braat
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 350
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Post by braat on Mar 28, 2020 20:11:12 GMT -5
Most of the rocks I tumble are local finds and when I get home they get cleaned and examined (they don't look near as good under house lights). The odd one gets heaved into the "What was I thinking" container . Those that look the right size/shape and don't look like they'll take forever to tumble off the bad parts go into the tumble ready bucket. Close to tumble size rocks get pre-shaped on the tile saw. Larger rocks I'll cut off a piece and shape it on the tile saw and throw that in the tumble ready bucket as well. I set the larger piece aside and if the tumbled piece turns out good I cut up the rest of it for tumbling. But if the tumbled piece is a dud the mother gets heaved. Sometimes it's difficult to marry up the tumbled piece to the mother rock because it changes so much or there are other mother rocks that are similar. Hope that all makes sense...anyways I'm curious how others process their rocks?? Thanks...
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Post by 1dave on Mar 28, 2020 21:37:44 GMT -5
Did you ever worry about returning them to their "rightful places" so the world doesn't flip over out of balance?
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Post by 1dave on Mar 28, 2020 21:42:56 GMT -5
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braat
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 350
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Post by braat on Mar 28, 2020 22:17:23 GMT -5
Did you ever worry about returning them to their "rightful places" so the world doesn't flip over out of balance? Haha. Assuming current accumulation rates there will be a giant depression in the landscape when I croak and many millions of years from now some rock hound will discover a new crater with my petrified remains in the center and wonder what historic event took place that could have caused it....
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 28, 2020 22:43:46 GMT -5
I am not very technical when it comes to pre-processing for tumbling. I have never cut or ground on a rough rock prior to it being tumbled with the exception of splitting nodules in half. All of my large rocks get reduced to tumble size with a sledge hammer. With the exception of Petoskey stones every single rock I have ever tumbled has been tossed into stage one in mixed loads. That includes everything from apache tears to botswana agates running together. During my weekly clean outs I do look for rocks that are nearly ready to move on but have just a few remaining bad spots and I will either cut that area off or do a little grinding. Dedicated batches are rare for me. I would say 90% or more of my finished tumbles have been mixed batches. Pretty much all rocks get a chance in the tumbler. I do not sort and high grade. If a rock still looks bad during the second or third clean out it then gets placed in box and eventually gets dumped in my lapidary discard pile at the cabin.
Chuck
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 29, 2020 11:16:10 GMT -5
I just throw them in the tumblers and see what happens... Usually they turn out pretty good and always get sold or gifted, no matter what they looked like...
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shardy
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2019
Posts: 110
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Post by shardy on Mar 29, 2020 15:23:13 GMT -5
I toss them in. If they're big I shatter them first. If they look like a lost cause along the way they go in the "clunker" bin.
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Post by pauls on Mar 30, 2020 15:17:46 GMT -5
The best pre processing is a couple of weeks in coarse, that gets all the crusty bits off so you can see what is going to be worthwhile. I am ruthless at this stage, anything boring, cracked, or pitted is either tossed or sawed or ground to remove any flaws.
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Post by knave on Mar 30, 2020 15:31:19 GMT -5
I perk up when pauls chimes in....... How are things in Australia?
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Mar 30, 2020 16:13:36 GMT -5
I like to say, "Chuck it in the #$&@ it bucket" because it rhymes.
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Post by miket on Mar 30, 2020 16:14:22 GMT -5
I like to say, "Chuck it in the #$&@ it bucket" because it rhymes.
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gemfreak95
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2020
Posts: 110
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Post by gemfreak95 on Mar 30, 2020 17:41:51 GMT -5
If they're big I shatter them first. What do you do to shatter them? I just ordered 1lb of blue tiger's-eye from Kingsley North and they sent me a single piece that someone with a flat lap could turn into a beautiful bookend, but is useless to me.
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shardy
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2019
Posts: 110
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Post by shardy on Mar 30, 2020 18:04:24 GMT -5
Sledge hammer. Wrap the rock in a rag, place in a bag, smash. I would consider cutting blue tiger eye into cubes though, might be cool. If they're big I shatter them first. What do you do to shatter them? I just ordered 1lb of blue tiger's-eye from Kingsley North and they sent me a single piece that someone with a flat lap could turn into a beautiful bookend, but is useless to me.
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gemfreak95
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2020
Posts: 110
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Post by gemfreak95 on Mar 30, 2020 19:18:10 GMT -5
That's a very cool idea, but the only equipment I have is an off-brand dual-barrel 3lb tumbler and a Dremel.
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Mar 30, 2020 19:22:18 GMT -5
I just ordered 1lb of blue tiger's-eye from Kingsley North and they sent me a single piece that someone with a flat lap could turn into a beautiful bookend, but is useless to me. So uh... *breaths in* how big we talking here? Getting a big chunk of blue Tiger's-eye is on my list of desires. Maybe I'll hold out for something bigger than 1lb
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Post by pauls on Mar 31, 2020 23:22:54 GMT -5
I perk up when pauls chimes in....... How are things in Australia? Summers almost over, good, it's been too hot and dry for too long. Our trip to Agate Creek is off this year, they wont let anyone travel interstate and I think you would be tarred and feathered if you turned up in an outback town and coughed, normally great people but you can't blame them for wanting to keep possibly infected grey nomads away.
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Post by knave on Apr 1, 2020 3:49:38 GMT -5
Too bad about agate creek, but sounds like you are well, glad to hear it.
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gemfreak95
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2020
Posts: 110
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Post by gemfreak95 on Apr 24, 2020 22:22:06 GMT -5
I just ordered 1lb of blue tiger's-eye from Kingsley North and they sent me a single piece that someone with a flat lap could turn into a beautiful bookend, but is useless to me. So uh... *breaths in* how big we talking here? Getting a big chunk of blue Tiger's-eye is on my list of desires. Maybe I'll hold out for something bigger than 1lb Sorry it took so long to respond. My work schedule has been dreadful and I've had a terrible time getting Cloudinary to cooperate. Anyways, this is the slab I received: The matrix is just a thin crust on this side... ... and about 1/4" thick on this side. This *should* be the chatoyant side, but I still haven't figured out how to make it show up in photos (something other than a phone camera might help). Also, it's supposed to be a deep, nearly sapphire-blue, not black. In hindsight, calling it bookend-sized might have been a little generous.
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