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Post by HankRocks on Jul 15, 2020 16:04:22 GMT -5
A couple weeks ago finished a load of Pendants along with 5 large Brazilian slabs. I started with just over 180 pieces and after losses along the way and ones at the end I threw back in the re grind pile. Ended up with 150. It took me about 3 months to get a full load ready to run. It took about 40 days to run through the whole tumbling process. Finally getting around to posting a few pictures. Must say I am still not satisfied with the picture quality. Maybe someday I will get there. IMG_1898 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1900 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1901 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1903 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1906 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1908 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1910 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1913 by Findrocks, on Flickr IMG_1914 by Findrocks, on Flickr Only posted about half of the pics, will post more in a couple days. Henry
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 15, 2020 19:48:22 GMT -5
Beautiful stones, Henry. Those tiger eyes are killer!
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EricD
Cave Dweller
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Jul 15, 2020 20:40:30 GMT -5
Stunning
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,563
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Post by jamesp on Jul 15, 2020 20:52:44 GMT -5
wow Henry. Those are awesome. Bet I could make people wear sunglasses with a fancy camera. Those materials are prettier than the photos depict.
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 15, 2020 21:10:51 GMT -5
wow Henry. Those are awesome. Bet I could make people wear sunglasses with a fancy camera. Those materials are prettier than the photos depict. It's frustrating to know that these are better than the pictures show. The camera is a pretty good one that my wife bought for herself. I do miss the simplicity of the old 35mm film cameras, focus, light meter, and depth of field. The new digital ones have too many more settings and my patience for these days.(sure don't miss the film). It must be something to do with the light setting.
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 15, 2020 21:19:23 GMT -5
Beautiful stones, Henry. Those tiger eyes are killer! Even despite the picture quality, Tigereye is difficult to capture in an image. 4 of the pieces are veriegated, my wife took a liking to those as soon as she saw them. Have a feeling that at least a couple will end up in her jewelry box. On the other hand it's a good policy to keep management happy!! Fortunately for me I managed to buy a 13 pound, almost 2 inch thick piece of tiger eye that looks to have the same verigation throughout.
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Post by knave on Jul 15, 2020 21:22:47 GMT -5
Mr Henry, I’m impressed! If memory serves you are 100% rotary? Those pendants seem flawless and impeccable!
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Post by knave on Jul 15, 2020 21:25:56 GMT -5
A question: Do you drill holes and use pinch bails, or sell as cabochons?
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 15, 2020 21:40:01 GMT -5
Mr Henry, I’m impressed! If memory serves you are 100% rotary? Those pendants seem flawless and impeccable! Thanks, I am getting better. That and I didn't show the ones that have an odd shape or just did not look that attractive. On the other hand I manage to sell a good many of the less attractive ones to ladies looking for a particular shade or color. Those same pieces that would probably not sell to a trained lapidary/rock person find a market at the Craft Shows I do(or should I say have done in what now seems like the distant past!!) All Rotary except Polish which was run in the UV-18 vibe. Each stage went a couple extra days over the norm, 9 to 10 days. With so many flat to close to flat surfaces my thinking is they need more time. I do lose a % of them in the process due to breakage, of course they most likely would break if I took them all the way to polish on wheels. Even despite looking for fractures or weak spots, some get through. Some of the broken ones will go back through with a slightly altered shape. I have started putting a slight dome on most these days. That definitely helps with the polish.
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 15, 2020 21:42:55 GMT -5
A question: Do you drill holes and use pinch bails, or sell as cabochons? Drill and Pinch Bails. I did have a friend wire wrap about 15 for me which I end up selling over the course of 3 or 4 Shows.
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Post by miket on Jul 15, 2020 21:43:51 GMT -5
Very nice, Henry! Your work gives me hope and something to shoot for since our polishing styles are similar. 😁
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billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Jul 15, 2020 22:17:39 GMT -5
They look great!
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Post by tims on Jul 16, 2020 0:02:44 GMT -5
150 / 180 sounds like a decent survival rate. Beautiful stones though ... it probably hurts to lose any.
FWIW i have an old digital camera, and i've found that shooting against a really light background produces weird pictures as opposed to shooting against a neutral color. I think your pics look pretty good, but maybe something to try.
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 16, 2020 3:17:41 GMT -5
150 / 180 sounds like a decent survival rate. Beautiful stones though ... it probably hurts to lose any. FWIW i have an old digital camera, and i've found that shooting against a really light background produces weird pictures as opposed to shooting against a neutral color. I think your pics look pretty good, but maybe something to try. Went back and reviewed other folks pictures and noticed a lot of neutral backgrounds. Going to give that a try. Thanks for the tip. I am going to stop tumbling the larger slabs with the pendants. They are probably increasing the breakage rate. On the other hand they could be increasing the cutting/smoothing rate. Maybe just have them in the Coarse Stage and then take them out and replace with previously polished Pea Gravel for next stages. Have built up a load of 130 pieces that is a combination of "softer" material and previously polished pieces that were re-ground. It's pretty easy to identify the "softer" material during the shaping and rough grinding phase. Planning a differing Process for them. Will probably start with 220 SiC in the Rotary, maybe half the grit as normal and a shorter time, maybe 5 to 6 days. Would like to also try a load of maybe 20 to 30 large slabs, mostly Brazilian or solid pattern agate with no noticeable fractures. All the ones with fractures are set aside for pendant stock. The problem I see is having too many big slabs and having them stick together in the process, reducing the grinding/smoothing. This all sounds complicated but it does re-enforce my previous comment on the Forum that there is not one way to tumble polish rocks and the process needs to be adjusted per the mix of Rocks. It does help to keep those old brain cells active!!
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oldschoolrocker
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,578
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Post by oldschoolrocker on Jul 16, 2020 6:35:45 GMT -5
those all look fantastic! the only thing I'd suggest is when taking pictures try using a non white background. when take pictures with my phone if the background is white it yellows the white area and darkens the cabs or rocks. grey works well as background for me
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Post by orrum on Jul 16, 2020 8:32:02 GMT -5
That's vfc such a great bat CV handle you made so many!!! Wow they are vfc stellar. Go tumble cabs!!!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 16, 2020 9:02:35 GMT -5
Wow, you got some nice polishes on those. The snowflake obsid looks real good.
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 16, 2020 10:16:34 GMT -5
Wow, you got some nice polishes on those. The snowflake obsid looks real good. I think the extra days in the 600 SiC and the 500 AO stages really helps with the final polish. Suspect that no one ever wishes they had run less days in the pre-polish stage(s). Was a bit surprised by the polish on the Snowflake. Usually obsidian does not get the high polish and I buff them on the polished charged felt on the Expando drum. I have a lot more Obsidian in the "soft" batch I will start in a few days so will be curious to see how it turns out.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,432
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Post by Wooferhound on Jul 16, 2020 10:35:16 GMT -5
wow Henry. Those are awesome. Bet I could make people wear sunglasses with a fancy camera. Those materials are prettier than the photos depict. It's frustrating to know that these are better than the pictures show. The camera is a pretty good one that my wife bought for herself. I do miss the simplicity of the old 35mm film cameras, focus, light meter, and depth of field. The new digital ones have too many more settings and my patience for these days.(sure don't miss the film). It must be something to do with the light setting. Try shooting on a Black Background and if you know how to set the light on the camera, then set it to Incandescent, or the picture of the Light Bulb
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Post by fernwood on Jul 16, 2020 12:29:48 GMT -5
What nice bunch. I am partial to the snowflake.
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