jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Feb 24, 2019 13:51:04 GMT -5
Is it just me, or does just about everything with more red colors just nuke your saw as far as messiness? Noreena is one of the worst, and I just love slabbing that stuff since every slab is like opening a present, but what a mess. Even straight red jasper makes a mess of things. Now if I have anything red to cut I make sure it's queued up only once I'm getting close to a clean out, because it isn't long before the oil pool turns to pudding once you do.
I slabbed some spiderman jasper last night and it made a similar mess, but in black. I haven't tried to work with the spiderman yet, but it was super brittle and seems definitely harder than Noreena. It's a curious rock too, the edges (break or cut) are always red, but the face is largely black with those red lines.
Anyone else dread the reds? How about other types of rock that you just know are going to need some extra cleanup love?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2019 15:46:55 GMT -5
Anything with lots of metal is messy. I expect the red color comes from hematite and/or other iron oxides. Metal oxides are used in paints and stains, so I guess that explains the mess they make in water and oil.
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Post by Pat on Feb 24, 2019 15:49:22 GMT -5
Cut etc the metals last. They are messy!
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Post by pauls on Feb 24, 2019 15:50:17 GMT -5
It's Not just you.
I collected a half bucket of boulder opal last July, some of it looks to be really nice but I just can't bring myself to touch it knowing the mess it will make. I have a couple of pieces of nice tiger iron sitting waiting as well, I'll get there one day.
I ran a piece of what I thought was Psilomelane through the saw a while back, it was Manganese but not solid, filthy stuff, spattered my shirt with black that left permanent stains.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller 
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Feb 24, 2019 17:53:47 GMT -5
Much of the Lavic material resonates with an orange to red residual as well.......one of a few reasons I don't re-circulate "used" water or use oils through my saw.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Feb 24, 2019 19:26:14 GMT -5
I haven't gotten one, but I really need to have a designated shirt for that stuff. Maybe a pair of pants, too.
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Post by arghvark on Feb 24, 2019 19:37:32 GMT -5
Pretty much all of the jasper I collect makes for a yuck-fest. But since I made a saw-sucker I just don't care. Thanks RTH!  |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 25, 2019 11:39:07 GMT -5
Hahahaha, I wait till its time to change the oil in my saw, than I will cut red jasper and etc...
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 25, 2019 11:42:16 GMT -5
I think tiger iron, psilomelane, anything with pyrite and covellite are the worst. Lapis makes a really intense blue but because it's so pretty, I don't mind so much.
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Feb 25, 2019 14:58:07 GMT -5
That's super interesting and helpful information about the metals, thank you! I wonder if the greens are more copper based, though I haven't had a problem with greens. Love learning new stuff every day! I'm with Fossilman, now I just save anything with red to cut just before I'm about ready to clean the saw out. I have some Noreena and Cherry Creek queued up for this week because it's almost pudding now  |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2019 16:03:29 GMT -5
That's super interesting and helpful information about the metals, thank you! I wonder if the greens are more copper based, though I haven't had a problem with greens. I think it has to do more with what is the composition of the coloring. Reds that owe their color to iron oxide do tend to make "paint" more quickly than reds caused by other metals (such as chromium or manganese). Iron oxides can also produce yellows, black, orange and occasionally green (and blue-green) shades. There are other metal oxides (as well as chlorides and other compounds) that produce these same, and other, colors. Some rocks which derive color from copper, manganese, etc. will also bleed and stain; some don't much. Some pigments seem to bind to the rock more readily. When in doubt, a simple streak test on a white unglazed tile (or for rocks that are harder than porcelain, powder a small bit to see the color) will usually alert you to the worst stain-producers. |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Feb 25, 2019 16:48:39 GMT -5
It seems that everything I cut makes red mud.
I just cut it anyway, enjoy it, & live with the mess.
That's life in the lapidary lane!
Lynn
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Post by stephan on Feb 25, 2019 22:36:03 GMT -5
That's super interesting and helpful information about the metals, thank you! I wonder if the greens are more copper based, though I haven't had a problem with greens. I think it has to do more with what is the composition of the coloring. Reds that owe their color to iron oxide do tend to make "paint" more quickly than reds caused by other metals (such as chromium or manganese). Iron oxides can also produce yellows, black, orange and occasionally green (and blue-green) shades. There are other metal oxides (as well as chlorides and other compounds) that produce these same, and other, colors. Some rocks which derive color from copper, manganese, etc. will also bleed and stain; some don't much. Some pigments seem to bind to the rock more readily. When in doubt, a simple streak test on a white unglazed tile (or for rocks that are harder than porcelain, powder a small bit to see the color) will usually alert you to the worst stain-producers. Very true. Jade,for instance is green, from iron, and has a colorless or white streak, and makes white swarf. Bloodstone, too. For red Jasper... mostly messy, but I've definitely had some that wasn't,and it was also the harder, less crumbly material that takes a mirror shine, like high-quality Stone Canyon jasper. I guess it depends on how well the metals are "encased" in silica. |
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