel tumbler to start rocks with then move them to my vibratory V10 thumbler. I can not wait to do some of the smooth river rock from my back yard some agate,and quartz. I have some pieces of Biggs picture rock Jasper I want to get to Rock On Chu Jo
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Post by docone31 on Sept 16, 2003 21:08:07 GMT -5
The saphire will take some real tumble time. It is natural for hematite to bleed, hence the name hema. It is also referred to as the Alaska Diamond. I worry about the slurry being used with plants, especially ones you care about. I dump mine where I do not want plants to grow. As the tumble goes, the smaller stones will be an asset to use as filler when tumbling fresh rough. I have not gotten a good polish on my emerald. I have stopped on one run with final polish even adding Cerium Oxide with the Aluminum oxide. I have to polish emerald on a leather buff with cerium, or on my phenolic lap with cerium. Keep on tumblin
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Djinjuice
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 47
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Post by Djinjuice on Sept 17, 2003 2:06:21 GMT -5
I am still working on that freekin' emerald . This is tumble 3 with 60/90 grit. I should actually say tumble 2 and 1/2 since the 2nd tumble got buggered up (all my own fault). I ended up grinding off some rock from the emeralds, should have done that in the first place! But now I am seeing some really beautiful stuff. I got a couple pieces I am tempted to send off to Doc for faceting!! I am also going to send my quartzes back through a 1st phase, got some pitting in some of it, but also got some nice clear amethyst too. Yay ! ;D
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Sept 17, 2003 6:21:50 GMT -5
Hi gang! Good thread mrflake, it's nice to see what everyone is up to. I just took a load of flint, agate, and jasper out of a 2 week run with 46-70 SC in the 15lb rolling Thumbler. I high graded it and put 10lb into the vib with 120-220 SC and it is shaping up nice. I had just finished a load of obsidian tear drops that didn't turn out too awful bad. It could use some improvement in luster and I plan to run it again when the fresh load I'm starting in the rolling tumbler is ready for polish. I polished it with a lot of plastic pellets instead of waiting for a full or nearly full load and the action in the vib suffered because of that I believe. Obsidian sure shapes up nice due to its low hardness, but it is a bear to polish. It is silver sheen and pea-thingy obsidian and would make great thingy-tail fork handles ;D Here is a pic if this works. Keep em' rollin, Don from Ohio
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Post by docone31 on Sept 17, 2003 10:37:57 GMT -5
Emeralds gave me chase also. I have some thoughts on the why, but even adding borax to the tumble I still got a satin finish. I would be glad to facet any stones you, or any other folks from this forum have. It would be at a reduced rate from my usual public charge. I have met a few tumblers I am corresponding with off forum. Right now, the tumblers are quiet. All is done. I tumble to find cracks, semi polish the stones to find either cabbing or facet quality. I kinda miss the sound.
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Post by stoney joe on Sept 17, 2003 15:14:34 GMT -5
Hey Don that facetted rock on the left, looks really cool, (as do the others) the photo gives no idea of size, how big are they. cheers S.J.
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Post by Andrew on Sept 17, 2003 17:43:01 GMT -5
Donwrob,
Do you mind if I post your pic on the site under the visitors pictures section?
