kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Nov 22, 2020 13:01:33 GMT -5
Hazaa! Finally after months of tumbling, I've produced a relatively decent batch of rocks I spent over 2 months trying to beat some basalty Lakers into decent shape. They are wilfull hard rocks that don't play well with others. I've sworn that I will never (they sure are pretty) never ( look at those patterns) never ( maybe just a few...) ever ( oh look, Kingsley North has more in stock...) attempt to tumble Lakers again! Along with the lakers are an assortment of self collected petrified wood Agate Jasper and dinosaur bone . I also put in some misc agates that were hold overs from previous batches. I had some chipping in the final polish but much better than my recent batches. The Lakers had so much basalt in them, that I had alot of pitting that I couldn't get the polish out of. Anyone have some cleaning tips? The basalt...err..I mean Lakers. The petrified wood. Mostly palm it appears. Jaspers Agate buddies Dino bone from East Texas. Not sure about the red one. It might be an agate. I'll post some close ups later. I just was so happy, I finally had a semi decent batch. I had to share it with you all
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Post by miket on Nov 22, 2020 13:14:14 GMT -5
Oh, I like shiny things... Nice job!
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Nov 23, 2020 8:15:19 GMT -5
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Nov 23, 2020 9:06:13 GMT -5
Good job. The stringy moss agate is my favorite.
Chuck
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 9:31:37 GMT -5
Way to go! You did get some "shiny's" outta that one! I've gotta agree with Chuck. The stringy moss agate is gorgeous!
You had me chuckling with your intro...it's comforting to hear others are "gluttons for punishment" as well as me! LOL
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 23, 2020 10:35:38 GMT -5
Nice rolls...
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Nov 23, 2020 20:21:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments. I never thought I'd be able to produce a nice batch like this. Ya jasoninsd I had a love hate thing with the Laker agates. They were not colordul like I thought they'd be and they were very pitted material when I got them. They ended up as intrresting rocks though. I like the wine red ones. One has a leaf shape in it and the other one has these plate like things inside. I just love agate.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 23, 2020 20:28:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments. I never thought I'd be able to produce a nice batch like this. Ya jasoninsd I had a love hate thing with the Laker agates. They were not colordul like I thought they'd be and they were very pitted material when I got them. They ended up as intrresting rocks though. I like the wine red ones. One has a leaf shape in it and the other one has these plate like things inside. I just love agate. I'm starting to learn the same kind of issues exist with Bubble Gum agates. I've got some finishing up in the vibe this week. I'll post some in a thread sometime after Thanksgiving...some will look good, but most have issues...
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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 Nov 23, 2020 20:36:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments. I never thought I'd be able to produce a nice batch like this. Ya jasoninsd I had a love hate thing with the Laker agates. They were not colordul like I thought they'd be and they were very pitted material when I got them. They ended up as intrresting rocks though. I like the wine red ones. One has a leaf shape in it and the other one has these plate like things inside. I just love agate. You should make (force) knave to hound you some lake superior agates, what he sent me was stunning. Takes a long time to shape but it's worth it. Well worth the money also, if you ask me. He doesn't pick up the crappy ones.
