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Post by Peruano on Feb 6, 2021 11:02:19 GMT -5
I have recently added another important factor to loading my vibratory tumbler when running slabs and processed slabs. If everything is the load is largely flat (slabbed material), and or slabs with fine filler, the load tends to grip along flat surfaces and inhibit the oscillation that is necessary for maximal work efficiency. The rocks are jiggling but not really churning as I want for maximal grit exposure and penetration of concavities. I adjusted my present load by taking out a couple of the biggest stones (these were not necessarily slabs, but rather end cuts off of pet wood specimens). This was thinking the load was too heavy. No improvement in this case. Sometimes reduced movement is because the system is too dry (not so in this case). Loads always move better after a few hours as there are fewer really rough edges to slow movement relative to other stones. So, I went to the outside rock yard and found a bunch of beach pebbles (all mostly rounded, but still hard material). I added about a cup or 1.5 cups to my load that I already thought was adequately heavy and sure enough after a couple of minutes the movement of the barrel changed to a better oscillation and circulation. Mind you I had some granular filler (small ceramics and granular peridote gravel), but perhaps not enough and not big enough to really effectively space the slab=like material. We will see what the movement is in a couple of hours or after an additional overnight run. I sort of knew everything that I've said above but this was an in your face change in the vibe action that seemed to deserve comment for those who load the vibratory tumblers with slabbed or cabbed material with lots of flat areas. FYI and comment.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 6, 2021 7:45:43 GMT -5
Some pieces of petrified wood come in a perfect state when found. They are like puppies, they just have to go home with you, they are fun to look at, hold, and cherish. Nature polishes with water and blown sand and the end result makes you reluctant to mess with it. Thanks for reminding us.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 3, 2021 10:35:33 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones took the words right out of my head ( I had not typed them yet, but I was about to do so).
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Post by Peruano on Feb 3, 2021 8:18:03 GMT -5
Looking good to me. Removing polish can be frustrating. A bit of remedial grinder action on a problem specimen can turn it into a better beauty with just a little effort to hand polish that touched-up spot.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 3, 2021 8:11:00 GMT -5
I was cutting a bunch of mookaite and could not help but try to capture this snow capped peak. I'm not ready to play in the snow scene competition but thought I'd share anyway.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 2, 2021 17:47:12 GMT -5
As you have probably already determined, the plastic light base and the tiny metal bracket come as a unit (somewhere around $1.50 or so per). The surface to glue to is not only the crossbar visible, but a short vertical flat as well. E6000 seems to hold them adequately. In one of my wilder creative moments (actually taking advantage of a garage sale purchased night light), I took one that had a bit of a wrap around globe and sawed off the anterior face of the plastic to produce a flat that could be glued on to. It worked and even passed muster if not examined too closely. I have avoided photosensitive lights because they are only lit when the room is dark and indeed these backlit rocks are attractive in all kinds of lighted situation (not just absolute darkness). Give it a go!
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Post by Peruano on Feb 2, 2021 13:02:35 GMT -5
Your load looks 1. too small; add more rocks. You don't want to polish ceramic media unless you have a particularly important rock load that needs to be done and you absolutely don't have anything else to add. 2. too dry; I'd add a squirt of dawn liquid detergent along with your grit. The soap helps the grit cling to the stones as they move and makes for a cushion as well as a wetting agent. Soap is not just for cleaning. 3. The general movement should be like a margarita mixer but yes things move gently around the bowl as well as swirling up and down through the cycle. I keep a supply of small to intermediate rocks to mix with my loads to bring them up to capacity and to provide additional surfaces to carry the grit to the stones I want to polish. All bigs and many littles does not polish efficiently.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 2, 2021 12:23:50 GMT -5
Here is what the unit looks like from the side to show the fixture and small t bracket purchased. Because the bracket attaches to a round part of the fixture, the slab can be rotated to accentuate the viewing access depending on where the unit is plugged in to the receptacle. I generally cut the slabs a bit thinner than I would for cabbing, but that obviously depends on the density of the colors in the stone being worked. You obviously want to remove rough edges but face polishing is not necessary because the light brightens the pattern much more than a slab viewed without augmented light.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 1, 2021 12:43:22 GMT -5
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Post by Peruano on Jan 25, 2021 6:43:16 GMT -5
More likely is electronic trolling. Its 15 hours after your first message and there are 5 members and 61 guests showing as online at present. Lets guess that the 61 are primarily machine scooping up email addresses and other important stuff in their eyes. Most such visits are machines .
