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Post by Peruano on Jun 15, 2022 12:01:36 GMT -5
rmf I knew I couldn't see the surface of the rock well and should have tripped on the fact that not all constituent minerals were large as they should have been in pegmatites. Mia culpa for guessing in the wrong direction.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 15, 2022 7:00:21 GMT -5
The important thing is that you enjoyed the experience. Meeting people and getting the interchange is a major benefit. Contacts with customers, lookers, folks with different goals than you, and especially with your fellow venders, all provide a background to self assess your investment of time, materials and mental floss. You have a good attitude and momentum. Now hit the sledding hill and find some more rocks.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 13, 2022 6:33:20 GMT -5
Nature has been unkind to your stone, but my best guess would be that it is a pegmatite, i.e. an igneous rock with lots of larger than normal crystals of several minerals. The minerals can vary with occurrence but their size and variety are the key factors prompting the generic term "pegmatite". What do you see when you look at it closely without glare?
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Post by Peruano on Jun 12, 2022 11:18:23 GMT -5
I'm tempted to make a couple of points on this buffing station discussion. There are differences in the chucks that can be attached to the shaft. Some cannot accommodate the smallest diameter diamond bits and will need a bushing like provided by your dremel to adequately grasp the bit. Secondly motor speed (rpms) can vary, and for some types of work a slower speed 1750 may be preferable over 3000+. Perhaps most importantly chrome oxide as is embedded in zam wax or the generic version that is much cheaper than zam - I'd not recommend breathing it, and it is kicked off of the muslin buffing wheel - wearing a mask while buffing is my protocol even tho I rarely wear a mask in other phases of lapidary. Real pro buffing stations come with a fan and filter to reduce that fling of chrome oxide and other buffing residues. Finally, I use an old two shaft motor that I picked up from an even older lapidary. I noticed that I got a slight tingle from the motor housing if I got close while it was running. Well ... careful examination of the wiring of the motor showed that the ground wire was poorly seated and I indeed had a potential shock hazard. Remounted the ground and its been good to go tool ever since. Just trying to amplify the info in this thread for future buffers. BTW stones can be flung way hard from the buffing wheel, and heat up fast. I frequently touch the stone to my cheek or lip to check for hot hot.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 9, 2022 17:27:20 GMT -5
Good point. I often have to just move on when heavy opinions are offered on the basis of cursory sterotypes and there is not enough info to confirm or refute assumptions. Thats the whole basis of stereotypes, they always work because they are seldom tested and reject anything that does not fit the dubious criteria.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 9, 2022 17:21:08 GMT -5
I'd say you got a bargain. The tray alone is worth $30 or so. There is nothing there than can't be used for lapidary. Interesting that it looks like the hood can be adjusted to better fit 6 or 8" wheels. The only concern I would have would be rigging a guard for that belt. Its way too exposed for safety. Enjoy the machine as it is or stripping if for a rebuild of the components. No idea on mfr but its heavy cast and not rusty tin. After having written the safety comment, I noticed how close the off/on switch is to that belt. Its a finger amputator waiting for an accident.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 6, 2022 12:08:00 GMT -5
Yes, I've been using a pump for several years. When I just used gravity, the volume of water was too little and I built up sediment on wheels. I believe in water even when I carry it from the hose bib a few yards away from my shop.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 5, 2022 6:23:17 GMT -5
A shower curtain and wooden frame all the way around will make for a cleaner operator and shop. Great saw, but experience helps too.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 4, 2022 7:39:47 GMT -5
I hope they can get some pliers and wires to you soon to keep you busy in a productive way.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 4, 2022 6:54:22 GMT -5
Obviously, a smaller blade requires that more coolant is added to the tank to reach the blade margin. Thats not an issue for small sizes and water coolant. But installing an 18" blade on a 20" slab saw will cost you several gallons of oil at $20 per. Of course the 18 is a lot cheaper than the 20 so do the math and consider all factors.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 4, 2022 6:50:17 GMT -5
I'm sure you can find accessible sites, but you may have to screen a lot of candidates before you hit the perfect situation. Miles driven and geology studies are both fun in the process.
Some of the best resources I've ever discovered for rock hounding were good because they did not give infinite detail, but rather point you in general areas causing you to create or rediscover a site that has not been worked heavily by others. Many times sources are spread over wide areas, but too often when specifics are given in a guide, the masses swarm there and sites become less productive or accessible.
My favorite, with perhaps thousands of sites shown on maps, is the Western Gem Hunters Atlas by Cyril Johnson. It went through at least 11 editions; the one I'm looking at was printed in 1966 and is undoubtedly out of print. It should be available on Amazon, Thriftbooks, Adlibris etc. If a site is shown on both sides of a main road and a drive by look promising, there would be a candidate.
Alternatively there are on-line sites that discuss sites for each state. Again its a matter of sampling for the right characteristics to match your needs.
