ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 25, 2021 8:01:08 GMT -5
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Post by HankRocks on Oct 25, 2021 8:32:48 GMT -5
ericabelle I would say it is a Crowley Agate. I have a couple from a friend in Arkansas who collected them in that area. The color, pattern, and shape all say Crowley Ridge. The large indentions make them very difficult to tumble polish. I would not want to lose the shape, the character, by grinding a lot of it away, or cutting it down. It's a keeper as it is. I have had limited success tumbling similar material by using lots of smaller rocks in the load with the thought being the smalls would get into the indentions and do the job. It's not a great method but it was ok. Hand polishing with a dremel might work, but that takes a lot more patience than I have! As I understand it this type agate is not restricted to Crowley Ridge, but scattered around the general area. It is a very nice specimen.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 25, 2021 9:47:54 GMT -5
That's a beautiful stone. I would leave it as it is. Such a great memory from your childhood.
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,958
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Post by victor1941 on Oct 25, 2021 10:17:50 GMT -5
Ericabelle, if this were my stone and I wanted it polished I would use a vibe. Coat the crystals thoroughly with epoxy 330-two part and let dry completely. I then run through the sequences of grits and polishes. Check the crystal areas frequently during the coarse grit grind and recoat with epoxy as necessary. I remove the stone, wash, dry and check for epoxy before putting back in the vibe. Remove epoxy with acetone or finger nail polish remover. I have used this method with consistent success on small West Texas Plume nodules using a UV-18 vibe. Best of luck in finishing your beauty.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 25, 2021 10:24:40 GMT -5
Ericabelle, if this were my stone and I wanted it polished I would use a vibe. Coat the crystals thoroughly with epoxy 330-two part and let dry completely. I then run through the sequences of grits and polishes. Check the crystal areas frequently during the coarse grit grind and recoat with epoxy as necessary. I remove the stone, wash, dry and check for epoxy before putting back in the vibe. Remove epoxy with acetone or finger nail polish remover. I have used this method with consistent success on small West Texas Plume nodules using a UV-18 vibe. Best of luck in finishing your beauty. That would be so interesting to try - I will definitely try that first! And I do have some epoxy 330, mostly to fill vugs. I hadn't used it yet because I had been meaning to ask someone if it would stay put in a vibe. So that is good news! And I really don't want to change the shape, only make it look more like it does when it's wet.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 25, 2021 10:25:23 GMT -5
That's a beautiful stone. I would leave it as it is. Such a great memory from your childhood. Thank you!
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 25, 2021 10:28:06 GMT -5
ericabelle I would say it is a Crowley Agate. I have a couple from a friend in Arkansas who collected them in that area. The color, pattern, and shape all say Crowley Ridge. The large indentions make them very difficult to tumble polish. I would not want to lose the shape, the character, by grinding a lot of it away, or cutting it down. It's a keeper as it is. I have had limited success tumbling similar material by using lots of smaller rocks in the load with the thought being the smalls would get into the indentions and do the job. It's not a great method but it was ok. Hand polishing with a dremel might work, but that takes a lot more patience than I have! As I understand it this type agate is not restricted to Crowley Ridge, but scattered around the general area. It is a very nice specimen. Yeah, I was not loving the idea of hand polishing. I see it done on YouTube, but the people doing it don't tell you how long it takes; so I assume a long time. At least long enough to give me carpal tunnel! Now I'm eager to get down to Louisiana again and search for more, although I probably wouldn't find one this big!
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 25, 2021 10:36:32 GMT -5
Here is the reason I want to find a way to polish it - at a quick glance, it looks like a really ugly rock when it's dry. In fact, my parents gave it to me in a box full of stuff. It was on the bottom and I actually wondered what such an ugly rock was doing in that box. LOL. Of course, you can still see the banding when it's dry, just not the colors. Anyone watch Gravelbar Hopper on YouTube? I don't know what he does to his. he really finds some beauties.
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,958
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Post by victor1941 on Oct 25, 2021 12:06:22 GMT -5
Ericabelle, you might also want to remove any of the flakey cracked areas so grit doesn't get lodged during tumbling. There are other RTH members that use Dremels that can share methods or techniques should you want to smooth them out.
