djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
|
Post by djsparkles on Jul 12, 2020 12:30:12 GMT -5
Had a decent sized run come out today, and a lot of the stones are cracked and/or chipped.
I know if you tumble different hardness, it'll happen, but these were all chrysocolla.
So what did I do wrong? I'm so upset, these were NICE rough and now they're damaged.
Any suggestions? I want to do more of it but if I can't figure out why they cracked, I won't. Don't want to waste the stone...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions to prevent this.
|
|
|
Post by knave on Jul 12, 2020 13:37:24 GMT -5
Chrysocolla in quartz?
|
|
djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
|
Post by djsparkles on Jul 12, 2020 15:16:27 GMT -5
I'll send through some pics when I get home. I don't think there's any quartz involved in this batch.
|
|
djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
|
Post by djsparkles on Jul 13, 2020 8:34:05 GMT -5
Okay, so I got in late late last night. Here's a pic of one of the least damaged, but you can still see the cracking. This one is a lot better than most of them. Any advice would be appreciated! DJ
|
|
|
Post by knave on Jul 13, 2020 8:39:00 GMT -5
I hate to be that guy, but it looks like Amazonite to me, which would explain the extreme chipping. Kind of a fragile rock.
|
|
|
Post by knave on Jul 13, 2020 8:54:53 GMT -5
Chrysocolla ad Tenorite Chrysocolla in quartz
|
|
djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
|
Post by djsparkles on Jul 13, 2020 8:57:43 GMT -5
Okay... any suggestions to avoid the cracking? and thanks for the ID, I'm still getting the hang of this LOL DJ
|
|
|
Post by knave on Jul 13, 2020 9:00:59 GMT -5
|
|
djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
|
Post by djsparkles on Jul 13, 2020 12:29:57 GMT -5
Thanks! I'll have a look while I'm in town. Unfortunately I have super-craptastic internet at home LOL
DJ
|
|
lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 866
|
Post by lordsorril on Jul 13, 2020 12:34:57 GMT -5
Okay... any suggestions to avoid the cracking? and thanks for the ID, I'm still getting the hang of this LOL DJ I received some of this material for free in a GemsByMail 'Madagascar Mix' I was sent a while back. It appears to be Amazonite in a Smoky Quartz matrix. I couldn't use silicon carbide to shape it without serious undercutting/fracturing of the Amazonite banding. Instead I had to use 120 AOx grit with 3/4 barrel full cushioning to shape in a rotary for 3-4 weeks, and then several (5-7 runs/2 days each) at 220 AOx in a vibe and periodically remove the 'good' pieces for pre-polish. Even at pre/post polish there were casualties that got moved back to the 220 AOx vibe stage. I have some solid chunks of Amazonite kicking around (like those pictured in the video above). I expect them to be a breeze in comparison.
|
|
djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
|
Post by djsparkles on Jul 13, 2020 16:45:10 GMT -5
Wow. Yeah, that's where I got this stuff, it was billed as chrysocolla. Very strange indeed. I'll have to remember to keep this stuff well cushioned and change my first stage grit for it. Not using a vibe at the moment, too expensive for my blood. I'm on a fixed income at the moment (think none) so every penny counts. I'm going through stuff I got before I got downsized... Thank you lordsorrilknave I completely missed the first post you made I'm so sorry! It was labeled as chrysocolla when I received it, which was what I ordered. I also have some amazonite rough that I'm gonna work with next so I'll be able to compare the two. I believe you're right, though. I still need help identifying my rocks, though LOL Complete noob when it comes to knowing what I've got so far. And thank you for the video, it was very informative! DJ
|
|
|
Post by knave on Jul 13, 2020 17:45:13 GMT -5
My pleasure djsparkles... I got some Amazonite from Amazon and it had some of that dark matrix in it. I never did get a perfect tumble yet from it. Use plenty of pea gravel or cushioning, and use finer grit than normal. Good luck, keep us posted!
|
|