If you can find the right Rock Hounds along the routes of your travels, you might be invited to rock hound in their back yard. I know I have rocks I'd share if you were parked in my drive-way. Happy travels.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 2, 2022 9:43:53 GMT -5
I have been working on resurrecting a cab machine that I have not seen mentioned or sold very often. It was produced by Great Western Lapidary (you may have seen their saws) in Chula Vista, CA. The arbor is driven from a motor behind the machine and a pulley on one end (easy belt change out and easy to change pulley sizes among the three mounted). It has bearings at midship and at the end with the drive pulley. The arbor is threaded for the entire distal half (nonpulley) end. That may seem unnecessary but it allows the shaft to be moved relative to the bearings by using the threads to push or pull the shaft in one direction or the other. Replacing the two wheels that were located between the bearings was not as awkward as it can be on some machines. I currently have the machine set up with 80, and 220 hard diamond wheels, and nova wheels of 280, 600, and 1200. I'll use an expandos wheels and belts for higher grits. I'm still rigging up the water system, but will use a pump system flowing onto the tops of the wheels. The machine housing is heavy gauge steel with a central drain that actually drains the entire pan (most machines don't drain this well). I currently have a bicycle tube cut for a drain hose into a receptacle below the machine. The machine can be bolted onto a bench top at each of its four corners. So far I"m thinking I like this machine for a true vintage design.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 1, 2022 6:46:34 GMT -5
jasoninsd Having the blade throw stuff up and toward you sounds like trip to your ophthalmologist and maybe your pulmonary therapist. Standing closer to a motor or exposed belt could require the er or a prosthetic. Not trying to be contrary, but safety is important and everyone needs to weigh the costs and benefits of innovation. I have stood behind a tile saw and pulled the stone toward me still using the what would normally be the front of the blade. Thats the normal wrong way. Your wrong way is a bit further from the norm. Note: Long hair should definitely be secured no matter what side of the saw you use.
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Post by Peruano on May 29, 2022 14:01:35 GMT -5
There is good advice from Jasonshort. I use dawn liquid instead of the borax to carry the grit with the rock movements. I sometimes run my vibe without the lid, but bowl must be secured with the first nut, and the water needs must be monitored more carefully due to increased evaporation. I have eynough scrap rock from my trim saw that I don't use much ceramic. I just fill with tiny to small agate, jasper, etc to make the proper load. A friend gave me a couple of liters of tiny garnets which I used to get into irregular surfaces of some chalcedony I was trying to polish. Needless to say garnet was a good filler. Happy polishing.
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Post by Peruano on May 28, 2022 12:49:37 GMT -5
I'm far from an expert but reptile bones can have quite irregular structures. Big reptiles increase bone size often by depositing material on the outside of the bone while continually reorganizing *read dissolving* material at the interior of the bone. Attempts to age large reptiles like sea turtles are frustrated by that interior rearrangement. As opposed to mammals, reptiles produce a lot of their blood in bone and that requires varying cell structures. So the bottom line is that the appearance of bones from dinosaurs and other large reptiles may not fit our favorite stereotypes. 12 opinions do not make a fact, but in this case I think you are safe to call it dino.
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Post by Peruano on May 26, 2022 6:44:21 GMT -5
I gave my nephrologist an agate slice that had a kidney profile visible in it. It was drilled for a window hanger/sun catcher. My general medicine guy got several bola ties because he wore them on an everyday basis. But I agree with Jason, give something that you like and hope that the receiver will like it enough to look at it or show it to others. I like to joke with my regular doc here in New Mexico that he had folks who tried to pay him with chickens, and other that tried to pay with green chile, but I probably was the first to try to cover the bill with rocks.
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Post by Peruano on May 23, 2022 6:47:21 GMT -5
Cutting open geodes with the wonder of kids standing on the observation deck has to be worth the price of the saw. Enjoy it.
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Post by Peruano on May 22, 2022 16:34:28 GMT -5
Lizzie, A lot depends on what kinds of rocks you start with. I'd say there is a fair chance that you are starting with beach cobble (stones already rounded by surf and wave action). I'm also tempted to a assume/suggest that you predominantly pickup rocks that you like the shape of and that often you are dealing with small rocks. If so the vibratory tumbler would potentially meet your needs. I was drawn into lapidary work with stones I collected on beaches in Mexico (pre-rounded, moderately smoothed, and sufficiently abundant that I was selective about which ones I worked with). I've now made it more than a decade without running a single rotary batch, but have completed dozens of vibratory batches. I have the advantage of having acquired lapidary grinders that allow me to include some of the rougher and uglier stones that attract my attention such that I preprocess them helping the vibe along with the process. The nice thing about the vibe is that rocks with a tolerable shape and moderately smooth texture come along real fast once the protocol is established. Let the Scottish agates shake and show them to us as they develop.
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Post by Peruano on May 22, 2022 6:48:34 GMT -5
I'd suggest the Raytech (smaller vibe) because: 1. Its smaller. I have the Raytech and a couple of even smaller vibes and appreciate not having to scramble to get enough rocks together to make a larger load than I have ready to process. Why process rocks you don't want when you really need to run the rocks you have at hand and ready to go. I process preforms, slabs, and preselected beach cobble etc in the vibe and hence using any old filler is a waste of my vibe effort when my primary load is too small. Vibes that are not adequately loaded are violent and hard on rocks and bowls. 2. Its cheaper. And the replacement bowl is less expensive. 3. The Raytech is sturdy. I've had mine for years, it has run many loads, and served me well. You can always supplement your workshop with a bigger machine later when You have the experience and need for a bigger machine but you will benefit greatly from the Raytech in the beginning. The only consideration might be: Do you want to process "big" rocks that would fit in one but not the other and is that your primary intention?
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Post by Peruano on May 20, 2022 13:08:47 GMT -5
I agree that a couple of pieces look something like wood, but you are in a classic place of find cherts and my money will stay on that horse. Pretty stuff, polish away.
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