richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 14, 2017 23:21:54 GMT -5
That's a good idea of water and a fire pit. You just need to be careful but you know that. I was just thinking about that but maybe after the water soak freeze the rocks and let the ice do the job. It sure cracks the roads real good. Put them in Tupperware to keep the pieces of rocks in one place. Just a thought. Yes some of them explode in the fire pit. I keep the lid closed to avoid getting hit by fragments. I also have wrapped them in aluminum foil which so far has done a good job keeping all the pieces in one place. I also has the freezing idea but got yelled at for putting rocks in the freezer. I have been told that my rock activities will be limited to the garage and outside.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 14, 2017 20:55:36 GMT -5
I don't know if this is useful but I had some success soaking some large cobbles for a few days in water then I cooked them in the BBQ pit for a while and ended up with some much more manageable material.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 13, 2017 22:58:37 GMT -5
Looks like these will turn out great!
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 13, 2017 22:57:12 GMT -5
Excellent work, loved checking them out and look forward to more photos.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 10, 2017 23:07:05 GMT -5
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 8, 2017 19:53:22 GMT -5
ohh man here I been buying boxes full all the while this garagerocker could have just sent me some free ones??? just kidding Ha!!! Imagine that, a guy in Kentucky, the land of limestone, sending tumbling material to a guy in Texas, rock hounding heaven!? Doesn't seem right, does it? richardh must have said all the right things. Truthfully, he was heading in the right direction and I knew he'd get it, he just needed some proven materials to see promising results. That sort of thing happens a lot around here. It's not coordinated, expected or even publicized, it's just the right thing to do. Whether it's materials or knowledge, they are both freely given to newcomers so they can advance in their new hobby. That's what is great about this collective membership. If you fell through the cracks and never got a 'welcome' package, let me know and I'll send you a batch of rough like Richard got.
The most embarrassing part is that your photo of the rough material looks better than mine of the finished product I really appreciate all the help from the community here. Hopefully I can pay it forward.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 7, 2017 21:46:25 GMT -5
So glad to hear that you got some proven rough. When I was getting started several members here offered to send me some and I took Garagerocker up on his offer and it made a big difference. I knew if something didn't turn out it was something I was doing and not the material.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 7, 2017 14:58:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I have my tumblers rolling again now and hope to have some material completed in the not too distant future.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 5, 2017 18:43:34 GMT -5
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 4, 2017 21:13:29 GMT -5
How important is the Borax? I have been avoiding it since it will kill the vegetation and I don't really know how to get rid of the slurry with borax in it.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 4, 2017 21:07:32 GMT -5
Wow that picture Jasper is amazing.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 4, 2017 20:55:48 GMT -5
I've had to put my rocks aside for the past few months. School has been more challenging this year so I had to take an involuntary hiatus. Anyway your rock photos are both inspiring for me and discouraging at the same time. Those rios are exactly how I dream mine will eventually come out. Unfortunately mine always fall much short of what you show here. Well it is the challenge that keeps it interesting but a success like a couple that look like what you show here would really be a booster. Thanks for posting.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Apr 4, 2017 18:24:50 GMT -5
Yep, the spot where I have been dumping my slurry in the yard is growing like crazy at all. The grass and weeds are going crazy!
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Feb 17, 2017 20:47:26 GMT -5
Tony/catmandew on here let's the huge barrel he has roll for months and got a straight to polish in a vibe. They r very nice when he finishes. I let mine roll at least 2 months, sometimes I wonder if they grind themselves down once the grit is gone. I am like Capt/Bob in that slow and steady goes a long ways without brea king a sweat! LOL I was curious about what would happen without grit and ran a barrel with just rocks and water for three weeks weighing them every week and did observe consistent weight loss. It was substantially slower than the barrels with grit.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Feb 11, 2017 20:49:07 GMT -5
Thanks! The botswanas came from The Rock Shed. I got some blue bots and 'plain' bots, five pounds each. They have been spread out over batches the last year or so. Still have more to add.
The camera is a Canon 60D. More importantly, the lens is a Canon EF24-105 f/4L IS USM. The lens makes a difference. Probably overkill for rock photos, but I already had the photo equipment.
I'll have to check out that camera and lens. Your photos are gorgeous. I've bought a few pounds of Botswana form therockshed as well, they were decent but pricey at $14/pound. I think some of the stuff I found on ebay were a bit better from a price/quality standpoint. Bots are some of my favorite to tumble as well. The camera and lens lens are definitely great gear but that is just part of the story. You have to really know what you are doing to get results like these.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Feb 11, 2017 20:34:55 GMT -5
Absolutely beautiful, so many different materials that I'm not familiar with and such perfect finish. I struggle so hard just to get a few that approach a finish like that and you produce batch after batch of nothing but perfection.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jan 26, 2017 21:22:13 GMT -5
Those are all great but #10 really makes me drool, such a cool pattern. You are cranking these out at an amazing pace!
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jan 25, 2017 22:06:14 GMT -5
Those look awesome to me. txrockhunter sent me a nice box of material and it is great. That polish looks good and I love how easy it is to run the coarse, AO 80, and then polish. Makes life and clean ups a lot more simple...good work! Jake This was the first time I've tried the AO 80 trick but Jamesp was doing well with it and I was going to be out of town so I decided to give it a shot. So far I'm happy with the results. Definitely does save some work.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jan 25, 2017 21:57:18 GMT -5
If you wouldn't mind one more suggestion from this rotary only guy ... I would recommend losing the ceramic media for 1000 grit and polish steps. I don't even use ceramics for 500, but I'm as anal as one can get. Go with plastic beads for filler. Use a LOT of them. Only use your ceramics and plastic beads in designated stages, meaning don't use your filler from 500 in 1000 and so on. Save 'em in marked tupper ware (whatever) containers for reuse. ETA: what sized barrel(s)? Yes I keep the media segregated for each stage. I don't use any in the coarse or the 120-220 stage. I have media for the 500 and polish. I have used the plastic beads and they have worked well enough but they are a bit of a headache during clean outs. For that reason I have avoided them. Maybe I need to be less lazy and put them back into service. Thanks for the suggestion. Edit: the barrel is a 3lb.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jan 25, 2017 20:06:06 GMT -5
About how long did these roll in your first stage? I've been running a batch for a month and these sure seem hard!! I weighed them from last week to this week and had a 5% reduction, but it sure seems like it's slow going. I believe it was five weeks but it was very aggressive. I was adding grit every 48 hours and it was pretty much broken down by the end of that time. It didn't hurt that several of these were pretty well rounded when I started. The pet wood were the ones that really took a lot of time.
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