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Post by rmf on Dec 22, 2023 12:13:50 GMT -5
Government always costs more that is why the founding fathers did not believe in the ponzi scheme called social security or medicare among other social programs.
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Post by rmf on Dec 22, 2023 12:10:13 GMT -5
This is an interesting thread. I have been experimenting with some new wheels as well. orneryboi are these plated 600 or sintered 600? I have purchased a 600 sintered which puts a finer finish on the stones than a 600 plated. So I move to the 600 Nova after that then use Novas to 3000 or 8000 depending on the material then polish. The result of using hard wheels down to 600 is that I do not have to push as hard to get faster cutting. Thanks for the feedback!! I have the plated 600 right now but I enjoy it so much I'll likely spring for the sintered wheel (especially if it's a finer finish yet). I still have to experiment with moving directly from 600 hard to 600 soft.. I tried this on a few stones and they looked pretty bad (poor shaping/material?) so I'm using the 280 soft as the middleman until I course-correct. At the time I purchased my wheels (Dec 22) the US Dollar and the Euro were about 1:1. The Baltic Abrasive wheels have 6mm about 1/4" of sintered material on them. I am sure I will never wear one out in the remaining years of my life. anyway they were on par price for plated wheels so there was no $$ penalty. Sintered wheels appear to be finer than plated wheels which has caused me some problems. a 30 grit Sintered is about equal to a 60 grit plated wheel when it is new out of the box. After the 60 grit plated wheel has cut 100 - 150 stones it slows down (I have tested both hex and smooth wheels). The 30grit sintered has continued to eat agate at the same rate or faster than new out of the box after 300 stones. As for the 600 sintered I am assuming it would be more like a 1200 grit plated wheel but I have not had a chance to pursue that yet. I have only had time to do general test and timed tests on the coarse wheels.
For grit equivalent (approx)
Sintered Plated 30 60 60 120 140 280 280 600 600 1200
This is what I got from the vendor after some prying not sure it holds up completely. I hope to research this more to verify.
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Post by rmf on Dec 21, 2023 20:48:26 GMT -5
This is an interesting thread. I have been experimenting with some new wheels as well. orneryboi are these plated 600 or sintered 600? I have purchased a 600 sintered which puts a finer finish on the stones than a 600 plated. So I move to the 600 Nova after that then use Novas to 3000 or 8000 depending on the material then polish. The result of using hard wheels down to 600 is that I do not have to push as hard to get faster cutting.
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Post by rmf on Dec 19, 2023 21:08:33 GMT -5
Tumbling Galena is a bad idea. Galena is a brittle mineral with three directional cleavage. It simply will not work mechanically. As far as the galena sludge there are places in the US where galena is mined and the content of the soil has a higher than EPA allowable concentration but since God put it there what can you do. In SW Wisconsin the State wanted a local mine to treat their mine water to a lower lead content that area streams naturally had. Here in the south natural organic acids in the soil have turned civil war lead bullets white (lead oxide).
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Post by rmf on Dec 17, 2023 17:24:44 GMT -5
rockinronda first rose quartz is brittle (something you know now). However, a boulder presents mass which tends to distribute the force of the hammer. You did not say how big the boulder was so the best tool might depend on how big the boulder is. In my younger days I was very proficient swing a double jack (sledge hammer) since I worked in a mine and they gave those kind of jobs to the new guys. For a boulder depending on material I would use a min of 8# sledge hammer. My personal preference is a 20# sledge. the added mass really helps break boulders down. Boulders also tend to have a noticeable grain which must be exploited. if you are going to use wedges pick up a star bit so you can drill a hole with a smaller hammer (3# to 5#) matched to your size and strength. make a row of holes and insert smaller cold chisels (Ace Hw, Home Depot etc) Hammer chisels up and back in a line. rocks are good in compression but are bad in tension the line of chisels will cause the line of drill holes to be in tension. A rotary percussive drill might also work I have not used one. A Diamond cutoff saw with water cooling could be rented. It just depends on if you have more time than money or urgent.
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Post by rmf on Dec 10, 2023 16:09:14 GMT -5
The first could be Montana Agate. they way I would tell the difference would be on the grinding wheel. Montana us uniformly hard and dense and grinds much slower than Graveyard point plume. Agree with jasoninsd on the second laguna lace agate.
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Post by rmf on Dec 10, 2023 16:05:31 GMT -5
Looks like Flame Agate to me.
