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Post by Peruano on Apr 1, 2023 6:22:38 GMT -5
jasoninsd hit most of the important points to address your concerns.
As to how much water to start each step. Flood the load with water, then pour it all off (but you don't have to wait for the last drops to come out of the bowl). In other words very wet rocks. Then add a hefty squirt of Dawin Liquid Detergent and start the action. The rock load will start out somewhat violently moving but will calm as the soap coats the rocks. You can add your grit now too but do it slowly (not all in one dollop). I like to take the measuring spoon with grit and touch it to the edge of the bowl which causes to grit to gleefully jump into the fray in a dispersed manner. Ok, things will still be sort of violent but calmer. Let it rock for 15 to 30 minutes and it should calm. If still too vigorous you might need more rock/fill, or a smidge more water. If you are using water to calm things down, it probably will take too much and become detrimental, so you are much better off to add small rocks or ballast instead to achieve good action. The spray bottle is a good way to add water if need because things are too thick/slow. When your rocks have the sludge coating and are too dry, the action slows down conspicuously; that's when to add a spritz of water (enough to speed things up but the increase may take a minute (or not)). You want action that is like your coffee grinder or beverage blender, not clashing and banging. The soap helps to cushion things, but you usually don't want big foam (it happens and its more messy than lethal). Once you know how to select little rocks, you can substitute them for your ceramics. I often add a few small rerun rocks to the load to adjust weight and the provide better movement (separating the big stones or slabs from each other). However when you are adding ballast rocks, you should use rounded or smooth ones that won't eat or consume your grits. Onward and upward and best wishes for a successful tumbling series.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 29, 2023 15:07:36 GMT -5
I agree on the last photos. Austin and central texas are heavy with flint/cherts (sometimes nice cutters).
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Post by Peruano on Mar 29, 2023 15:06:03 GMT -5
They use it because there are oil spots in critical areas under the saw. That said, there is not price evident to me which suggests they are fishing for best offer and the buyer should fish for lowest price. Its a great saw and should be fixable if anything is worn.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 29, 2023 14:59:42 GMT -5
Sometimes I like a matt finish. Exotica and mookaite are two that I'm willing to accept less than lustrous.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 28, 2023 7:21:17 GMT -5
The material from the Llano river doesn't look as much like wood; it seems to have a sedimentary/metamorphic layered look and not the fibrous texture that I "thought" I saw in your initial photos. Is it the same material as you included in your first posted photos?
I'm trying to dredge my mind for a layered volcanic with a low specific gravity as a possible candiate for the llano river stuff . . . but then I'd need an igneous source wouldn't I.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 27, 2023 15:24:45 GMT -5
Valencia County new mexico but I've seen similar material from Nevada.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 27, 2023 15:18:57 GMT -5
The mk hot fog blade is the best all purpose blade available. Go forth and cut.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 27, 2023 10:24:58 GMT -5
The tv 5 (raytech) is a good machine. Kelly's machine should be fine too. Kelly come over and we will fire up my raytech just to show how I load and treat it. Tom
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Post by Peruano on Mar 27, 2023 10:21:26 GMT -5
Its correct to say that many kinds of opal exist and it can occur in many different situations. I've always been amazed at the large seemingly pure opal "woods" that you post from Nevada. I call the material that I collect opalized wood, but in fact it is a fibrous wood derivative (like that posted by velodromed. It can be loose fibers especially on the surface, relatvely compact and solid a bit deeper in the specimen; the latter can show typical wood cell patterns and growth rings, and often will show pure black inclusions which in fact is the most obviously opal component. The black opal does not show growth rings. Based on where and how it occurs it appears to have invaded spaces (under bark, in cracks, hollow cavities, etc.) It will be very interesting to see if velodromed finds such black pure opal, or relatively compact opal like material that is a wood replacement. I guess what I'm saying is the the black seems to be opal "in wood", whereas the grey compact material may be "opalized" wood. what the chemical or geological makeup of the grey fibrous layer is may still be debatable. Clearly much of the beautiful Nevada wood posted in this thread is opalized wood showing grow rings etc evidencing replacement of wood by the opal. Here is what appears to be a root with the fibrous grey layer on the outside and a solid black opal interior (with no evidence of growth rings or cell structure of any kind). and yet another photo of examples of patterns seen when you subject them to a saw. Its all a bit fascinating.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 26, 2023 11:25:43 GMT -5
Here's an unprocessed piece which shows a thin layer of the black opal that is characteristic of my sites in NM. It can be thick or thin, located in cracks or solid masses but still in form of the wood it is replacing. As I understand it, opal is a silica product on its way to being chalcedony so, its possible that all the pretty pet wood you have seen went through this stage in its ultimate formation.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 26, 2023 10:57:12 GMT -5
There is a good discussion for opalized wood in geology.com ....search opalized wood. Soft, low specific gravity etc.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 26, 2023 6:24:46 GMT -5
If I'm correct in your material being similar to my NM material, this is what it will polish like if you have the black opal inclusions. Sorry, I don't have any of the rough in my photo stash. Like a lot of other porous rocks, this material will stick to your tongue or a wet finger due to its pulling the water away from a wet surface. Probably works best on a slab or flat recently cut surface.
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Gypsum?
Mar 25, 2023 19:15:26 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Peruano on Mar 25, 2023 19:15:26 GMT -5
In my environs it would poorly or nonsilicated wood (in fact often partially opalized wood or wood on the way to being the pet wood that we all look for and expect). Explore the inside and you may find black opalized crevices; you can polish it and see cell structure, growth rings and branch bases. There are known sites in Nevada, New mexico, and I believe California. It can be polished but is both soft and brittle. I often think of old driftwood when I first find it on the ground.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 23, 2023 6:23:37 GMT -5
Bigger is not always better. At cleanout time, a vibe batch with 200 rocks is a lot more exciting than one with 45. Go figure, after all its for entertainment that I do this.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 22, 2023 6:56:44 GMT -5
In my jaded eye, that rock could even be Moroccan Jasper. But if you need a name "brown jasper" would work except at a high end sale.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 22, 2023 6:51:10 GMT -5
I have a big yard and I found it easiest to run my vibratory lap outside on gravel. It did not walk or dig itself into a hole. It tends to hurl grit/solution overboard and would be a mess in an organized shop. Maybe I had it too wet, but eventually I lined the rim of the pan with a strip of foam loosely propped around the perimeter. That raised the outer edge and kept things from contacting on the edges above the surface that I was trying to polish. Tony had good advice on weighting things down. Its best if the weight has a slightly larger diameter than the stone to be polished so that you prize stone doesn't get damaged playing bumper cars with its siblings.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 20, 2023 17:26:38 GMT -5
That fish needed an orthodontist; his teeth are pretty crooked.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 20, 2023 16:35:42 GMT -5
As a research biologist somewhat familiar with how fish scales are arranged, I'm dubious of the attribution to a fossil fish, but hey I'll admit I have read nothing and know nothing about this specific material. We all have to learn new things about the world around us.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 20, 2023 16:31:24 GMT -5
It's a wonderful machine for polishing big pieces. Tie it to a tree in your backyard and let the neighbors decide whether its too noisy. Learning to keep things from bumping into each other or removing the polish from the unpolished surfaces are the important challenges ahead of you. Its a fun machine but only appropriate for special projects.
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Post by Peruano on Mar 20, 2023 16:25:45 GMT -5
Nice finish. As I pointed out in a different post, slice off the top of some of those tumbles and you have an instant cab or at least a more useful rock.
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