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Post by Starguy on Nov 22, 2021 21:52:45 GMT -5
kouma They’re gorgeous pieces. With the equipment I have, I would do a domed polish. rmf and rewdownunder have some good ideas too. No hurry. I applaud you for looking into the possibilities. Take your time. It’s a pretty rare piece you have.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 22, 2021 21:55:44 GMT -5
kouma Welcome the forum from Northern Arizona!
Here is a list of clubs in Canada. Hopefully there's one not too far.
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kouma
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by kouma on Nov 22, 2021 22:01:54 GMT -5
kouma - I just wanted to say welcome to the forum from South Dakota! You've really caused a stir (in a good way!) coming onto the forum showing a BEAST like this piece right out of the gate! I can't wait to see your final results with this piece - whichever way you choose to polish it! Thank you for the welcome jasoninsd! it was not my intention to cause a stir, albeit a good one I believe its the passion of the good folks in here that spawned this
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 22, 2021 22:06:41 GMT -5
kouma - I just wanted to say welcome to the forum from South Dakota! You've really caused a stir (in a good way!) coming onto the forum showing a BEAST like this piece right out of the gate! I can't wait to see your final results with this piece - whichever way you choose to polish it! Thank you for the welcome jasoninsd! it was not my intention to cause a stir, albeit a good one I believe its the passion of the good folks in here that spawned this We're total enablers. Unashamedly, even.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 22, 2021 22:16:54 GMT -5
kouma - I just wanted to say welcome to the forum from South Dakota! You've really caused a stir (in a good way!) coming onto the forum showing a BEAST like this piece right out of the gate! I can't wait to see your final results with this piece - whichever way you choose to polish it! Thank you for the welcome jasoninsd! it was not my intention to cause a stir, albeit a good one I believe its the passion of the good folks in here that spawned this I have a REALLY bad habit of perusing the rough and slabs available on eBay (much to the chagrin of my wife! LOL) and I see quite a bit of Larimar being offered...but they're usually in the 2" square range. That's why it was SUPER special to see a piece like this, not only because of its size, but the overall look of the piece is flat-out stunning! *Robin nailed it though...we're just a bunch of enablers on here! LOL
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kouma
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by kouma on Nov 22, 2021 22:22:18 GMT -5
kouma Welcome the forum from Northern Arizona!
Here is a list of clubs in Canada. Hopefully there's one not too far. Thanks a lot!! I found a few from that list that are less than 30mins away from me: Brantford Lapidary & Mineral Society Woodman Community Centre 491 Grey Street Brantford, ON N3S 7L7 Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies P.O. Box 4488, Station D Hamilton, ON L8V 4S7 Gemini Gem & Mineral Club P.O. Box 71043, Maplehurst Burlington, ON L7T 4J8 Hamilton Geological Society P.O. Box 59, McMaster University Hamilton, ON L8S 1C0 Canadian Micro Mineral Association 221 Hendrie Ave., Burlington, ON L7T 4B2 I will start contacting them tomorrow
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 22, 2021 22:38:48 GMT -5
kouma Welcome the forum from Northern Arizona!
Here is a list of clubs in Canada. Hopefully there's one not too far. Thanks a lot!! I found a few from that list that are less than 30mins away from me: Brantford Lapidary & Mineral Society Woodman Community Centre 491 Grey Street Brantford, ON N3S 7L7 Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies P.O. Box 4488, Station D Hamilton, ON L8V 4S7 Gemini Gem & Mineral Club P.O. Box 71043, Maplehurst Burlington, ON L7T 4J8 Hamilton Geological Society P.O. Box 59, McMaster University Hamilton, ON L8S 1C0 Canadian Micro Mineral Association 221 Hendrie Ave., Burlington, ON L7T 4B2 I will start contacting them tomorrow
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Post by parfive on Nov 22, 2021 23:01:08 GMT -5
I’m throwin’ a flag on that one . . . that’s a crime against humanity around here.
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Post by parfive on Nov 22, 2021 23:01:34 GMT -5
kouma I use powdered tumbling grit but you could use either, or a mix of both.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 22, 2021 23:07:08 GMT -5
kouma I use powdered tumbling grit but you could use either, or a mix of both. Rich, did you use the figure 8 motion when you were hand grinding? I seem to remember reading something a long time ago about using a figure 8 motion to grind the slab evenly.
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Post by parfive on Nov 22, 2021 23:42:45 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones I use figure 8 and circular motions mostly, not much in a straight line. Uneven grind was never a problem, but that last ten-thousandth in the middle could be a real pain in the . . . arm. Bigger pieces are trouble, backs of cabs are a piece of cake. I hand lap all the backs to 500 before I start doming the front, then when that’s finished, it barely takes a minute on the last few wheels to polish the back.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Nov 23, 2021 0:34:55 GMT -5
In grad school I polished 3 6" X 9" slabs of banded Minnesota Iron Formation from the Mary Ellen Mine on a glass plate while watching football games on TV. I was told to use a figure eight motion and turn the rocks with my hand to keep from putting groves in the surface. I took them to 3000 changing the glass after 1200 because it was wearing out. It took at least 200 hours and I would never never do it again. I redid one of them on a 18" diamond lap a few years ago and it took about 3 hours total. It can be done by hand but it is not worth it. That Larimar is very nice and getting harder to get. Please do not coat them with plastic just wait till you can find someone with the right equipment to help you polish it right. The rocks are millions of years old, they can wait a little longer to be polished.