Cheers Andrew.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 17, 2003 19:53:37 GMT -5
Greetings All, I guess I'm kinda boring since I only tumble one kind of rock at a time, at least in one barrel that is. As yall probably know by now from other threads I'm working on what started out as 15 lbs of green aventurine, my very first rock type ever and I've been giving details in the thread First Timer. When my Lortone QT12 gets here I've promised my 4-year old we would start a load of his rocks, mainly quartzite gravel he's been collecting, but I have a couple of pounds of agates that I bought over a year ago when I first started thinking about this hobby. Truth be told it doesn't look that much different than my boys gravel BUT, waiting for its turn, I have some orthoclase feldspar (15 lbs), blue aventurine (30 lbs), leopardskin jasper (20 lbs), and rainbow obsidian (10 lbs). AND I have coming from Ebay 77 pounds of more rock, see thread Outta Control for details. Of course for my insane future plans, check out the thread indiarockhounder.com ;D Keep those barrels rolling! WilliamC
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Sept 17, 2003 22:40:21 GMT -5
Joe, thanks. You're right, I should have thrown a coin in the pic for a size reference. They range in size from the smallest 1/2"L up to about 2-1/2"L. The faceted one was my first attempt with an old Lortone cabbing set-up I picked up. After hearing doc go on about such things, I had to fool with it on a piece of the obsidian for an experiment. It will make a nice little pendant. I'll be doing more of that, it is fun and addicting like tumbling . Andrew, sure you can use the pic, I hope it was OK to post it on the message board. I should have asked you first, I wasn't thinking. Let me know if you want me to e-mail the jpg to you, if that would make it easier to post. And William, am I going to have to send my wife down there to put a stop to all that rock buying? hehehe, she won't put up with that sort of thing...lol! Later all, Don
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Post by docone31 on Sept 17, 2003 22:57:14 GMT -5
You did a great job on that cab. Technicaly speaking, it is called cabochet. It would look great wire wrapped. Please do not drill such a design. You did goo', and the polish looks great. There are web pages on wire work for such stones, with tutorials. Great job.
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Andy
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2003
Posts: 2
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Post by Andy on Sept 18, 2003 11:26:45 GMT -5
Hi Don - no worries about putting pictures in here - send up as many as you want.
I have placed the picture of the Obsidian on the site in the visitors pictures section, and a small extract from your post also - if you want to take a look.
Cheers again for the pic - I think if people see that it is a true hobby site where they can interact with the site and each other, then they will get more out of it in the long run.
Andrew.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 19, 2003 22:20:59 GMT -5
Greetings All, Finally got the new Lortone, my son was waiting for me when I got home from work so we could open it And what do you know! It's a QT66 instead of a QT12 Very nice, even if the plastic lug nuts and washers are missing. Since the QT66 has a higher price new than the QT12, I've reduced my costs by fortunate circumstance. Hummm now how to convert savings into an asset? Well as luck would have it today I went over to visit a friend of mine who runs a little gift shop and with whom I've talked about my rock polishing, and he has collected some fascinating rocks that are concretions of sedimentary iron or "bog iron": see www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/geodes.htm www.realtime.net/~pixel/bogiron/ www.geocities.com/fossilking/Rocks-and-more/Rocks-and-more.htmlFar out, bog iron rocks At any rate I traded one of my polished green aventurine stones, about a fifth a pound or so, for a little iron geode cup made out of bog iron and all smoothed and hollow. Amazingly enough you can put one of the polished rocks into the little natural cup formed by the iron geode and it fits in snug and looks, well, lets just say the two together are somehow more appealing than either apart. See picture www.bga.com/~pixel/bogiron/bogiron.jpgand imagine that but inverted like a hollow cup that the polished stone sits in. Yes I know I must now get a picture posted, I'll try to do that by early next week. Bog iron, who'd a thunk it? ;D Now I"ll have to trade with my friend for more of his bog iron, and see if I can diversify my lapidary collection. Then I can try to trade my "art" for more value than either two pieces individually. Well, found art at least WilliamC
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 20, 2003 21:49:53 GMT -5
Greetings All, The grit has arrived!, the grit has arrived! ;D I finally got the shipment of grit from Dads Rock Shop, 5 lbs each of 46/70, 60/90, 220, 600 and cerium oxide. And i picked up a bag of pea gravel for 3 bucks, so I will have plenty of small stones to cushen the big rocks I'll try to tumble. So FINALLY I get to have all 4 6 lb barrels on both my QT66's tumbling at the same time, and I can keep them going for weeks straight now This afternoon I set up a second stage run of some green aventurine using the last of the "medium" grit I got from a Lortone 4-pack I bought, and I set up 3 first stage loads in 46/70 grit. One load was a mixture of gravels my son has collected an a couple of pounds of dull looking agates I've had for over a year. One load was blue aventurine, and one load was orthoclase feldspar. I'm planning to let all 4 go until next Saturday, since I want to get a good run out of the grit. Then for the second stage material I'll wash and sort it, so that won't go back into a barrel for a week. For the three loads in the 46/70 grit I'll just wash, clean, and set up with 60/90, no sorting. And I'll set up a new load with 46/70 grit, either the last of the orthoclase feldspar, another blue aventurine, or possibly some of the leopardskin jasper, I've about 24 lbs of that and I haven't done any yet. Of course sometime late next week I may be getting my rocks from Ebay, 77 lbs. Hummm...I'm glad I ordered another 5 lb bucket each of 46/70 and 60/90 grit from my local rock shop, I'll need it WilliamC
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Post by docone31 on Sept 20, 2003 21:57:01 GMT -5
Do indeed watch the gas build up with the jasper. I had a bbl suddenly, meaning I did not check it one day, build up and get quite hard with gas. The only discharge was under the bbl on the catch mat I use, and on the rollers. Good luck to you.
