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Post by Peruano on Jun 26, 2020 10:58:10 GMT -5
Some international suppliers soak their stones in things like paraffin or linseed oil to give them a better luster. The paraffin in particular can take on a oily rancid odor.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 25, 2020 5:53:18 GMT -5
Maybe.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 23, 2020 5:13:22 GMT -5
Is there an attitude there?
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Post by Peruano on Jun 23, 2020 5:09:06 GMT -5
A cavity can add character and some can be filled with thick hobby glues and then polished down.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 23, 2020 5:08:54 GMT -5
A cavity can add character and some can be filled with thick hobby glues and then polished down.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 18, 2020 9:04:54 GMT -5
That should make it fly through the rocks. Why is it that clean machines seem to run better? Have you every tried slicing marine shells. You can produce some wild patterns. But wear a mask; everyone has a different story about the dangers of inhaling shell dust.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 16, 2020 16:01:10 GMT -5
As Pat suggested, treat the ends as if they were incipient cabochons. Dome and polish them on a lapidary arbor or lap if you have one, or with a dremel and associated attachments. Polishing the ends is like creating a window into the interior of the cast.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 16, 2020 15:57:42 GMT -5
Its a wonderful activity; stimulating to the senses (visual, cognitive, and tactile for sure) and it works well as a solitary activity or a group effort. Jump into the fray and tell us what you are doing and what you want to do.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 13, 2020 5:44:02 GMT -5
I can't tell you how many times I've picked up ocean tumbled brick pieces on the beach. They are attractive when wet but . . . there are other things in life that are preferable.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 8, 2020 14:22:11 GMT -5
The condors I have handled are pricey and spectacular so you don't want to go the wrong way, but then again, there may not be a wrong way for a great rock. No one can really tell you how to cut it without seeing it in person and from all angles. My suggestion was based on the fact that the visible reds were confined to the ends of the long side. Based on what is visible you might not want a slab or slabs with all of the color on each end and a dark monotone in the middle. By cutting on the smaller faces, it may be that you will get 1, 2, 4? slabs with much red and the chance exists that the middle will be less colorful. However if you really have fortifications or complex pattern all through the stone, every cut may be of interest.What we sometime forget is that the pattern in agates like this is three dimensional, and while it may appear to oriented on one face, in fact is may exist in other directions as well. So cut away and enjoy the fun. Cheers. Tom
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Post by Peruano on Jun 7, 2020 6:01:55 GMT -5
Cut for small slabs (but more of them). That will also ensure that some slabs have lots of red in them. The way I cab, results in big slabs generating waste.
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Help!
May 31, 2020 16:54:03 GMT -5
Post by Peruano on May 31, 2020 16:54:03 GMT -5
Yep. Binding sounds like alignment or pushing to fast against the blade. On a normal slab saw, you can spot binding due to alignment because the specimen wedges in the incomplete cut and the vice does not pull back easily even when saw is turned off.
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Post by Peruano on May 29, 2020 14:11:15 GMT -5
Maybe you need a computer lesson. Control + makes the font bigger, Control - makes it smaller. Realize that when you increase the magnification you may loose part of the screen and have to scroll right or left or down to see everything (frustrating when the sign in box does not show). I recently discovered bifocal readers (cheap but only available on line). They allow you to have readers on but still have distance vision when you look up from your work. You probably knew all of this.
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Post by Peruano on May 29, 2020 13:17:19 GMT -5
Wow. What a photo. You can't photo shop joy.
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Post by Peruano on May 28, 2020 13:14:37 GMT -5
You are doing a marvelous job in the true sense of a purist. Mexican crazy lace can have major differences in hard/soft spots, and by asking the tumbling to do the major shaping, you are exposing those weakest spots to damage/fracturing. I'm sure that some adhesives applied in the deepest fractures or cracks (when they were dry) would have strengthen the stone and potentially prevented some of the breakoffs. Yes a lapidary cab machine could have reduced the time, reduced the risk, and allowed you more control over shape but that would not have been tumbling. A stone like this once polished and smoothed to your satisfaction can be an endless source of pleasure as it is contemplated from every possible angle and repeatedly gives a different impression. Looking at the outside and imagining what is yet to be seen inside. Right on.
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Post by Peruano on May 27, 2020 14:44:58 GMT -5
Yep, every year for three or so, the grand nephews and nieces got a collective gift of a bunch of tumbles. They had to take the time to sort them among themselves after the chaos of the main gift exchange had occurred. Several weeks later I got a photo from the nephew's mother showing an array of many rocks all arrayed in systematic order on this top of his bedroom dresser. It was a gift that lasted (or held his attention) much more time than a leggo super model. The grand niece who was in the 6-7 stage kept hers inside her bureau, protecting them I suppose. I thinking of placing a pottery bowl in my front yard and periodically filling it with "rejects" that are still pretty in most folks' eyes. As folks take one or many, I can replenish it as needed.
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Post by Peruano on May 25, 2020 14:58:57 GMT -5
Metal detecting and rock hounding. . . known to be good for the stomach epithelium but now you tell me its good for my heart as well. I'm lucky and so are you. Stay on the course.
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Post by Peruano on May 23, 2020 7:40:23 GMT -5
Safely, safely, safely. It probably can be done but protecting yourself from electrical shock, from dust and or vapor with fabricated hoods, protecting the motor from water or grit that could trash the bearings, and controlling the water dripping off of or flung off of the wheels will all be challenges. I started my lapidary work with a standard bench grinder with a water drip, but had problems with grit accumulation and major limitations on what I could do. My advice would be to use this for a muslin wheel for polishing and try to find a used lapidary arbor and tile saw for the functions you want as opportunities and finances permit. Enjoy.
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Post by Peruano on May 21, 2020 16:27:52 GMT -5
Just before New Mexico went into quarantine, my local liquor store put a bunch of somewhat dated beer on sale ($8.88 per case as I remember). Represented among the PBR and fruity tutty stuff that does not sell well were 4 cases of Belgian Beer (two of Saisson and two of Scotch Ale from the Brassiere Silly, in the town of Silly, in Belgium). It turned out to be good stuff and got me through a couple of months and might, I say might, have produced a silly walk in our neighborhood on a couple of occasions. I went back once the stores reopened to get the same beer and it was $34 per case. I bought it and still like to get silly by less so.
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Post by Peruano on May 20, 2020 6:15:53 GMT -5
Tommy thanks amigo zarguy yeah, no cuttable materials nearby. It’s all igneous The gold mine rock shop outside of Canon City will keep a cutter busy for a long time. There is a tremendous fossil fauna not so far away either, but its Cenozoic stuff that is not lapidary appropriate in most forms.
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