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 12, 2021 7:43:02 GMT -5
I watch a guy on YouTube that has used a black silicone in the crystal vugs in his Crowley's Ridge agates to protect them while tumbling. The silicone seems stay on through polish and to easily pull out of the vug. Has anyone else tried this?
Here's his video - at 6:27 you can see the rocks with silicone in them.
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Post by rmf on Nov 12, 2021 11:34:22 GMT -5
ericabelle I have always used epoxy since it can be dissolved out. I have also used (not for a tumbler) parafin and removed it with hot water. The only problem I can see with silicone is if some got stuck, how would you clean it out. But it should work.
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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 12, 2021 13:33:20 GMT -5
ericabelle I have always used epoxy since it can be dissolved out. I have also used (not for a tumbler) parafin and removed it with hot water. The only problem I can see with silicone is if some got stuck, how would you clean it out. But it should work. I'll have to try both- what epoxy do you use? The 330?
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Post by Bob on Nov 12, 2021 17:51:17 GMT -5
I'm on Crowley's Ridge almost yearly. He sounds like he might be from further down south such as LA maybe.
Does he oil the vugs before injecting silicon?
Getting silicon out of a place it's adhered to is almost impossible.
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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 12, 2021 19:55:29 GMT -5
I'm on Crowley's Ridge almost yearly. He sounds like he might be from further down south such as LA maybe. Does he oil the vugs before injecting silicon? Getting silicon out of a place it's adhered to is almost impossible. Yes, he's in New Orleans and goes to the Bogue Chitto River area to search for Crowley's. I was given an incredible Crowley when I was a kid by some relatives in Louisiana, and, until recently, I thought that was the only area that had them. LOL. The jokes on me - I actually live closer to the Crowley's Ridge area in MO and AR. (A good joke - time to start hunting agates!) The oil is an AWESOME idea - I bet he does oil them. It looks like the silicone comes out so easily in the video, that must be it!
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Post by rmf on Nov 12, 2021 20:17:53 GMT -5
ericabelle I have always used epoxy since it can be dissolved out. I have also used (not for a tumbler) parafin and removed it with hot water. The only problem I can see with silicone is if some got stuck, how would you clean it out. But it should work. I'll have to try both- what epoxy do you use? The 330? I have used 5-min from Ace/big box and 330. does not really matter I dissolve in acetone after. BTW if acetone bothers you you can also use fingernail polish remover which is mostly acetone.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
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Post by quartz on Nov 12, 2021 23:15:46 GMT -5
There is some stuff called mold release, comes on a spray can. I used it with a rubber compound worked good, but also on a fairly smooth surface. A Tap Plastics store could advise on this subject I would think.
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Nov 13, 2021 6:34:54 GMT -5
I never fill vugs on anything I’m tumbling, from dugway’s to aqua nueva agates. All of them are full of vugs . In rough tumble it’s just slurry that has to be cleaned out, nothing damages the tiny crystals. In the final stages in the lot-o it’s just pieces of LSA I have to pluck out. I use small LSA’s for filler in the lot-o, I find it works better than ceramics. It takes a little more time cleaning, some I throw in an ultra sonic, but end results are beautiful!
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doublebluff
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 60
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Post by doublebluff on Nov 17, 2021 0:17:34 GMT -5
OK- I'll ask... what specifically is a vug?
I had asked about filling crystal-filled gaps in agates and I thought I heard that it wasn't possible. Is that what this is talking about?
Thanks-
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Post by broseph82 on Nov 17, 2021 0:35:06 GMT -5
OK- I'll ask... what specifically is a vug? I had asked about filling crystal-filled gaps in agates and I thought I heard that it wasn't possible. Is that what this is talking about? Thanks- Just a small pocket of crystals usually
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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 18, 2021 8:14:10 GMT -5
Hey, everyone - I asked Wil Bond (the guy on YouTube) if he put any type of release agent on the rocks before he put the silicone on them. He replied that he doesn't; and if the silicone doesn't all come out easily, he soaks them in water a few minutes and brushes it out. This is a game changer for me! I have a small pile of chert with crystal pockets, many with a bit of agate banding around the pocket. I'm going to try the epoxy on some and the silicone on others. The advantage of the epoxy is that it looks like it takes less time to set up. In Wil's video, he mentions that he gives the silicone a couple of weeks to cure.
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Post by HankRocks on Nov 18, 2021 8:41:23 GMT -5
Hey, everyone - I asked Wil Bond (the guy on YouTube) if he put any type of release agent on the rocks before he put the silicone on them. He replied that he doesn't; and if the silicone doesn't all come out easily, he soaks them in water a few minutes and brushes it out. This is a game changer for me! I have a small pile of chert with crystal pockets, many with a bit of agate banding around the pocket. I'm going to try the epoxy on some and the silicone on others. The advantage of the epoxy is that it looks like it takes less time to set up. In Wil's video, he mentions that he gives the silicone a couple of weeks to cure. I will be interested in the results as I have a large cube of agate about 4" square with a large crystal pocket. The cube was originally cut for a sphere and had not yet had the corners cut off. The pocket is just over 2 1/2 inches across and 1 1/2 inches high, maybe 1/2 inch deep. Going to cut as many corners off as I can without impacting the crystal pocket. Want to tumble it like I did with Snowflake Obsidian sphere pre-form. The whole project is on the "List"!! Here is the polished Snowflake piece, it already had all the edges cut off when i got it.; IMG_3377 by Findrocks, on Flickr Of course I need to cut some wooden pieces to help clamp the cube in the saw vice. This is one of those projects that creates sub-projects!! I will see if i can post a picture later today.
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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 18, 2021 13:21:50 GMT -5
Hey, everyone - I asked Wil Bond (the guy on YouTube) if he put any type of release agent on the rocks before he put the silicone on them. He replied that he doesn't; and if the silicone doesn't all come out easily, he soaks them in water a few minutes and brushes it out. This is a game changer for me! I have a small pile of chert with crystal pockets, many with a bit of agate banding around the pocket. I'm going to try the epoxy on some and the silicone on others. The advantage of the epoxy is that it looks like it takes less time to set up. In Wil's video, he mentions that he gives the silicone a couple of weeks to cure. I will be interested in the results as I have a large cube of agate about 4" square with a large crystal pocket. The cube was originally cut for a sphere and had not yet had the corners cut off. The pocket is just over 2 1/2 inches across and 1 1/2 inches high, maybe 1/2 inch deep. Going to cut as many corners off as I can without impacting the crystal pocket. Want to tumble it like I did with Snowflake Obsidian sphere pre-form. The whole project is on the "List"!! Here is the polished Snowflake piece, it already had all the edges cut off when i got it.; IMG_3377 by Findrocks, on Flickr Of course I need to cut some wooden pieces to help clamp the cube in the saw vice. This is one of those projects that creates sub-projects!! I will see if i can post a picture later today. Wow - that is really beautiful! I can't wait to see the agate!
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Post by holajonathan on Nov 20, 2021 13:04:25 GMT -5
OK- I'll ask... what specifically is a vug? I had asked about filling crystal-filled gaps in agates and I thought I heard that it wasn't possible. Is that what this is talking about? Thanks- A vug is a hole. A druzy vug is a hole filled the sparkly crystals.
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