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Post by rmf on Dec 4, 2023 12:09:21 GMT -5
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Post by rmf on Dec 4, 2023 12:02:01 GMT -5
Dulcote Agate has calcite with the agate. I have a piece in the basement and just looked at it last week and mused whether I should slab and cab one. My guess is will only take a so so polish because of the calcite. May have to add oxalic acid to the polish to get the calcite to polish better. Thanks rmf ! I was wondering how I could get it good and shiny; it’s such beautiful material with all the banding and swirls. I’ve never heard of adding oxalic acid; can you give me more details?? I knew a guy that did marble years ago. He hand polished marble with a block of felt and tin oxide with some oxalic acid in it. I have used this on rocks with high caclium carbonate (CaCO3) content. Marble, travertine, petoskey stone etc. If you are cabbing I have had equal success with the Eastwing diamond wheel in 8000 grit from kingsleynorth.com/eastwind-diamond-fle-wheels.html#882=26748&883=26798 . I have polished with diamond Galaxy and Nova wheels down to 3000 but I had tried a discounted wheel which turned out to be eastwind and on some softer stones the 8000 grit belt on the eastwind wheel did a better job than a 8000 Nova. these would include the CaCO3 rocks and lapis
As far as SnO and Oxalic I use about 1/2# of SnO with 2 -3 tablespoons of Oxalic .
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Post by rmf on Nov 24, 2023 16:53:42 GMT -5
First I have to say I would not use psyllium unless I knew for sure my tumbler was constipated. But that is just me. I have used plastic pellets (get the floaters they are easier to remove), wood pegs, indoor/outdoor carpet pieces and higher percent of smalls as cushioning. They work fine depending on material being tumbled
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Post by rmf on Nov 20, 2023 18:39:02 GMT -5
Dulcote Agate has calcite with the agate. I have a piece in the basement and just looked at it last week and mused whether I should slab and cab one. My guess is will only take a so so polish because of the calcite. May have to add oxalic acid to the polish to get the calcite to polish better.
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Post by rmf on Nov 14, 2023 16:15:13 GMT -5
My guess would be serpentine also. It should scratch with a knife.
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Post by rmf on Nov 13, 2023 15:28:39 GMT -5
As stated above by many I thing these are garnet. The dull ones may be schist that held the garnet. You may want to try just a batch of those again. My guess is they are schist (host rock for the garnet) and as such they will never polish. Try them in the 220 grit to see if they improve but don't be disappointed if they do not. Garnet is tougher (not harder) than amethyst but I don't think that is the problem here.
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Post by rmf on Nov 10, 2023 7:50:24 GMT -5
Yes I agree the second pic says bone. Whale because of where it is found.
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Post by rmf on Nov 9, 2023 6:19:52 GMT -5
I dop with CA glue and use epoxy for other uses. I put enough acetone in the bottom of the container to cover my work (stones). Let it set (soak) 24-48 hrs and they fall off the dops. I reuse the acetone until it is so pregnant with dissolved glue it coats the stones and my fingers when I pull the stones out. dump out the acetone and wipe out the container as start with fresh acetone.
Be sure to test your container for leaks. Acetone evaporates very quickly and I had a walmart jar that leaked enough I would loose all my acetone in a couple of weeks. That is not good if you keep the jar in the house.
In your case coat the crystals with epoxy and when the rest is polished set the stones in the jar covered in acetone until it comes off. I would guess soaking 24hrs would be good since the top of the epoxy is open to the acetone.
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Post by rmf on Nov 8, 2023 14:21:42 GMT -5
Depending the rock material you are planning to use drilling may be problematic from the directions above. Agates are too hard for carbide and masonary bits. Diamond would be better. They need to be run in oil/water. Also most rocks are heat sensitive (need for water cooling) and most rocks are really bad in tension. Drilling rocks puts them in tension so scales are prone to crack. Jade would be a good rock for scales. Hard yet tough and good in tension compared to agates and jaspers. Agates and jaspers are much prettier and way more pattern variety than jade.
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Post by rmf on Nov 8, 2023 14:10:42 GMT -5
blackgirlrocks Those above said it. Acetone is your friend. Use only in well ventilated area and away from flame. I use a crock type container with a locking lid, ( originally used for a canister set) I found in a thrift store. It has a silicone gasket and does a great job.
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Post by rmf on Nov 6, 2023 18:40:03 GMT -5
It is sandstone cemented by iron usually in the form of limonite. also Geothite and the red indicates some hematite(ocre). these are frequently the result of pyrite/marcasite forming in the sedimentary rocks then breaking down to form the various iron oxides listed above.
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Post by rmf on Nov 6, 2023 18:31:45 GMT -5
Depending on the size of cabs you want to cut. Real big cabs need more height. Many slab saws use a standard 1 crank of the cross feed = 1/16" For 1/4" slabs crank 4 times. I prefer 5 cranks or 5/16" thick normally. However Montana Agate I like thinner and as stated above too thick = more waste and more grinding time. so to answer your question it is like old incontinent people "it depends"
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Post by rmf on Nov 6, 2023 18:23:19 GMT -5
Yeah, if I had that rock in a drum, I would plan on step 1 with new grit and water every week or so, likely for 1-2 months. 2 months, wow. Will I loss the druzy river in the middle too? If you want to keep the "druzy river" Fill it with epoxy and tumble it. Once you are done tumbling dissolve the epoxy (or CA) out
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