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 27, 2021 23:49:49 GMT -5
Been going bonkers with the saw. The weather is getting a little bit better each day, so I'm able to get through a few more rocks each time before my fingers go numb. I'm on a fridge magnet kick right now, which is probably what all of these are going to become. I picked up a pack of 100 neodymium magnets off ebay, they're N48s 1/2" diameter and 1/16" thick. They're plenty strong enough and the low profile will be nice. Overview of all the cuts the past few days, about 60 slices (not all shown in below closeups).  Picked up a few Montana agates from a local shop.  One had some nice banding. Quite the variety inside.  A couple just listed as "agate"   Carnelians. One on the left turned out to be super fragile. The agate banding itself is solid, but the quartzy matrix around it likes to break away.  Middle and right are stunning. What's this green stripy stuff?  Some misc pieces. Bottom is some jasper I found in Utah with some agate in it.  They're tumbling to remove saw marks and get polished up. I'll post an update in a few weeks when they come out. |
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Post by miket on Mar 28, 2021 4:54:48 GMT -5
Man, you have been busy!
These look like they're going to turn out fantastic can't wait to see the finished product...
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Post by fernwood on Mar 28, 2021 5:13:41 GMT -5
Nice cuts.
Can you get a closer photo of the green areas? It sort of looks like Malachite.
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 28, 2021 7:30:34 GMT -5
Nice looking slabs!  Are you doing any more shaping, other than polishing? Or are you leaving them as slab magnets? |
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standles
spending too much on rocks
Well all I got was a rock ... Cool!
Member since February 2021
Posts: 325 
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Post by standles on Mar 28, 2021 8:53:30 GMT -5
I did a batch of fridge magnets with some tumbled stone recently. I was going to be efficient and batch them. I lined all my rocks out. put a dab of 5 min epoxy on each. Placed a magnet in middle of dab and admired my craftiness. I got up to go get a beer while the epoxy cured. Returned to find all the magnets had migrated towards each other some even pulling off the stone and flying over to its neighbor. *&%*^*&^%*&&
Now I respect the rare earth power and make sure they are well separated from each other.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 28, 2021 8:59:07 GMT -5
I did a batch of fridge magnets with some tumbled stone recently. I was going to be efficient and batch them. I lined all my rocks out. put a dab of 5 min epoxy on each. Placed a magnet in middle of dab and admired my craftiness. I got up to go get a beer while the epoxy cured. Returned to find all the magnets had migrated towards each other some even pulling off the stone and flying over to its neighbor. *&%*^*&^%*&& Now I respect the rare earth power and make sure they are well separated from each other. I know it's not funny, but the visual of that made me laugh. Good lesson for anyone doing this for the first time.  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 28, 2021 22:57:45 GMT -5
I did a batch of fridge magnets with some tumbled stone recently. I was going to be efficient and batch them. I lined all my rocks out. put a dab of 5 min epoxy on each. Placed a magnet in middle of dab and admired my craftiness. I got up to go get a beer while the epoxy cured. Returned to find all the magnets had migrated towards each other some even pulling off the stone and flying over to its neighbor. *&%*^*&^%*&& Now I respect the rare earth power and make sure they are well separated from each other. I am very sorry for your misfortune...But, kind of along the lines of what Robin ( hummingbirdstones) said, I had to laugh. It's sort of like those moments when you see someone trip and involuntarily laugh BEFORE you ask if they're ok! |
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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 29, 2021 0:07:18 GMT -5
Nice cuts. Can you get a closer photo of the green areas? It sort of looks like Malachite. I will do that now. As cool as malachite sounds, it's also terrifying since they've been in the tumbler for 24 hours now. What's the nicest way to say, "I hope you're wrong" for the sake of what I may have just done to the rock? lol Are you doing any more shaping, other than polishing? Or are you leaving them as slab magnets? Nah, just let the tumbler round over the outer crust a little - leaving that outer edge semi-natural and not grinding it to oblivion. I did a batch of fridge magnets with some tumbled stone recently. I was going to be efficient and batch them. I lined all my rocks out. put a dab of 5 min epoxy on each. Placed a magnet in middle of dab and admired my craftiness. I got up to go get a beer while the epoxy cured. Returned to find all the magnets had migrated towards each other some even pulling off the stone and flying over to its neighbor. *&%*^*&^%*&& Now I respect the rare earth power and make sure they are well separated from each other. That is a really good point, because they will, right. I have these little mini clamps I was planning to use to hold them in place, and to make sure whatever adhesive I choose doesn't have a mind of its own. I'm probably not going to use the bottle of CA gorilla glue I have, but that stuff likes to bubble and expand as it cures. For that I for sure have to use the clamps. |