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Post by Peruano on Jan 22, 2021 14:58:51 GMT -5
Water systems can be conceived from any combination of flexible tubing, copper, etc. Using a simple water pump its low pressure so anything that fit tightly within or without will work. The cheapest fountain pump you can find will work fine, if you manage the height that water must be pumped to get to your work station. If you go to city water pressure you must meet plumbing standards or risk major leaks.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 22, 2021 14:53:50 GMT -5
My apologies that have heard me recommend this page before but you can't beat if for info on agates, and all quartz relatives. The quartz page www.quartzpage.de/agate.html#varietiesThe reason why Mexican crazy lace is so pretty is that it is quite heterogeneous with soft areas, and hard areas. The reason agate is so interesting is that it is so variable in the expression of contaminants and form. Go figure.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 19, 2021 16:18:27 GMT -5
If indeed it is equal to ( a rename of or similar) the mk225 it is a great blade. I believe Johns Gems was the first to say they were comparable. The only concern I might have is that it has the slots in the perimeter which might pose a greater risk to fingers in a hand-fed application. If you notice this design is typically reserved for 14" and above blades which would always be power fed. But my hypothesis for having the slots is indeed to carry more coolant and that is most important in larger blades. I have a 12" version of the MK225 and its has performed for years of hard work in a slab saw. I suspect that the slots do carry more coolant, not necessarily a bad thing and somewhat controllable by adjusting coolant levels in the tank??? Hey don't all saw blade hurl coolant toward the front of the saw? I have a blade ready to install on my 10" which will be hand or gravity fed, but I will be more careful than usual with my finger placement.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 16, 2021 7:02:44 GMT -5
There are data bases (microchips) available for each western state that show land ownership designed primarily to guide hunters. These work in Garmen if not other hand held GPS units. Some show land ownership, and others just show whether land is privately owned, state, federal etc. The federal jurisdiction is specified so you can distinguish tribal, blm, usfs etc as an indication of the access and the use/take limitation likely to exist. I bought one that covered the four corners state (AZ,UT, NM, CO) for $100 several years ago. Mine was called Huntrs (Rockies South). It works well for me because I explore in a myriad of plots and need to distinguish between open and restricted land owner regulations. The much more expensive ones that give the owners name might be useful for obtaining permission for private lands, but its not easy using info to actually reach the designated owner and their telephone info.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 14, 2021 17:24:15 GMT -5
You will want a splash plate on the front side of the saw. That's where the majority of oil will be thrown. If you are standing there you will have a perpetual mineral oil necktie.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 12, 2021 7:05:49 GMT -5
Are the yellow bands undercutting, which might indicate a difference in hardness between the bands.??
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Post by Peruano on Jan 12, 2021 6:58:38 GMT -5
Welcome. We will even try to find useful ways of using, displaying and sharing those pretties.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 10, 2021 9:02:36 GMT -5
A couple of additional comments. Typically I only use a 24 hr cure time for the wood glue, but would use more for large stones. Secondly cool temps slow curing, and having an unheated shop which gets as low as 40 degrees at night means I have to take blocks into the den to cure. They make a dynamic lapidary display on the hearth. Once set up I don't protect them from the cold. Wood glue does get brittle with freezing temperatures, and winter conditions may have contributed to the ease of popping stones with the vice compression. The process works the other way too. If the last remaining slab on the block is really thin, and the thin wood remaining after its sawed off of the block is soaked in water, very rarely the wood will apparently swell enough to fracture the thin stone. So wood does break stone occasionally. I too reuse my stubs, but typically use a chop saw to produce a fresh cut end. Inadvertently my used stubs are "cured" in the New Mexico sun for weeks before I get around to a "cut ends off of all old stubs" day.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 9, 2021 11:59:27 GMT -5
I glue nearly anything with a flat edge to a wooden block to facilitate good vice insertion and being able to saw clear up to the last possible slab from the rough. I use wood glue (any kind available but preferably not super water resistant). Usually I use a hand hack saw to cut through the 2 x 2 block as close to the stone as possible to facilitate a quick soak in water that will float the wafer thin residual wood from the stone. I know, you don't want to hand saw, but it takes less than 60 seconds to do (and I need the exercise). Of course you can make one more cut with your diamond blade but that takes more time and especially saw time. If the cut is too far from the stone/glue contact, the water soak is longer (24 or 48 hours) as opposed to a few to 12 hours if its thin (better water penetration). I use a hack saw because blades are cheap and after the occasional accidental sawing against stone, they do get dulled and become slow. I did try my reciprocating saw with a wood blade (cheap enough) but hard to control when it started jumping around and thus less accurate for cutting thin slice close to the stone.
So . . . what's new? Well I always clamp the wood block in my wood vice and several times when I have clamped it really close to the glue/stone margin, the stone has popped off with no or little effort. Presumably I am compressing the wood block just enough with the mechanical advantage of the vice to make the glue release. Instant removal using the vice, rather than the saw. It may not work all the time, and probably not on 4 x 4 blocks, but 90% of my glue jobs are on 2 x 2 s that fit well in my vice and seem vulnerable to mechanical persuasion. A quick water soak softens any remaining glue which is removed with a knife, or a toothbrush. So . . . worth a try to save a minute and get back to the task of producing beautiful things. Happy New Year everyone.
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Post by Peruano on Jan 7, 2021 12:16:47 GMT -5
If I was trying to introduce kids to the fun of rocks, I'd concentrate of finding rounded cobble on beaches or in stream beds. I seem to recall a few rocky beaches in Northern San Diego County. But your coastal canyon can have lots of river deposited rocks that will allow kids to select, sort, and fondle rocks. What more can you ask for if you are 6 or 4?
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