waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
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Post by waterboysh on May 21, 2021 15:17:21 GMT -5
waterboysh - Those are Turritella Agates. They can be an absolute pain to tumble as well as cab. The matrix can be really prone to pits and fractures. Personally I don't believe they would do any damage to any of the other rocks - Turritella is relatively soft.  Well, I needed to order a couple of things from The Rock Shed anyway, so I just ordered 2 lbs of Turritella Agates to go with it. Did a little bit of reading on it, and it seems like it will be best to tumble it without any other types of rocks and I definitely don't have enough to fill a barrel. It's probably not the best thing for a beginner like me to try, but I really like it so at least I'll learn from it. Maybe it'll do better in the course stage without anything else that could be harder than it. In any case, I probably won't have a spare barrel for a while, but maybe in a few weeks I can throw them into my 33b in course and get them started. |
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Post by jasoninsd on May 21, 2021 22:10:28 GMT -5
waterboysh - Those are Turritella Agates. They can be an absolute pain to tumble as well as cab. The matrix can be really prone to pits and fractures. Personally I don't believe they would do any damage to any of the other rocks - Turritella is relatively soft. Well, I needed to order a couple of things from The Rock Shed anyway, so I just ordered 2 lbs of Turritella Agates to go with it. Did a little bit of reading on it, and it seems like it will be best to tumble it without any other types of rocks and I definitely don't have enough to fill a barrel. It's probably not the best thing for a beginner like me to try, but I really like it so at least I'll learn from it. Maybe it'll do better in the course stage without anything else that could be harder than it. In any case, I probably won't have a spare barrel for a while, but maybe in a few weeks I can throw them into my 33b in course and get them started. I bought a bunch of Turritella to slab and cab. I still have a ton that I haven't even worked yet. LOL I have put some of the pieces that were "scrap" from cutting preforms into the tumbler along with Crazy Lace and Prairie Agates. I left them tumbling along with those others for quite some time. I had a hard time getting rid of the pits here and there. Finally, they made it through that first stage and they turned out great. It just took a LONG time being tumbled to get them ready to move on. At least that's my experience with them. |
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Post by stardiamond on May 22, 2021 13:19:09 GMT -5
That's a lot of quality work. What do you do with the cabs when they are wrapped?
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Post by Mel on May 22, 2021 13:51:07 GMT -5
jasoninsd how did you find the thunder eggs to work with?
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on May 22, 2021 14:35:55 GMT -5
That amazonite was one of the weirdest feeling rocks I've worked. It may have been my imagination, but it came across as feeling "plastic-y" when grinding it. I don't know how else to describe it other than that...definitely not a hard stone...but not real soft. Yes! I haven't worked with amazonite, but I think I've said the same thing verbatim about opal. Like you said, not hard but not real soft, but probably the best word is just 'weird'. Anyway, nice loot pile you got there! Looking forward to seeing what you do with them. |
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Post by jasoninsd on May 22, 2021 18:53:51 GMT -5
That's a lot of quality work. What do you do with the cabs when they are wrapped? Thank you so much!  I am stockpiling them on the end of the kitchen counter for now. LOL - Eventually I'll list them for sale, but I'm not really in a rush just yet. I'd like to get a couple hundred done and on-hand before I started listing things for sale. I'm nervous about putting them out there for sale...and to be honest, I don't have any clue yet what to start pricing things at...so I've obviously got to figure that out first. jasoninsd how did you find the thunder eggs to work with? Hey Mel! I've been watching eBay and snagging listings for "lots" rather than individual eggs. I've trid to keep things realistic with the final bid price, so as not to spend "too much" on them. However, I had considered posting a "wanted" thread on here to see if anyone had any they wanted to part with...but then it occurred to me to check out Richardson's Ranch website, and sure enough, I could just get them direct from them. I'll probably be calling them within a week or two and seeing about getting some Thundereggs specifically from the moss bed... That amazonite was one of the weirdest feeling rocks I've worked. It may have been my imagination, but it came across as feeling "plastic-y" when grinding it. I don't know how else to describe it other than that...definitely not a hard stone...but not real soft. Yes! I haven't worked with amazonite, but I think I've said the same thing verbatim about opal. Like you said, not hard but not real soft, but probably the best word is just 'weird'. Anyway, nice loot pile you got there! Looking forward to seeing what you do with them. Thank you for the kind words! That Amazonite really threw me for a loop. I've got a bit left for another cab or maybe two, so I'll be curious to see if a different "touch" might make a difference or not. Interesting you describe opal in this way. That's one I haven't worked yet. |
