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Post by oregon on Aug 26, 2020 10:57:07 GMT -5
My Italian made hand nippers are the most robust I ever found nipping glass up to 5/8" thick. Requires double grip or strong hands. Increasing handle length would solve that issue for more leverage. Same concept should be do able with rocks, it would require heavier carbide rollers and more leverage. you could try one of the manual tile cutters, for thicker glass, they're usually to be had cheap second hand...
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Post by oregon on Aug 3, 2020 22:29:56 GMT -5
Tommy, is there a back door in the garage or is that another major effort to get the saw behind the house? Came in handy, eh, that extra headroom once you get in the garage? : ) No access to the back from the garage unfortunately. If it does end up heading fir behind the house I'm gonna jack it up and install off road wheels on it... might as well put a hitch on it, take it with you hounding, save yourself from hauling the duds home!
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Post by oregon on Jul 30, 2020 18:49:11 GMT -5
Nice jasper in a pretty setting. What a nice outing with family too! That jasper reminds me of several places I've found similar looking material. It seemed the host rock was usually some kind of rhyolite or closely related volcanic material. Is this the case in your area also? Yeah, all volcanic around here. Ash seems to be a pretty good source of Silicon in various forms... Most deposits also seem to have gradations of material from softer Rhyolite like material to nice glassy solid Jaspers.
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Post by oregon on Jul 29, 2020 23:08:16 GMT -5
Yeah, well I couldn't pass up one of these minisonics to try at a ridiculous price...
I read the instructions, tried adjusting the amounts of rock, water, size of rocks. added a spacer to make sure the rubber latch was holding it down tight... even played with the spring tension adjusting screws and I just never could get much action out of it. Let it run for a few days, but the 220 grit looked barely touched, not much mud.
Well I finally cut a sheet of rubber from an old innertube and lay that in the cradle and viola, action like the above, the speed control actually has an effect. It's an older hopper, blue, not quite like the newer black rubbery ones... I guess the hopper was tight down but must have been loose enough to rock in the cradle back and forth. Anyway, just a 2c if someone else runs into an old minisonic with similar issues.
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Post by oregon on Jul 29, 2020 22:46:55 GMT -5
And this poor little 12" freestanding slab saw which could very well be a strong candidate for Grand Champion in the World's Ugliest Saw competition. The pan is solid, though rusty. Arbor turns freely, motor turns freely. Lid hinges are broken, blade is bent, and as you can see there's "just a bit of rust." A bit concerned about the carriage rails and feed screw. But I'll douse everything in penetrating oil, pull it all apart, sandblast everything and go from there. I did one of these up earlier in the year, nice cute little saw. mine Had a "R&M " sticker on it, was apparently a shop in Salem, OR - not sure if they made them or just put their stickers on them. There are several notes around about R & M saws so?? Mine cut pretty decent, but there were a few weak points to the design, so I moved it on. only have a before blurry pic.
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Post by oregon on Jul 27, 2020 22:44:41 GMT -5
Darn, I shoulda picked up a hunk of that before J2B2 left town... looked so bland outside.
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Post by oregon on Jul 27, 2020 18:12:13 GMT -5
Wow I would call that place rockhounding heaven for many reasons. Remarkably because of the lack of digging a hole only to find a crumb or nothing. A rock hounders dream for sure just walk along and wait to spot a jewel 50 yards away and pickup 6 others getting there. Rock on!!!! Rock on!! Back to childhood spending all day in the creek... We kinda take turns leading, but yeah you could spot things up ahead, but fun when the leader misses the obvious! Best part is that there's enough water to wash things off (well most things are pretty well washed ) and you're not worrying about if you can spare those precious few drops out of your water bottle to have a look at some dusty rock. How many can you bring out with you? How do you decide what stays? Do you leave it where you can get it next time? I've never rock hounded so I'm interested to know these things. I kept two melon sized pcs, and a handful of smaller... The easy entry creeks get picked, and it's usually a few years between good winter storms that expose new material. So mostly limited to how much you want to carry and how steep it is getting out. I also like to leave some should others come along.
I love the banding in the reds and yellows. Those blue fortifications add some nice contrast. I'd love to see any slabs or cabs that come from those chunks. yeah, the guy with the blue was probably >200lbs, resting where two of us just barely managed to roll it to the water to admire. Usually the Jasper transitions aren't so well defined here, so these could be interesting. Will try to cut something interesting.
