Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Nov 1, 2017 11:08:10 GMT -5
I pick up rocks everywhere I go. I can still remember where half of them came from after they are tumbled and polished.
After looking at the pictures close, I am starting to think these rocks were spilled from a passing vehicle.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Nov 1, 2017 10:37:39 GMT -5
Sure, Sign me up !
I will be participating as a Tumbler.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Nov 1, 2017 10:15:22 GMT -5
My favorite beer brewery is 2 miles from my house and I end up there a couple of times a week to enjoy some excellent Craft beers. They have very little parking and I frequently park across the street and dodge traffic to get into the Salty Nut brewery. We went early one day and when I left the bar and ran back to the van, I noticed some decent rocks beside the road and quickly grabbed a handful even though the surface was not wonderful. This was a flower bed many decades ago and all that is left of it is these rocks. Some of them are rather large. After running them one week in course grit I could tell that I had some really colorful and translucent rocks. They polished out wonderfully and have become some of my best pieces. Now I grab a huge handful everytime I go over there and my next wife always groans about the extra stop. I have even considered making a special trip over there to get them all. Should only be a 5 gallon bucket full. I have 6 pound barrel full of them rolling in AO 1000 and should have a new batch polished in a couple of weeks . . .
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Nov 1, 2017 7:24:27 GMT -5
I'm fairly interested but I self-collect and North Alabama does not have a lot to offer. I am getting some fairly great rocks from across the street from my favorite brewery.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Nov 1, 2017 6:05:38 GMT -5
Something soft, like pencil lead, in the tumbler.
Photo Tip- Hold the camera Very Still when snapping pictures.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 30, 2017 16:19:58 GMT -5
Well sure, at a minimum a tumbler can be used to clean the rocks for presentation. I would think that it would be more difficult to put a polish onto a rough rock. A rounded rock shows the internal structure of the stone more clearly.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 22, 2017 23:49:18 GMT -5
I have been struggling with this problem myself. Been tumbling since December and can do 15 pounds at a time. I have about 25 or more pounds of polished rocks. Starting to be much more selective about the rocks that go into the tumbler. I give a LOT away but still have too many stones. Starting to keep the Very Best rocks. Joined the local rock club and want to learn Wire Wrapping.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 17, 2017 17:21:10 GMT -5
So It took a few months total but I did finish polishing all of the quartz that my South Carolina friends gave me. It has been finished for awhile but I lost them for a month before I could take the picture. They shined up very well but it doesen't show well in the photos. Group Shot The Best Of . . .
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 15, 2017 11:17:13 GMT -5
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 15, 2017 0:36:20 GMT -5
I just love that last photograph. Everybody is so interested
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 14, 2017 17:25:36 GMT -5
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 14, 2017 7:59:32 GMT -5
Today is the second day of this big event. I plan to visit for a couple of hours this morning before going to my real job.
------------- There will be about 18 Dealers offering a wide variety of minerals, crystals, jewelry, lapidary and rock-hunting supplies and more for sale. We’ll also have Displays of gems, minerals, and jewelry, Demonstrations of lapidary and related arts, and a Mining Flume for all to enjoy. There will be a Fluorescent Room to explore and for the kids, we’ll have a Gem Dig and activities based on our Pebble Pups Program. There will also be hourly Door Prizes and Raffle Prizes to try for. Donations of $3.00 are requested at the door, with children under 5 free -------------
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 12, 2017 10:26:24 GMT -5
It was funny, yesterday when I bought 6 bags of rocks from the Dollar General store, The cashier is looking at all the rocks and asks me "what are you going to do with all these rocks"? I promptly said "I'm going to polish them shiny". She looks up at me and my girlfriend and asks "No , really , what are you doing with the rocks"? I briefly explained it, and returned later with a gift of polished stones.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 11, 2017 14:33:29 GMT -5
That picture looked so good that I went back and bought all 6 bags of the rocks they had. $6
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 11, 2017 12:38:22 GMT -5
Was down the street at the corner Dollar General store and noticed some packages of rocks for a Dollar a bag. They looked neat but had lots of cracks but I thought I would give a coupla bags a roll and see how they came out. Here they are fresh from the store untumbled and already nicely rounded. . . And here are some of the best of the bunch after tumbling... actually very pretty.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 11, 2017 12:20:11 GMT -5
Here is another batch that went through the same 5 step tumble, but the material is not so good . . . and a few in a closeup
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 10, 2017 6:34:03 GMT -5
So what is the problem ?
Did you clean the rocks first ?
Probably leftover soap ?
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 9, 2017 21:38:13 GMT -5
These did . . .
1 or 2 weeks in SiC 46/70, very full barrel, only glass, no plastic beads or filler 1 week in SiC 220, always have a 80% full barrel, No beads or filler 1 week in SiC 600, half glass half plastic beads 1 week in AO 1000, half glass half plastic beads 1 week in Cerium Oxide Polish half plastic beads
If you want clear polished glass, clean thoroughly between stages, Use more than 75% plastic beads in the last 3 stages, keep a full barrel 80% full.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 9, 2017 20:25:04 GMT -5
We go hounding in the Flint River here in North Alabama even though there are not great rocks in there, but it's about as good as it gfets around here. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/80484/canoeing-rockhounding-flint-river-alabama?page=1&scrollTo=957626The best stuff looks like Flint mixed with some Limestone, it looks very layered but has a lot of fractures in it. Been trying to tumble it with mixed results. It chips a lot and big pieces become small trying to grind into rounded stones. I keep hoping for a surprising piece to come out of it but it's slim pickin's. Here are some examples from two different batches.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 9, 2017 20:04:24 GMT -5
I ran this glass through the 3 pound Loretone 3A tumbler a couple of months ago. I did not have enough plastic beads in the polish stage and the edges became frosted, but otherwise, they came out OK.
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