mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
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Post by mjflinty on Jun 25, 2012 7:30:45 GMT -5
I agree with Lee. Steel and obsidian are not best friends. You'd be amazed at what a large round cobble of granite or hard sandstone can do. Just let gravity do the smashing.
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Jun 6, 2012 10:02:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the ideas on the photo setup!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
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Post by mjflinty on Jun 3, 2012 16:12:18 GMT -5
Great cabs and excellent back-lit photo! Would you be willing to share your trick with getting the photo?
Thanks, Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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hello!
May 29, 2012 18:37:45 GMT -5
Post by mjflinty on May 29, 2012 18:37:45 GMT -5
Good to have you here!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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4 cabs
Apr 17, 2012 17:01:15 GMT -5
Post by mjflinty on Apr 17, 2012 17:01:15 GMT -5
I really like the quartz and jade cab! Awesome work!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Apr 12, 2012 9:03:10 GMT -5
I'd go with flourite, limb cast, Montana agate, and Montana Agate. There's not much to do with flourite except have it in your Mohs test kit for scratch tests or as an example in your mineral collection.
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Apr 7, 2012 10:07:24 GMT -5
Dude to dude, that's a nice wrap!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Apr 7, 2012 10:05:44 GMT -5
Very cool! Great job with the quartz crystal cab!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Apr 6, 2012 7:25:05 GMT -5
Great job on the Flint Ridge Flint, the official state gemstone by the way.
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
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Post by mjflinty on Mar 13, 2012 13:34:49 GMT -5
I've had a very good dealings with my webhost, BlueHost. You could check them out, they'd probably be must cheaper and their techs are great; they helped me out big time a few months back when my site got hacked.
Good luck, Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Mar 9, 2012 9:05:10 GMT -5
Glad you found RTH and it's always good to encourage kids to take up the most awesome pursuit known to mankind - Rock Hunting!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
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Post by mjflinty on Mar 4, 2012 15:09:32 GMT -5
I don't think the hardness is 7 but, it is close. I'm thinking that mussel shell from the river won't work, this is an ocean shell; this one started out over .25 inch thick and it lost about half that during the grind.
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Post by mjflinty on Mar 2, 2012 14:04:20 GMT -5
I was doing some experimenting with Quahog and my tumbler. Quahog is one of the toughest shells and it was highly prized for wampum back in the day because it could be polished. So, I collected a few from the beach and shaped them a bit on the wheel and tossed them in my vibe with rocks (hardness 7). It went from 220 to polish with the agates and surprisingly enough it came out just as polished as the rocks! Here's the finished necklace ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) ![](http://www.rockhobbies.com/images/products/1330714735mm1843b.jpg) I'm going to make some more and try some interesting shapes. Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Mar 1, 2012 16:39:30 GMT -5
Welcome! I'm out in Jacksonville (no rocks except quartz pebbles) NC
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Feb 15, 2012 11:01:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the insight. This batch didn't have much in the way of small stones in it. How far back should I go with these? I'm thinking 120? Maybe finer?
Thanks, Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Feb 15, 2012 10:07:03 GMT -5
Excellent work and picture too!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Feb 15, 2012 10:01:47 GMT -5
So, I've been tumbling for years and have never had a batch come out like this. ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png) All the areas that are concave are not polished (look scratched) while all the edges and convex areas have a perfect polish. I'm using a vibe and I only polish in my polish barrel. Any ideas what happened? ![](http://www.rockhobbies.com/images/products/1329318062bad_batch.jpg) Thanks, Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Feb 13, 2012 11:44:43 GMT -5
very cool, never even knew there was such a thing!
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Feb 9, 2012 20:05:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the good words everyone. The jasper is from Ohio; I found it as a large cobble in a glacial till deposit. I slabbed some of it and the rest (end cuts) got knapped into points.
Michael
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mjflinty
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2011
Posts: 358
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Post by mjflinty on Feb 9, 2012 8:41:46 GMT -5
Very nice!
Michael
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