tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 16, 2014 9:56:53 GMT -5
I one used a dremel and some polish paste to give an okay shine to a piece. It was pretty well rounded naturally.
A vibratory tumbler will polish up rocks in their natural shape with minimal loss of material. The rocks won't round off but the sharp edges will "soften" a bit.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 16, 2014 9:53:07 GMT -5
Love transparent or translucent stones. These sunstones are SWEET! Very nice tumble, Joe.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 16, 2014 9:49:38 GMT -5
Lots of cool banding and lots of color. Nice batch! Always enjoy your posts.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 16, 2014 9:43:36 GMT -5
I think the pictures are great. I see a camera reflected in pic #2 which shows off the shine. The backlight from the sun lets us see the inside of them all. Nice rocks , nice pictures, good job!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 14, 2014 9:43:41 GMT -5
That T-egg slice is really nice and the morrisonite too. I like all the flats.
Haven't done a batch of slabettes myself but have been cutting and saving some to do so.
The final shine is related to the initial coarse grind. Patience will come, my first few were no where near as shiny I'm getting out now. Even redid some of my older favorites.
Keep 'em coming. Enjoyed the post.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 12, 2014 23:52:22 GMT -5
Thanks everybody.
Just finished my probation and getting a $2 raise. Boss says I earned it.
Benefits kick in soon too.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 12, 2014 23:49:15 GMT -5
They get thoroughly rinsed & run through a "semi-burnish" type washing between every stage - I generally use a mixture of a couple teaspoons of Borax along with some liquid dishsoap (generally 4-6 drops in my UV10) and I will run that anywhere from 4-12 hours between every stage and they get a thorough rinse after that before moving to the next stage, plus I go through after every stage & pick out every little piece that is less than a 1/4in and replace that with ceramic pellets (I use these small pieces in my rotary tumblers for the initial grind stage), and I use a separate polish only bowl too, generally my other stages run from 24-48 hours, polishing generally runs 48-72 hours & I will usually put a few drops of liquid soap into the polish stage after 24 hours. Thanks. Pretty similar to what I do already. Should be good to go.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 12, 2014 23:45:09 GMT -5
Hey Ken, retired Navy here. Couple of years ago that POS came to S.D. to talk to the Foreign Legion. Half of them turned their backs and walked out. That makes me laugh. Chuckling as I type.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 12, 2014 1:33:20 GMT -5
Back in July I got laid off for the second time in a couple years. I posted my lament and got lots of good advice and encouragement from folks here. I did and do appreciate that. My biggest worry was being 50 something, thinking that would make getting hired more difficult. I've heard stories .....
I was actually only out of work long enough to collect one unemployment check, three weeks. I should of shared my good news earlier but better late than never they say. I got hired by a company that makes surface protection products. Films and papers. They found me through the Department of Unemployment web site. Liked my resume and called me 10 minutes after my initial interview. Started the next day.
There are many things I like about the job. I'm running a coating machine which puts latex on paper. I like running machines. I'm on second shift and there are only 3 of us in the building, supervisor is next door and we rarely see him. Best of all when work gets slow in the department the company does not lay off operators. So if things slow down I'll be doing grunt work for operators pay. Security, doing something I like, hard to beat.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 12, 2014 1:01:10 GMT -5
Welcome aboard , love your intro.
I watch the ground for rocks too. Can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I'm looking for gold. Ha!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 11, 2014 11:22:42 GMT -5
King of Hearts. Beautiful work!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 11, 2014 9:57:46 GMT -5
Ex-army speaking here ... As a member of the military you must respect the Commander-in- Chief, if only the office and not he man. I once got into a pile of crap when loudly criticizing the sitting President at the time. An older experienced NCO set me straight rather uncomfortably for me. The soldiers have no choice but to follow the chain of command. Only us civilians are allowed to criticize or protest with out reprisal. It always struck me as odd that one of the freedoms a soldier is meant to protect he/she cannot engage in. Nature of the military I suppose.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 11, 2014 9:49:09 GMT -5
I was at work. Large metal building with no access to media. Arrived at home after my shift to a silent household, rare in those days. I remember watching the images on TV in stunned disbelief. To this day I still have a hard time accepting that it actually happened on our soil.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 11, 2014 9:31:16 GMT -5
I haven't tried it but some folks swear by it. I go with a minimum amount of water and get a good slurry fairly quickly. Might try it some day to see if there's any difference.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 11, 2014 1:33:58 GMT -5
Nice shape and shine, really like the agate top right in the third pic. Good job and thanks for posting.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 10, 2014 9:32:54 GMT -5
Looking good, colorful and shiny, just the way we like 'em. Super picture of the moss agate, really like it.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 9, 2014 10:58:03 GMT -5
You got some great material in this batch. Its nice to have some new blood showing there stuff. I ask because I'm trying to relax my standards to get more rocks through. The other way to get more rocks through without lowering your quality is too tumble more rocks in stage one. I agree, he does have some nice material in this batch. I also agree that your method of getting more rock is optimal. At 4# per week I could run my UV18 once a month which I would be totally happy with. Expanding my roughing capacity is a future goal. Economically challenged at the moment. Know what to shoot for now.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 9, 2014 10:07:20 GMT -5
Kingsley North has tumbling rough that they say is around 1" in size. 10$ per pound in smaller quantities. Not being a cabber I'm not sure if that size is usable for individual pieces. I mention because it's one of the lowest prices I've seen for that sort of rough and their stuff is usually decent.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 9, 2014 9:39:16 GMT -5
Very colorful bunch of goodies you got there. The Lace is way cool and that piece of Morrisonite has me wanting more. Nice batch, keep 'em coming!
This is not meant to be critical in any way, purely curiosity. Some of your pieces have cracks or voids, I would like to know how you clean between stages. Hand scrub or just burnish and go?
I ask because I'm trying to relax my standards to get more rocks through. Having a hard time doing so because I'm paranoid about cross contamination. Obviously not a problem with your batch as they shined up really nice.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 8, 2014 12:01:36 GMT -5
Spent a long weekend in Munich when I was in the Army. Great city with lots of things to see. You'll love it. Be sure and have a schnitzel and a beer for all of us!
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