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Post by greig on Nov 23, 2021 10:52:12 GMT -5
greig any suggestions of where they can take it Three options: 1) Bring it to Port Perry (an hour on 407) and I will polish it for you (or polish it with me). Slant lap or vibe lap. 2) Call Robert Hall Originals near Brantford and ask what it will cost to polish. 3) Do it yourself. All you need is a flat surface and automotive wet sandpaper. I have some videos on Youtube (meMiner), but the process is simple. Buy an assorted pack of half sheets (eg. Canada Tire or Amazon). A good flat surface is a baking pan on a kitchen table. Moisten the sandpaper and lightly run the slices in circles over the various grits from maybe 180 or 600 to 3000 or 5000+.
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Post by MsAli on Nov 23, 2021 11:19:01 GMT -5
greig any suggestions of where they can take it Three options: 1) Bring it to Port Perry (an hour on 407) and I will polish it for you (or polish it with me). Slant lap or vibe lap. 2) Call Robert Hall Originals near Brantford and ask what it will cost to polish. 3) Do it yourself. All you need is a flat surface and automotive wet sandpaper. I have some videos on Youtube (meMiner), but the process is simple. Buy an assorted pack of half sheets (eg. Canada Tire or Amazon). A good flat surface is a baking pan on a kitchen table. Moisten the sandpaper and lightly run the slices in circles over the various grits from maybe 180 or 600 to 3000 or 5000+. I like option 1! That would make a great video
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Nov 23, 2021 11:39:08 GMT -5
Thanks greig for stepping up and helping him out! Those are nice pieces and I would hate to see them sprayed with something. I think he said he had some smaller chunks he could try to sandpaper. I helped a member from going down the hand polish route in September by doing three slabs for him at our club shop. Everyone was happy. That is what the hobby is about. Again thank you for making the offer.
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brotherbill
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2018
Posts: 382
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Post by brotherbill on Nov 23, 2021 12:12:17 GMT -5
Those are beautiful pieces!
Larimar is notoriously unstable and pieces that size will have weaknesses. If you have your heart set on finishing with only 2 pieces I would consider 2 options
1- If using a vibe or lap, stabilize! And this does not come with a guarantee of success.
or
2- Take the high spots down mechanically and hand polish/lap. Larimar is pretty soft so it is not as daunting as it sounds, though you still may end up with carpal tunnel.
You have spectacular specimens whether you decide to polish or not. Good luck
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kouma
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by kouma on Nov 23, 2021 20:09:24 GMT -5
Three options: 1) Bring it to Port Perry (an hour on 407) and I will polish it for you (or polish it with me). Slant lap or vibe lap. 2) Call Robert Hall Originals near Brantford and ask what it will cost to polish. 3) Do it yourself. All you need is a flat surface and automotive wet sandpaper. I have some videos on Youtube (meMiner), but the process is simple. Buy an assorted pack of half sheets (eg. Canada Tire or Amazon). A good flat surface is a baking pan on a kitchen table. Moisten the sandpaper and lightly run the slices in circles over the various grits from maybe 180 or 600 to 3000 or 5000+. I like option 1! That would make a great video Thank you for reaching out to greig. Option 1 sounds great to me, I don't mind making the drive and I get to see what this magic of polishing is all about
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kouma
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by kouma on Nov 23, 2021 20:21:08 GMT -5
greig any suggestions of where they can take it Three options: 1) Bring it to Port Perry (an hour on 407) and I will polish it for you (or polish it with me). Slant lap or vibe lap. 2) Call Robert Hall Originals near Brantford and ask what it will cost to polish. 3) Do it yourself. All you need is a flat surface and automotive wet sandpaper. I have some videos on Youtube (meMiner), but the process is simple. Buy an assorted pack of half sheets (eg. Canada Tire or Amazon). A good flat surface is a baking pan on a kitchen table. Moisten the sandpaper and lightly run the slices in circles over the various grits from maybe 180 or 600 to 3000 or 5000+. Hello greig, Thank you for your offer. Option 1 sounds like the safest to me because I would really hate to do something stupid and ruin these stones. I thought we could start by polishing these rough Larimar stones and if all goes well, we can do the big ones? How long do you think the process might take, I assume based on what I have read so far at least a few hours. Let me know your thoughts and I will PM your my contact details
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kouma
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by kouma on Nov 23, 2021 20:42:06 GMT -5
Just thought this would be helpful, here is a picture that depicts wet vs dry:
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 23, 2021 21:01:46 GMT -5
Three options: 1) Bring it to Port Perry (an hour on 407) and I will polish it for you (or polish it with me). Slant lap or vibe lap. 2) Call Robert Hall Originals near Brantford and ask what it will cost to polish. 3) Do it yourself. All you need is a flat surface and automotive wet sandpaper. I have some videos on Youtube (meMiner), but the process is simple. Buy an assorted pack of half sheets (eg. Canada Tire or Amazon). A good flat surface is a baking pan on a kitchen table. Moisten the sandpaper and lightly run the slices in circles over the various grits from maybe 180 or 600 to 3000 or 5000+. Hello greig, Thank you for your offer. Option 1 sounds like the safest to me because I would really hate to do something stupid and ruin these stones. I thought we could start by polishing these rough Larimar stones and if all goes well, we can do the big ones? How long do you think the process might take, I assume based on what I have read so far at least a few hours. Let me know your thoughts and I will PM your my contact details I'm tagging greig for you so he's sure to see this.
To tag someone, just put the @ sign in front of their screen name. Note: Some people's screen name is not their tagging name. If you hover over someone's name it will show you the correct tag to use.
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