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Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 19, 2020 15:22:01 GMT -5
To separate left over SiC I just pour the entire contents of the barrel into a white Walmart plastic pan say 6 inches tall, ~12 x ~16 inches in size. Run fresh water into it and let it overflow 2 to 3 times till the slurry thins out a bit. sic is super heavy, it will settle to the bottom. Pour the half muddy water off at the corner of the pan slowly and leave all the solids in the bottom of the pan. Inspect for sic settled on bottom of white pan. If sic is there, wash sic back into barrel at corner of pan. This method pretty much ruins your slurry for reuse. I don't reuse slurry, I just add fresh slurry thickener, clay in my case. Some use clay base kitty litter. If you have a good slurry it should scavenge every single SiC grit particle into the rocks and use it ALL up. It is a good thing to scavenge all the big particles. It makes the next abrasive step quicker because there will be no deep scratches from leftover big particles. Thx! I'll try that, and ask out local pottery whether they have any leftover clay to use as thickener As jamesp mentioned, there are some of us that use cheap, clay based kitty litter. A big bag lasts a long time. My slurry and grind efficiency instantly improved with that addition.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 19, 2020 9:13:31 GMT -5
Don't sleep on those agates with vugs or cavities. They take a little care in cleanouts, but they make for some interesting tumbles. I did not fill these with silicone, wax, glue or anything. I had to pry some ceramics out of the larger cavity, then high pressure water and an electric toothbrush.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 17, 2020 19:02:09 GMT -5
Alright, you shouldn't have both, Brian. Access to that great self-collected material we've seen AND the best 'they wanted to get rid of their lifelong rock collection' finds. Some guys just have it all, I guess.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 14, 2020 21:27:17 GMT -5
Perhaps Paiute Agate? Nice looking pendant, Chuck.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 9, 2019 19:38:36 GMT -5
You must give some hellacious instruction, or this person is some sort of phenom. That's the nicest, cleanest ring (with a stunner of a stone) I've seen in a while. Granted, I haven't been looking too hard lately, but kudos to you both.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 21, 2019 19:35:35 GMT -5
I'm sure aDave's wife unit will be thrilled, those are beautiful pieces. To us Easterners, 'Q' is just another letter.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 20, 2019 23:32:03 GMT -5
I say no to spiders. We've had many pets here, but spiders and birds are a no go. Adam, don't go and get your ass bit or anything.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 20, 2019 23:16:56 GMT -5
Welcome from Lexington. I noticed, no KY rocks.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 20, 2019 23:13:30 GMT -5
Good looking rocks, they do make a nice tumble. I like the depth, not just just a flat color. Agree with aDave , some of those pieces do look like Lavic. I trust the pros - there must be then I opened the 2 small flat rate boxes from the guy I got them from and they went straight into the tumbler Other filler I used throughout the process didn't have lavic that I know of, so it might have been included originally. I'm not rock expert just like them! For the record, I've never seen Rattlesnake Hills Jasper, except for yours/these. Merely noting the similarities between the two. I really liked the Lavic I tumbled, when it was solid. Remember, I do not proclaim to have any knowledge of rocks, besides how to polish them.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 19, 2019 23:13:55 GMT -5
Nice work on those. I've done a piece here and there, but it's impressive to see a whole gaggle of them together.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 19, 2019 20:46:14 GMT -5
Been on Flickr since 2006 and have over 2,500 photos there. I paid the $35 and consider it a value against the time it would take to move them all and secure them somewhere else on the cloud. My photos are accessible from anywhere and are a redundant backup to the hard drive, thumb drives and CDs I've burnt with photo libraries. Plus, there is a social element to Flickr. I follow several members, whose photos I view and enjoy regularly.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 16, 2019 3:28:16 GMT -5
You will need the "Dump" feature when collecting Rio's!!! Sure would like to make another trip out there Henry. Don't you dare go collect another truckload of fine Rio's, only to leave them sitting in boxes out behind the shed. The absurdity!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 16, 2019 2:56:40 GMT -5
Great looking agate!!!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 16, 2019 2:52:59 GMT -5
I bet those were fun to cut! You did a fine job of shining them up, too. The matrix can be tough to deal with on some of the top shelf agates, for sure.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 16, 2019 2:45:51 GMT -5
Nice roll, Grant. Love Montanas, but they do take some time. There hasn't been a minute since I started tumbling that I haven't had some Montana's spinning in my barrels.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 16, 2019 2:41:24 GMT -5
Good looking rocks, they do make a nice tumble. I like the depth, not just just a flat color. Agree with aDave, some of those pieces do look like Lavic.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 1, 2019 20:45:17 GMT -5
That's the top of the food chain right there! Thanks for your persistence.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jun 14, 2019 21:38:39 GMT -5
Don't be discouraged by the Lapis. It isn't a stone that tumbles easily, or well. The bloodstone, however, should be glossy by the time it runs thru polish.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jun 14, 2019 19:48:41 GMT -5
Another vote for cut it. We just did some Bahia Agates last night that were pretty gnarly on the outside. Some were such that I couldn't really tell the orientation of the inside so I would just take a nibble cut to get an idea. Some turned out to be duds, but others were spectacular. Silly me got so excited that I threw them in the tumbler right away, didn't realize until this morning we didn't take a single pic. Oh well, we'll see them again in a week at cleanout. Al Those Bahias are sometimes very ugly, but they often make some of the most interesting tumbles. May be the same with the Fairburn. This, however, is a large one to tumble. I may have to cut it too.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jun 10, 2019 22:11:51 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your finds, I know how hard it is to find those things. That last one is definitely a terrific find. I like the banded grey agates as well, though. You've got a good variety on display there and, I agree, the KY moss is underrated.
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