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Post by Mel on May 22, 2021 20:23:52 GMT -5
Whoops! I should've been more clear (though I indirectly got more information that I would've asked anyways; for the right price I'd buy a big box to split with a buddy). Did you find them easy to cab is what I initially meant |
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Post by jasoninsd on May 22, 2021 20:49:34 GMT -5
Whoops! I should've been more clear (though I indirectly got more information that I would've asked anyways; for the right price I'd buy a big box to split with a buddy). Did you find them easy to cab is what I initially meant LOL - I just reread what you asked...and I just took it the "other" way! LOL I think they are easy(ish) to work. One of the most difficult things about them is the unstable matrix that happens quite often. Trying to read whether or not it's going to remain stable or not is the most frustrating part of them...but it's also one of the things that make them worth working - in my opinion. |
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Post by stardiamond on May 22, 2021 21:58:44 GMT -5
rockjunquie would be the person to talk to about marketing wrapped stones. I started making cabs about 20 years ago and started selling about 2 years ago. I decided to list my better and more unusual cabs first.
There are more than 50 pages of Noreena cabs on etsy and many under $5. There is on page of Tahoma, 4 pages of Morgan Hill, 3 pages of Blue Mountain, 6 pages of Willow Creek.
Looking at wire wrapped listings could cause nightmares.
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Post by jasoninsd on May 23, 2021 8:28:25 GMT -5
rockjunquie would be the person to talk to about marketing wrapped stones. I started making cabs about 20 years ago and started selling about 2 years ago. I decided to list my better and more unusual cabs first. There are more than 50 pages of Noreena cabs on etsy and many under $5. There is on page of Tahoma, 4 pages of Morgan Hill, 3 pages of Blue Mountain, 6 pages of Willow Creek. Looking at wire wrapped listings could cause nightmares. Yep. Tela is definitely one of the people I was going to be asking...when the time comes. I don't know that I'll sell the actual cabs. I plan on wire-wrapping all the cabs I make. For me that's where part of the fun in all of this comes from - doing a lot of this from start to finish - from piece of rough to a wire-wrapped pendant. |
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Post by stardiamond on May 23, 2021 12:55:25 GMT -5
Finish for me is a cab. 30% of my sales are to silversmiths. I've had a few requests to drill a hole in a cab so it can be worn. I don't have a drill. My wife told me that finding the balance point to hang a pendant can be tricky. That applies to all methods. If I had more requests for drilling, I might investigate it and offer some drilled cabs.
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Post by HankRocks on May 23, 2021 13:08:03 GMT -5
Finish for me is a cab. 30% of my sales are to silversmiths. I've had a few requests to drill a hole in a cab so it can be worn. I don't have a drill. My wife told me that finding the balance point to hang a pendant can be tricky. That applies to all methods. If I had more requests for drilling, I might investigate it and offer some drilled cabs. I drill all of the Pendant stones(tumbled) I sell. At first I was concerned about balance points, however it seems that with the pinch bails I use there has not been an issue. They all hang nicely even if the hole drilled is slightly off center. |
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Post by stephan on May 23, 2021 16:50:27 GMT -5
Dang, dude.... Lots o’ nice looking cabs. Great work, my friend.
That zebra stone took a nice shine.
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Post by jasoninsd on May 23, 2021 19:02:54 GMT -5
Dang, dude.... Lots o’ nice looking cabs. Great work, my friend. That zebra stone took a nice shine. Thanks Stephan! That Zebra Stone was a bit of a surprise with regards to the polish. There are a lot of pits in this particular stone. Not as "solid" as I thought it was going to be... |
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Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
