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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 9:42:33 GMT -5
Tela was nice enough to send me a couple of thunderegg slabs to play with so I started on one last night. It's the thinnest slab I've ever tried to cab and I'm having a hard time getting the edges smooth. I'm also not sure it would survive a few weeks in the rotary.... Anyway, here it is so far.    |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 24, 2019 10:00:24 GMT -5
Looks like your getting it! Tommy got those in McDermitt NV. I have a whole stack of them I bought from him. Working some today, in fact. |
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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 10:05:08 GMT -5
Looks like your getting it! Tommy got those in McDermitt NV. I have a whole stack of them I bought from him. Working some today, in fact. I'm trying...  |
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Post by fernwood on May 24, 2019 10:13:30 GMT -5
That looks great. I have tumbled 1/8" preforms with rocks in rotary for 2 months.
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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 10:56:20 GMT -5
That looks great. I have tumbled 1/8" preforms with rocks in rotary for 2 months. Thanks! That's good to know, I'm going to give it a whirl. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 11:59:03 GMT -5
That plume looks like a chain of frog eggs (or maybe "Golden Caviar" would be more appealing). Hope it survives! I'm sure the agate will, though the rhyolite outer shell can be more fragile.
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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 14:13:40 GMT -5
That plume looks like a chain of frog eggs (or maybe "Golden Caviar" would be more appealing). Hope it survives! I'm sure the agate will, though the rhyolite outer shell can be more fragile. Yeah it kind of does... I think it should be ok, I'm not throwing it in the 6 pound barrels I've noticed they're a little bit harder on stones. I'm going to try in the 3 pound ones though. |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 24, 2019 14:30:39 GMT -5
Nice start miket! I would not under any circumstances put that preform in a rotary tumbler - taking it one step farther than r2d I would say there is no way it survives. Even cabbing those eggs by hand the matrix has a high tendency to break off from the agate center. I wouldn't even put that in a vibe if it were me  |
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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 14:44:24 GMT -5
Nice start miket ! I would not under any circumstances put that preform in a rotary tumbler - taking it one step farther than r2d I would say there is no way it survives. Even cabbing those eggs by hand the matrix has a high tendency to break off from the agate center. I wouldn't even put that in a vibe if it were me  Thank you sir! Any suggestions, then? I suppose it would make a nice pendant...but I'm wondering if drilling would break it. And how to polish, then? |
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 24, 2019 15:23:18 GMT -5
Nice start miket ! I would not under any circumstances put that preform in a rotary tumbler - taking it one step farther than r2d I would say there is no way it survives. Even cabbing those eggs by hand the matrix has a high tendency to break off from the agate center. I wouldn't even put that in a vibe if it were me Thank you sir! Any suggestions, then? I suppose it would make a nice pendant...but I'm wondering if drilling would break it. And how to polish, then? I think it will drill - just make sure you're drilling into an area of matrix that is substantial and not crossed with any obvious cracks. Regarding polishing I'm assuming it's not domed yet? Best way would be with a flat lap - stepping through the grits until polish is achieved. In the absence of that you can use sand paper and or dremel? |
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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 15:53:21 GMT -5
Thank you sir! Any suggestions, then? I suppose it would make a nice pendant...but I'm wondering if drilling would break it. And how to polish, then? I think it will drill - just make sure you're drilling into an area of matrix that is substantial and not crossed with any obvious cracks. Regarding polishing I'm assuming it's not domed yet? Best way would be with a flat lap - stepping through the grits until polish is achieved. In the absence of that you can use sand paper and or dremel? Barely domed, it's pretty thin. No flat lap, I could try the dremel. Never used it for anything besides shaping that would be a new experience. Thanks! |
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Post by greig on May 24, 2019 16:36:56 GMT -5
Good luck with your project. I am sure that it is scary to work on something delicate that cannot easily be replaced.
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Post by miket on May 24, 2019 16:58:27 GMT -5
Good luck with your project. I am sure that it is scary to work on something delicate that cannot easily be replaced. Thanks, it kind of is. At least to this newbie. Oh well, the best things are worth working for, right? |
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Post by pauls on May 24, 2019 19:59:43 GMT -5
I agree with Tommy, don't put it in your tumbler, the Rhyolite is a fair bit softer than the Agate and will undercut badly or break.
I have on occasions tumbled pieces of Thunderegg and after coarse stage where everything has undercut I have then ground the agate level and sanded to say 600 grit, then I tumbled in the finer grits and polish, it worked out OK, these were just scraps and end bits nothing precious.
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