ncboxorox
having dreams about rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 62
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Post by ncboxorox on Oct 9, 2021 13:14:03 GMT -5
So I have a bunch of old stalactites my grandfather claims were obtained in Vietnam during the conflict. I don’t really know the legality of them. I decided to chop one up and tumble it, I reckon it’s primarily calcite but I don’t know, I do know that it is really soft but I have it cushioned well in the barrel. So far it looks really cool and “wavy” and I have a piece that’s a hollow tube soooo yeah…it’s was really just an experiment to see if I can get it to polish. I will take photos next go around of their progress.
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Post by perkins17 on Oct 9, 2021 14:34:41 GMT -5
So I have a bunch of old stalactites my grandfather claims were obtained in Vietnam during the conflict. I don’t really know the legality of them. I decided to chop one up and tumble it, I reckon it’s primarily calcite but I don’t know, I do know that it is really soft but I have it cushioned well in the barrel. So far it looks really cool and “wavy” and I have a piece that’s a hollow tube soooo yeah…it’s was really just an experiment to see if I can get it to polish. I will take photos next go around of their progress. That's really neat! I look forward to seeing your progress.
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 548
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Post by LazerFlash on Oct 9, 2021 15:35:56 GMT -5
So I have a bunch of old stalactites my grandfather claims were obtained in Vietnam during the conflict. I don’t really know the legality of them. The only thing that I could think of is your grandfather harvested them from a protected cave. Proving (or disproving) that would be next to impossible.
My thought to save the best-looking ones for posterity (and display) and have fun tumbling the rest!
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 9, 2021 20:48:59 GMT -5
So I have a bunch of old stalactites my grandfather claims were obtained in Vietnam during the conflict. I don’t really know the legality of them. I decided to chop one up and tumble it, I reckon it’s primarily calcite but I don’t know, I do know that it is really soft but I have it cushioned well in the barrel. So far it looks really cool and “wavy” and I have a piece that’s a hollow tube soooo yeah…it’s was really just an experiment to see if I can get it to polish. I will take photos next go around of their progress. Without pictures, it's just teasing us! (Kidding) Cool story about your grandfather's acquisition and I really do look forward to seeing the results you get with these.
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ncboxorox
having dreams about rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 62
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Post by ncboxorox on Oct 10, 2021 5:05:41 GMT -5
So I have a bunch of old stalactites my grandfather claims were obtained in Vietnam during the conflict. I don’t really know the legality of them. I decided to chop one up and tumble it, I reckon it’s primarily calcite but I don’t know, I do know that it is really soft but I have it cushioned well in the barrel. So far it looks really cool and “wavy” and I have a piece that’s a hollow tube soooo yeah…it’s was really just an experiment to see if I can get it to polish. I will take photos next go around of their progress. Without pictures, it's just teasing us! (Kidding) Cool story about your grandfather's acquisition and I really do look forward to seeing the results you get with these. hahaha I know I know, I just didn’t think it would make it this far.
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ncboxorox
having dreams about rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 62
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Post by ncboxorox on Oct 13, 2021 23:09:54 GMT -5
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 13, 2021 23:37:18 GMT -5
OMG! Those look freaking amazing! I love the swirling pattern in those! I can see why you were pretty stoked about tumbling these!
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,506
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Post by Brian on Oct 14, 2021 7:04:32 GMT -5
Those are beautiful! I had a hard time imagining what they would look like, but even if they don’t take a great polish, they still look like they were well worth tumbling just to smooth them out and bring out the patterns.
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Post by perkins17 on Oct 14, 2021 9:14:12 GMT -5
Alright, I just put these in pre-polish, I should really stop telling them my jokes cause they won’t stop cracking up (I’ll leave now ha).. I’ve been tumbling these with my best “gut feeling method” and it’s kinda like driving with the gas light on. Makes me a tad bit anxious. Still not sure what it is comprised of but they are really soft and they feel very dense weight wise. swirly Hollow tube Partially wet, they look rough but they feel pretty smooth Wow that's amazing! Those are rea nice. I wonder if they will polish well.
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ncboxorox
having dreams about rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 62
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Post by ncboxorox on Oct 14, 2021 9:47:02 GMT -5
Alright, I just put these in pre-polish, I should really stop telling them my jokes cause they won’t stop cracking up (I’ll leave now ha).. I’ve been tumbling these with my best “gut feeling method” and it’s kinda like driving with the gas light on. Makes me a tad bit anxious. Still not sure what it is comprised of but they are really soft and they feel very dense weight wise. swirly Hollow tube Partially wet, they look rough but they feel pretty smooth Wow that's amazing! Those are rea nice. I wonder if they will polish well. I sure hope they polish well! If not, I fear I will have wasted a really cool specimen. I don’t want to be the guy that chops up everything cool he has just to tumble it, but on the other hand that would be pretty fun
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Post by perkins17 on Oct 14, 2021 9:49:31 GMT -5
Wow that's amazing! Those are rea nice. I wonder if they will polish well. I sure hope they polish well! If not, I fear I will have wasted a really cool specimen. I don’t want to be the guy that chops up everything cool he has just to tumble it, but on the other hand that would be pretty fun lol! I've heard of people tumbling calcite before. Good luck!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 14, 2021 9:50:58 GMT -5
Those are looking really good! If I had to guess, I'd say they are probably calcite.
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Post by Starguy on Oct 14, 2021 11:22:47 GMT -5
ncboxorox Calcite is easily determined with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution. It should effervesce with the acid. You would want to try it prior to polishing.
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