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Nov 23, 2020 20:49:35 GMT -5
Oh I look forward to seeing that post-thanksgiving batch Jason! The bubblegum agates are interesting rocks. I'm curious to see what they look like polished. Those are nice agates EricD! I have one rock that looks like the red one he has. It's in the rotary now. I'm glad to hear you say they are hard to round. I thought I was doing something wrong. It took about 2 months to get mine looking decent. They seem like they are harder than mohs 7. They bashed up several of my nice native agates. They're in Rotary Recovery now. Lol
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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 Nov 23, 2020 20:54:30 GMT -5
Oh I look forward to seeing that post-thanksgiving batch Jason! The bubblegum agates are interesting rocks. I'm curious to see what they look like polished. Those are nice agates EricD ! I have one rock that looks like the red one he has. It's in the rotary now. I'm glad to hear you say they are hard to round. I thought I was doing something wrong. It took about 2 months to get mine looking decent. They seem like they are harder than mohs 7. They bashed up several of my nice native agates. They're in Rotary Recovery now. Lol Haha, yeah they are really really hard. I'm not sure if what you got were truly Lake Superior Agates or not, they didn't look like it to me. The LSA are really banded. You may have been sold some other agates that look similar
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Nov 25, 2020 9:17:36 GMT -5
You know, I wondered the same thing. When I first received them, it looked like mostly basalt. Once I cut some of them open, I could see the Agate inclusions but only a few of them were actually solid agate/ red chalcendony. Two of the patterned Basalts that had bands of Agate in them we're really very beautiful rocks. I didn't do them justice with the photos I took. They're much prettier in person. I'll have to talk to Knave in the spring when things get warm again. The Great Lakes are no place to be in the winter . Weirdly, it's the granite's and unusually colored rocks that I like the most when I watch the Lake Superior rockhounding videos. If I lived up there, I'd be THAT rockhound... You know the one with the bucket full of granite LOL. Jugglerguy threw out an amazing purple, yellow and white quartz on a recent video I saw that made me sad. That poor Mardi Gras rock was just looking for a good home... Shame on you Rob 😃😃
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 892
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Post by dshanpnw on Jan 2, 2021 10:20:48 GMT -5
Hello Kyoti, that is an excellent "relatively decent batch". The stringy moss/weird dino bone is superb! How do you identify petrified wood? All I know is to associate it with the trees growing in the area where you find it. I've been finding lots of it on the beach lately. Thanks and thanks for posting great photos.
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Jan 2, 2021 11:02:18 GMT -5
Hello Kyoti, that is an excellent "relatively decent batch". The stringy moss/weird dino bone is superb! How do you identify petrified wood? All I know is to associate it with the trees growing in the area where you find it. I've been finding lots of it on the beach lately. Thanks and thanks for posting great photos. Thank you very much for the compliments! It really was my first decent batch. You should have seen the horrors that came out of my tumbler prior to this batch lol. It's hard to stay patient. For identifying the Petrified Wood, it can be tricky. I've learned to look for a grain or texture in the piece that extends all the way through to the top and bottom in the same direction. Most of the wood in this area seems to be palmwood. Sometimes it appears like a creamy white agate with black patches in it. Here are some examples of what what it looks like in the rough form. The one at the top has gone through one week of rough grind.
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Jan 2, 2021 11:09:50 GMT -5
I just realized you might have meant how do you identify the species of petrified wood. I'm a little slow this morning I have it easy in this area because it's almost all palm. Palm is easy because it has no growth rings. It's just fibers all the way through. End cuts look like they're filled with polka dots. I'm honestly not sure how to identify other species. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 892
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Post by dshanpnw on Jan 2, 2021 16:24:05 GMT -5
Hello, thanks for the photos and the reply. I've been finding a lot of petrified wood lately and it would be nice to know what species of tree it is. I'll get it figured out. I would like to share a photo of my first batch because it took me so long to complete in a vibe. It took two months of trial and error. I haven't figured out Cloudinary yet. Stay healthy and safe.
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chandler3d
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 8
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Post by chandler3d on Jan 3, 2021 0:22:45 GMT -5
These are great! You got them to take a fantastic shine! I'm loving those Lakers!
I wash my rocks with a toothbrush in a water and borax mixture between each stage and that has seemed to help a bit. It can be time consuming sometimes, but I personally don't mind doing it. I recently got a ultrasonic cleaner, so I'll be giving that a shot to see if it helps too.
I'm wondering if that red dinosaur bone might actually be petrified wood. I'm certainly nothing close to expert, so take this with a grain of salt, but it resembles some other pictures I've seen of it.
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Jan 5, 2021 8:04:28 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing your tumble dshanpnw ! The cloudinary instructions work pretty well but if you're on a cell phone you'll need to select desktop version to upload pictures. At least with Android devices. chandler3d I usually give he rocks a good scrubbing too between the medium and fine grits with warm water and a toothbrush. I also run them in the rotary tumbler for an hour or two with warm water and Ivory soap shavings between the polish and fine grits. It séems to clean them well.
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rockhoundmn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since November 2020
Posts: 75
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Post by rockhoundmn on Jan 14, 2021 16:07:49 GMT -5
How satisfying to see that shine:)
I love that blue dino thingy!
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,506
Member is Online
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Post by Brian on Jan 15, 2021 9:58:59 GMT -5
That stingy miss agate is fantastic! I also love that bluish dino bone, too. Heck, they all look good!
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