Post by BearCreekLapidary on Aug 5, 2004 12:04:43 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
I found the directions for transforming the Golden Tiger Eye into the Red Tiger Eye variety. If you have a piece of red tiger eye and it is not varigated with gold or greenish blue ... it has been heat treated.
Here is a procedure that will allow you to create some Red Tiger Eye:
1) be certain that the stones are dry (that they have not been setting in water for any period of time, ie; fishbowls, etc.)
2) preheat the oven to 200 degrees
3) arrange the stones, slabs or cabs onto a cookie sheet. Allow room between each stone so that they are not touching each other.
4) when the stove has reached 200 degrees, place the cookie sheet into the middle of the stove.
5) at 30 minute intervals, increase the temperature by 50 degrees, until you have reached 450 degrees. 200 @ 30 min, 250 @ 30 min, 300 @ 30 min, etc.
6) when the stones have been in the oven for 30 minutes at 450 degrees, simply shut the gas/electricity off and let them cool down on their own.
7) DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR FOR ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, DURING THE HEATING PROCESS! OPENING THE DOOR ALLOWS COOLER AIR TO ENTER THE STOVE AREA AND CAN CAUSE THE ROCKS TO EXPLODE, CAUSING DAMAGE TO YOUE STOVE - VERY IMPORTANT!
8) when the rocks have cooled completely down, simply remove them and you'll have the red variety of Tiger Eye!
This process has been used by the mining/marketing industry for years. The only true red Tiger Eye is the varigated type found with gold and the greenish-blue variety. Full red pieces have been heat treated.
Damage can occour to stoves if there is an excessive amount of water in the stones or if the door is opened during the treating process. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO LEAVE THE DOOR CLOSED DURING THE ENTIRE PROCESS!
Like the miner I got these directions from said ... "that is how we do it, and I am not responsible if something goes wrong."
I have done this many times without any problems as of yet! They turn out very nicely!
I have also used this process to anneal large pieces of Agates, Brazilian Agates mostly. It allows the saw to cut through the rough much easier. And when you are cutting a 6" x 10" piece of rough on a 14" saw ... you can use all of the help you can get!
Enjoy,
John
I found the directions for transforming the Golden Tiger Eye into the Red Tiger Eye variety. If you have a piece of red tiger eye and it is not varigated with gold or greenish blue ... it has been heat treated.
Here is a procedure that will allow you to create some Red Tiger Eye:
1) be certain that the stones are dry (that they have not been setting in water for any period of time, ie; fishbowls, etc.)
2) preheat the oven to 200 degrees
3) arrange the stones, slabs or cabs onto a cookie sheet. Allow room between each stone so that they are not touching each other.
4) when the stove has reached 200 degrees, place the cookie sheet into the middle of the stove.
5) at 30 minute intervals, increase the temperature by 50 degrees, until you have reached 450 degrees. 200 @ 30 min, 250 @ 30 min, 300 @ 30 min, etc.
6) when the stones have been in the oven for 30 minutes at 450 degrees, simply shut the gas/electricity off and let them cool down on their own.
7) DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR FOR ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, DURING THE HEATING PROCESS! OPENING THE DOOR ALLOWS COOLER AIR TO ENTER THE STOVE AREA AND CAN CAUSE THE ROCKS TO EXPLODE, CAUSING DAMAGE TO YOUE STOVE - VERY IMPORTANT!
8) when the rocks have cooled completely down, simply remove them and you'll have the red variety of Tiger Eye!
This process has been used by the mining/marketing industry for years. The only true red Tiger Eye is the varigated type found with gold and the greenish-blue variety. Full red pieces have been heat treated.
Damage can occour to stoves if there is an excessive amount of water in the stones or if the door is opened during the treating process. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO LEAVE THE DOOR CLOSED DURING THE ENTIRE PROCESS!
Like the miner I got these directions from said ... "that is how we do it, and I am not responsible if something goes wrong."
I have done this many times without any problems as of yet! They turn out very nicely!
I have also used this process to anneal large pieces of Agates, Brazilian Agates mostly. It allows the saw to cut through the rough much easier. And when you are cutting a 6" x 10" piece of rough on a 14" saw ... you can use all of the help you can get!
Enjoy,
John
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