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Post by stephan on Oct 25, 2021 18:44:44 GMT -5
I would also leave it as is, if it were mine. Rubbing it with a small amount of mineral oil will give it the wet look. It will need to be repeated periodically (every six months or so), for a while, but it will eventually stay looking wet. This is a trick used by suiseki enthusiasts who want the look of a genuine, antique suiseki, but prefer not to wait around for 100,000 touches of a monk's forehead. It works well for many specimen stones, including agate jasper and jade.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 26, 2021 7:02:30 GMT -5
I would also leave it as is, if it were mine. Rubbing it with a small amount of mineral oil will give it the wet look. It will need to be repeated periodically (every six months or so), for a while, but it will eventually stay looking wet. This is a trick used by suiseki enthusiasts who want the look of a genuine, antique suiseki, but prefer not to wait around for 100,000 touches of a monk's forehead. It works well for many specimen stones, including agate jasper and jade. I suspected that is what some people did with oddly shaped rocks - neat idea! I like the fact that it doesn't require removing any material to get a polished look.
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Post by stephan on Oct 26, 2021 8:01:44 GMT -5
I would also leave it as is, if it were mine. Rubbing it with a small amount of mineral oil will give it the wet look. It will need to be repeated periodically (every six months or so), for a while, but it will eventually stay looking wet. This is a trick used by suiseki enthusiasts who want the look of a genuine, antique suiseki, but prefer not to wait around for 100,000 touches of a monk's forehead. It works well for many specimen stones, including agate jasper and jade. I suspected that is what some people did with oddly shaped rocks - neat idea! I like the fact that it doesn't require removing any material to get a polished look. Make sure you go easy on the oil. The wet look is one thing. Looking great is less appealing. I usually place a fingertip over the oil bottle, invert it quickly, rib that large drop into my hands, and then rub the stone. If you overdo it, you can always wash the stone with soapy water and try again. And mineral oil really is better than food oils, since the latter can go rancid and/or yellow.
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,101
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Post by Thunder69 on Oct 31, 2021 14:08:04 GMT -5
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 31, 2021 20:15:38 GMT -5
Nice! I'm assuming you tumbled them in a vibe - what vibe did you use?
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Nov 1, 2021 7:17:23 GMT -5
Oh, and hey, Thunder69 - what time of year is best to agate hunt in Louisiana/Mississippi?
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,101
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Post by Thunder69 on Nov 2, 2021 19:48:21 GMT -5
Good evening!.Yes i did everything in my vibe. It helps keep the shape .As for hunting ,right now is perfect. The rains have slowed and the creek beds are drying out .Usually October November parts of December and February to late April. But if you can stand the heat anytime is good lol.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Nov 5, 2021 12:42:27 GMT -5
Good evening!.Yes i did everything in my vibe. It helps keep the shape .As for hunting ,right now is perfect. The rains have slowed and the creek beds are drying out .Usually October November parts of December and February to late April. But if you can stand the heat anytime is good lol. That's great! I'll have to plan a trip down there
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 5, 2021 19:31:56 GMT -5
ericabelle - I was thinking about you yesterday! LOL - I had a Crowley Ridge Agate that I was able to get some slabettes out of and I'm planning on making some cabs pretty soon. I will say this agate is a LOT softer than a "normal" agate. The consistency reminds me of some Summerville Agates I worked a little while ago.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Nov 6, 2021 10:26:02 GMT -5
ericabelle - I was thinking about you yesterday! LOL - I had a Crowley Ridge Agate that I was able to get some slabettes out of and I'm planning on making some cabs pretty soon. I will say this agate is a LOT softer than a "normal" agate. The consistency reminds me of some Summerville Agates I worked a little while ago. How neat! I hope you post photos of the cabs! That's really good to know that Crowley's are softer than the usual agate. I don't have much experience with Agates, and I guess I thought they were all nearly indestructible.😂
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 6, 2021 11:00:21 GMT -5
ericabelle - I was thinking about you yesterday! LOL - I had a Crowley Ridge Agate that I was able to get some slabettes out of and I'm planning on making some cabs pretty soon. I will say this agate is a LOT softer than a "normal" agate. The consistency reminds me of some Summerville Agates I worked a little while ago. How neat! I hope you post photos of the cabs! That's really good to know that Crowley's are softer than the usual agate. I don't have much experience with Agates, and I guess I thought they were all nearly indestructible.😂 I'll definitely post some pics. I'll tag you when I post them. I don't have tons of experience either...I could just tell from when I slabbed it and then when I was shaping the preforms that it's definitely a LOT softer than say a Crazy Lace Agate...
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