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Post by rockjunquie on May 19, 2019 12:29:13 GMT -5
OK, so I haven't gotten my lot-o yet, but I won some thin sugilite last night that I want to divide for earrings. I want to tumble polish and drill holes. Has anyone vibe tumble sugilite? I know it can be hard to polish with a wheeled machine. I'm hoping a lot-o will bring good results.
Yes, I will reign myself in and NOT start with sugilite. LOL! I think I can resist.
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 19, 2019 20:01:57 GMT -5
I may have and not even realized it. I tumble a lot of material for which I have no ID. After viewing Google pics, I have picked out my most 'sugilite' piece. Granted, it's in the middle of a group shot, but you'll have to tell me if it's sugilite or not, or maybe it's too hard to tell from the pic.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 20, 2019 8:09:38 GMT -5
I may have and not even realized it. I tumble a lot of material for which I have no ID. After viewing Google pics, I have picked out my most 'sugilite' piece. Granted, it's in the middle of a group shot, but you'll have to tell me if it's sugilite or not, or maybe it's too hard to tell from the pic. Thanks, but sorry. It doesn't look like sugilite - unless it's super duper gemmy gel. Looks more like purple agate.
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Post by rockpickerforever on May 20, 2019 8:54:07 GMT -5
I may have and not even realized it. I tumble a lot of material for which I have no ID. After viewing Google pics, I have picked out my most 'sugilite' piece. Granted, it's in the middle of a group shot, but you'll have to tell me if it's sugilite or not, or maybe it's too hard to tell from the pic. Thanks, but sorry. It doesn't look like sugilite - unless it's super duper gemmy gel. Looks more like purple agate. I thought that too. Sugilite is normally a much darker purple, and doesn't let so much light through. ETA - Sorry, brain fart. Opaque is the word I was looking for. It was hiding back in the cobwebs in my brain.
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 20, 2019 9:13:14 GMT -5
I saw a piece entered in this month's cab contest and realized what I posted looked nothing like it. Whatever it is took a nice shine in the Lot-O. You can bet if I had a piece of sugilite, it's been tumbled though.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 20, 2019 15:55:23 GMT -5
I saw a piece entered in this month's cab contest and realized what I posted looked nothing like it. Whatever it is took a nice shine in the Lot-O. You can bet if I had a piece of sugilite, it's been tumbled though. Nuttin wrong with nice purple agate!
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,796
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Post by gemfeller on May 20, 2019 20:28:25 GMT -5
OK, so I haven't gotten my lot-o yet, but I won some thin sugilite last night that I want to divide for earrings. I want to tumble polish and drill holes. Has anyone vibe tumble sugilite? I know it can be hard to polish with a wheeled machine. I'm hoping a lot-o will bring good results. Yes, I will reign myself in and NOT start with sugilite. LOL! I think I can resist. Just noticed this. I tried tumble-polishing a piece in my old Vibrasonic and was very disappointed with the results. It came out with an eggshell finish. But tumbling techniques vary so maybe I didn't use the right approach. My method is specifically for the quartz family.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,796
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Post by gemfeller on May 20, 2019 20:34:18 GMT -5
I saw a piece entered in this month's cab contest and realized what I posted looked nothing like it. Whatever it is took a nice shine in the Lot-O. You can bet if I had a piece of sugilite, it's been tumbled though. Like other gems there are several grades of sugilite. Much is a saturated purple-to-pinkish color and is opaque (to quote rockpickerforever.) The best -- and very expensive! -- grade is called "gel" sugilite. It's quite translucent and makes gorgeous cut gems.
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