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Sept 21, 2003 18:34:11 GMT -5
Bog Iron question, interesting read on that..we have a town about 70 miles from here(North West Alabama) called "Paint Rock" that is known for the stones that native americans used for face paint and other things. I have polished all my rocks and am now awaiting some new rough in the mail to start over..I sure learned a lot on the first few batches...in final polishing keep simialr material togather....rough ruby does not polish..it waists time and media...and I have gotten a lot of good help and advise here !!
Thanks Dwight P
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 21, 2003 19:12:44 GMT -5
Greetings All, Hey Dwight, yea I got a kick out of the bog iron myself, now I'm interested to maybe find some more pieces. Next time I'm visiting my friends store I'll have to see how much he has and wants to trade. I saw some complete concretions and some half-pieces in his collection of about 20 pieces he showed me, but I don't know if he actually has more or if he has in mind a location where they might actually be collected from. Also, this gives me an excuse to start frequenting little curio stores and such, heck, I've not yet gotten around to visiting flea markets like Doc has suggested. I'll bet I can find SOMEONE who has collected bog iron, and I'll bet I can trade tumble polished stones with them for some too. I'll try this week to get someone with a digital camera to take a picture of my bog iron cup holding a piece of green aventurine, make sure it's on a good background in good light. Then I'll upload it to Andy so he can post it for us. For now the one piece I have will go up to my desk at work and be a display WilliamC
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Post by docone31 on Sept 21, 2003 19:13:02 GMT -5
Rough ruby does polish, it just takes time, media, and patience. I use it with other stones being polished. I use a few I want to clean up, throw them in the batch, run the cycle and go from there. I just tumble enough to see either the star, or color and either facet or cab. Lapis and malachite were used by the egyptians and phoenitians for eye shadow. It was thought tallow was used for a carrier but recently found samples showed a petroleum base. I wonder if bog iron is an anerobic form of hematite? Minerals are the coolest thing going, and they won't do what we want to, if it is not possible. Sure teaches me a lesson sometimes.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Sept 21, 2003 19:48:53 GMT -5
Neat stuff. doc, I was wondering the same thing about the bog iron being hematite. It sure sounds like dwight might be talking about it too. As many native americans used it as face paint and to cover burial goods and their dead in certain cultures called the "Red Ocher Indians". If it is, isn't it the stuff that polishes to look like chrome? Wild looking stuff guys, let us know if that is what it turns out to be, I'm curious now. Also william, if you would like me to post a pic for you right here in the message thread, just e-mail a jpg to me and I'd be happy to post it for you. I have a gob of web space on the image host I use and it would be no problem. The offer is good for anyone else too, later all, Don
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Post by docone31 on Sept 21, 2003 20:21:19 GMT -5
Bog iron is from dissolved solids, hematite is from iron bacteria. Down here, there are nodules that are reputed from "the big hit" the asteroid. Floriduh not having any iron deposits, they are turning up nodules of pure iron in road work. I have read the sites and done some more research, and I speculate, down here, the salinity creates a battery effect. The ground water is saturated with dissolved iron which really wreaks havoac(sp?) with shower walls, sinks, clothes wash, etc. Iron bacteria is present in the toilet tank as a slippery film. We have evidence of dissolved iron with calcite layers which look like the photos here however they are not stable. I have not seen the atomic numbers for either however I suspect hematite is organic based, and bog iron is oxide based. I bet, bog iron cut is crypto crystal based. Not being a metalurgist I am lost and purely speculating here. Hematite got its name by showing red, and being apparently self healing. I hope there are people with the know out here, I have customers who also want to know.
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