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Post by oregon on Jul 26, 2020 23:22:46 GMT -5
The forest is so green there! It's photos like yours that really make me want to move to the Pacific Northwest. Those are some lovely Jasper's you found! The one with the white reminds me a bit of Noreena Jasper.
yeah this side is green, always amazes me how quickly everything changes going over the cascade passes. Complete ecosystem changes in a very short distance.
Problem is all that growth buries the rocks!
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Post by oregon on Jul 26, 2020 0:00:12 GMT -5
That's some great color, nothing like a cool walk on a hot day. How much came home with you? I strategically took my smaller pack, My son couldn't leave the one piece, did two trips back to the rig while we climbed out once , his large rock weighed in at 98lbs... (he had to leave the really large ones behind)
I'd love to find the ledge they're falling off, some really nice patterns/banding in the jasper there. Fun Day.
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Post by oregon on Jul 25, 2020 20:05:38 GMT -5
Hot weekend, so headed out to scout a new creek... Was a most pleasant walk in the creek. Couple hundred feet down to drop into the creek wasn't bad, but coming out was a bit tougher, had to practice some catch and release. Might give you an idea of the WE(s)T side of Oregon Rockhounding looks like. A few in situ pics...
Rocks weren't bad either!
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Post by oregon on Jul 15, 2020 22:44:05 GMT -5
always remember the Hans Gamma interview where he nipped Jasper slabs...
doesn't seem to be on his site, but the archive has it...
Try this link hmmm I guess it's an outdated version of flash, so you have to 'allow' it, that setting is probably buried for most folks.. sry.
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Post by oregon on Jul 15, 2020 18:37:53 GMT -5
Using a pair of powerful plier type Italian glass nippers it took about 15 minutes to split this glass. Fast work. This brand nipper is the most heavy duty I have ever used. May even nip agates. Uses 1/8" thick carbide cutting blade wheels. By nipping it with this tool there is no loss from a saw blade kerf. And no impacts to propagate fractures. Best of both worlds. always remember the Hans Gamma interview where he nipped Jasper slabs...
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Post by oregon on Jul 15, 2020 10:35:44 GMT -5
That should qualify you for the PhD (Piled Higher & Deeper) of Poo.
3051
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Post by oregon on Jul 13, 2020 19:22:08 GMT -5
Eastern OR Jaspers alway pleasing to work with and to the eye, a few pcs from Tommy's gift
Hampton Wood isn't bad either.
Other flotsam & jetsam from the load...
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Post by oregon on Jul 13, 2020 0:37:51 GMT -5
grab you binocs, look to the NW after sunset, low to the horizon... Little more interesting a few nights later...
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Post by oregon on Jul 10, 2020 22:49:00 GMT -5
if you liked the PVC barrel, sourcing parts to replicate should be easy. I think someone even sells em on ebay... but if you're going to have that many machines running, you could simplify with one motor running several sets of bars, probably use less electric...
You don't have to be as fancy as Chuck but bearings, bars, motor , Pulleys, belts and some dimensional lumber is about all you need to build a decent large machine.
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/83163/
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Post by oregon on Jul 9, 2020 15:01:45 GMT -5
It certainly has that "look." Hard to tell just by looking on my phone screen, but I'd say it is. Pretty one too. Can you see any gastroliths in it?
Had to google that - for others, they're stones swallowed to help with grinding food in the stomach. When I cut it I remember thinking some of the center 'blocks' look like different material... Certainly looks like the other specimens, kinda fun. Might have come with a couple dino bone pcs, not sure but probably some estate rockhounding... Thanks.
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Post by oregon on Jul 9, 2020 12:34:24 GMT -5
So you're telling me this rock I just happened to grab & cut the other day from my stash is really a turd? Any idea where it might have come from? Learn something every day....
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Post by oregon on Jul 2, 2020 1:16:23 GMT -5
What's at the Middle fork mine that made that the one that was hit so hard? I thought the Rainbow was the main attraction?
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Post by oregon on Jun 28, 2020 12:09:40 GMT -5
Aren't they pan heads underneath? I usually unscrew the springs from the board have access to the bottom of the frame that way. (been very pleased with my used sawzall blade replacement springs
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