chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
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Post by chandler on Nov 23, 2020 22:02:02 GMT -5
This is my first post of my backyard finds! I don't even know what questions to ask or where to begin. I have a few other backyard agates, but this is the only one where the druzy is exposed. What would you do?   |
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Post by pauls on Nov 24, 2020 2:16:35 GMT -5
Nice find. I would polish just that flattish face with the druzy pocket and leave the rest raw.
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Post by rmf on Nov 24, 2020 3:08:27 GMT -5
so the question is what equipment do you have? That would determine what you do. If I had a grinder with a variety of wheels I would do just exactly what pauls said polish the face of the first image leaving the rest rough. If you have a rock tumbler then I would pour the cavity full of epoxy and tumble the rock. Once polished all around I would dissolve the epoxy out with acetone. |
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chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
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Post by chandler on Nov 24, 2020 12:48:33 GMT -5
  thank you for the replies! I don't have any equipment at all right now and what I do get depends on recommendations of what to do with these stones I found. Should I get a polisher first or a skill saw or a drimmel? I have another rock that has some promising glow inside. I don't know what to do with it either. |
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chandler
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2020
Posts: 105
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Post by chandler on Nov 24, 2020 13:14:10 GMT -5
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 24, 2020 14:15:15 GMT -5
So, the list of equipment you'll need is as long as my arm...dremel (and about a 1,000 different bits!), rotary tumblers (at least 3 or 4), vibratory tumblers (again 3 or 4 might not turn out to be enough!), trim saw, slab saw, cabbing machines (Cabking, flatlap, slant cabber)...and the list goes on! I'm kind of kidding with the above, but you'll only be limited with what you can do with the rocks as to what kind of equipment you want to get...then you're simply limited by budget. With the first one you showed, I'd likely do as pauls suggested and polish the front with a dremel and leave the rest raw. I have Fairburn agates which I refuse to do anything with other than cleaning them up in some Iron Out and leaving them in their form as I found them. Bubble gum agates however, I'll put in the rotary tumbler to get at what's "underneath" the surface... On your second specimen, if it were me, I'd put it in the rotary tumbler to "round" it and get at what's underneath...but you could use a grinding wheel on a dremel to knock back the outside, then put it in a vibratroy tumbler to polish it out...again, it just depends on what you want to accomplish. The possibilities seem endless with this hobby!   |
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Post by stephan on Nov 25, 2020 0:00:11 GMT -5
“I found these is my backyard,” he says... Sheesh. Must be rough.  Look forward to seeing the results. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 25, 2020 0:06:50 GMT -5
“I found these is my backyard,” he says... Sheesh. Must be rough. Look forward to seeing the results. I found three Fairburn Agates in my backyard...of course they were "delivered" with the landscape rock...but still in my backyard! LOL If you come and live in the bitter cold north, you too can find neat stuff in your yard! LOL Wait...I think both you and chandler have sunshine and warmth in your backyard...I'm pretty sure Chandler has the best of both worlds here! |
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Post by stephan on Nov 25, 2020 0:15:33 GMT -5
jasoninsd It’s probably more related to the size of the yard. Typical residential here is 1/8 acre or less. I have friends that live on a creek, with a couple of acres. I’ve found jasp-agates in their back yard.... Oh, yeah, not just any Creek, but Putah Creek, which is CCR’s “Green River.” And, btw, Putah Creek is not a rude Spanish name — it’s Miwok (“Grassy Plain”). 
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Post by 1dave on Dec 2, 2020 15:02:11 GMT -5
I would fill the hollow with wax to keep contamination out, Slice the face off with a small cheap tile saw to make into a cab, Shape and polish it for posterity to drool over. drooling This is my first post of my backyard finds! I don't even know what questions to ask or where to begin. I have a few other backyard agates, but this is the only one where the druzy is exposed. What would you do? |
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birdbrain
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2021
Posts: 7
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Post by birdbrain on Apr 27, 2021 12:32:37 GMT -5
Really pretty little agate. What I would like to know is where is your back yard? Jk lol! I find nice little agates when I house sit for my daughter she lives close to agate lake in Oregon. Nice find!
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Post by paulshiroma on Apr 27, 2021 14:54:00 GMT -5
I envy those who find this material in your backyard! That's awesome! Great pics, too. Keep them coming. I'll be curious to see what you do.
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