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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 29, 2021 0:41:44 GMT -5
I cracked a barrel open. Pro tip: having a spray bottle to wash the lid off into the barrel and clean the gasket seat helps a lot. I fished around and found two. The pixel doesn't play nice with closeups so this is as close as I can get before it freaks out. I'm not sure if I'm convinced, just in that the material is still there and not massively undercut. Patterns are suspicious just googling slabs of malachite. Thoughts?    backside catches what the outer crust looks like.  |
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Mar 29, 2021 7:11:15 GMT -5
I like the green in that one. The only help I can provide is to say it looks kinda like miket’s recent agua nueva agate pictures. It looks a little missy in the closeup pictures and his had that mossy green look as well. Yours seems more solid and defined than the other pictures I saw online. |
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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 Apr 10, 2021 1:43:17 GMT -5
Bots I cut made it through the tumbler. Figured I'd post them here since they'll be getting magnets on them here soon.  Some glamor glare shots. They show fingerprints really easily so I had to buff them up before the photos.   These didn't come out nearly as shiny, but that's what happens with random river stones. They're still interesting though. There's some drilling practice pieces with 3mm holes.  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 10, 2021 1:52:56 GMT -5
My gosh, those bots are amazing! Super great shine on those! (And not ONE fingerprint!  ) |
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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 Apr 10, 2021 2:22:02 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure I'll be joining next year's tumbling contest.
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darrad
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2006
Posts: 1,636
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Post by darrad on Apr 10, 2021 3:03:00 GMT -5
Those Bots are killer! Looks like you had some whole nodules. Those are getting hard to find.
The red from Utah I have heard it called "pipe line canyon agate"
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Apr 10, 2021 7:50:52 GMT -5
That’s a beautiful set of Bots!
The one pretty much in the center is fascinating! The lines on the bottom are so clean and straight. Then the upper side is all squiggly. Makes me wonder how that one formed.
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irlcjrohr
starting to spend too much on rocks
If it does not melt, polish it.
Member since April 2020
Posts: 123
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Post by irlcjrohr on Apr 10, 2021 9:23:10 GMT -5
Thank you for including the information on the magnets you use. I am going to make some up for family and friends. How did the Utah jasper turn out?
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller 
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,640
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Post by RWA3006 on Apr 10, 2021 9:37:27 GMT -5
I did a batch of fridge magnets with some tumbled stone recently. I was going to be efficient and batch them. I lined all my rocks out. put a dab of 5 min epoxy on each. Placed a magnet in middle of dab and admired my craftiness. I got up to go get a beer while the epoxy cured. Returned to find all the magnets had migrated towards each other some even pulling off the stone and flying over to its neighbor. *&%*^*&^%*&& Now I respect the rare earth power and make sure they are well separated from each other. I had to laugh when I read this because the same thing happened to me. I used E6000 adhesive and carefully set them up and when I came back a while later they were all over the place. |
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Apr 10, 2021 10:21:03 GMT -5
Benathema GREAT bots. I really like the slices and you got a sweet shine. Nicely done.
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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
|
Post by Benathema on Apr 10, 2021 13:17:39 GMT -5
Thank you for including the information on the magnets you use. I am going to make some up for family and friend. How did the Utah jasper turn out? Still in progress - a few weeks out. I need to get a vibe. |
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irlcjrohr
starting to spend too much on rocks
If it does not melt, polish it.
Member since April 2020
Posts: 123
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Post by irlcjrohr on Apr 10, 2021 13:45:42 GMT -5
Thank you for including the information on the magnets you use. I am going to make some up for family and friend. How did the Utah jasper turn out? Still in progress - a few weeks out. I need to get a vibe. Yes to the vibe. After 2 years of rotary tumbling I added the lot-o for the 3rd and 4th stages and have loved the results. |
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