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Post by Bob on Apr 9, 2024 16:39:21 GMT -5
Rotary only. 80 grit until defect free, then 220/600/1,000 one week each, then tin oxide polish (1 week, inspect/cull, then another week), then 8 hours burnish in Ivory soap. All field collected except where I note otherwise. Mediocre cellphone camera but at least on tripod.
I'm having a lot of reflections from my lightbox that I bought on Amazon last year, continuing to learn, but think I've not done enough to eliminate the reflections of the overhead LED strips. Even though there is a netting under them, it must not be enough.
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Post by Bob on Apr 9, 2024 16:40:59 GMT -5
Believe the left material is dragon blood "jasper". On right misc. Bought. "Stream" chert from OK, AR, MO, and KS meet. Petrified wood. Realize now larsonite should be in this group. The one bright yellow/orange piece is AZ type I got at Quartzsite. It and the larsonite were purchased. Chert from western OK. Closeup of some extra pretty pieces. Lake Superior beach rocks from SE USA shore, and N and NE Canadian shore. Closeup of very unusual one! Does anyone know what this is? Reminds me of some patterned jaspers I have found in central New Mex. Chalcedony, much of it from Cerro Pedernal in NM. Tecovas jasper/chert from TX road right-of-ways. Agates. Most bought. On left psilomelance and psilomelane-laden from CA desert. I might have bought the pure pieces which are like mirrors. The rhodonite is brighter color than usual. It and the Mary Ellen jasper were bought. The dark left is blue tiger's eys, which rarely tumbles well. Upper rain forest "jasper". Middle ocean "jasper". Right unakite. Bottom some kind of rhyolite. All bought. Left Labradorite, bought, which polishes lousy. Top something from a beach. Right quartzite. Bottom ? Misc. jaspers, some bought perhaps not sure.
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chris1956
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2022
Posts: 1,248
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Post by chris1956 on Apr 9, 2024 16:45:45 GMT -5
Nice! Looks a little unakiteish in one place. Did that come from Oklahoma?
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Post by Bob on Apr 9, 2024 16:55:07 GMT -5
Nice! Looks a little unakiteish in one place. Did that come from Oklahoma? Seller did not reveal source.
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Just getting into this....
Member since August 2022
Posts: 414
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Post by hplcman on Apr 9, 2024 17:03:16 GMT -5
Beautiful! I aspire for that polish from my tumbler barrels! I love the variety in that batch. You tumbled all of them together?
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 892
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Post by dshanpnw on Apr 9, 2024 17:58:10 GMT -5
Superb job on all of them, tumbled to perfection. Once again, I really like the petrified wood in photo #3. Your jaspers just pop with color! The dragon's blood is excellent and the one unknown striped rock is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,595
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Post by dillonf on Apr 9, 2024 18:06:25 GMT -5
They look great! Awesome variety and shine. I love that Texas Chert! I've been following your posts. I used to avoid mixing different types of rocks, but after seeing the success you have with mixed batches I've broadened my horizons. I only keep quartz separated pretty much by itself now.
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 674
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Post by iamchris on Apr 9, 2024 23:28:43 GMT -5
Great tumbles! Excellent job. I think you and I must have the same light box - I struggle with the same thing. I've tried paper towels, thin linen. Can't seem to figure out how to match the photo quality of some of the other pros here. You're doing it better than I, however! Thanks for sharing.
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Post by Bob on Apr 10, 2024 9:49:11 GMT -5
Beautiful! I aspire for that polish from my tumbler barrels! I love the variety in that batch. You tumbled all of them together? Yes. This is my 11th year of tumbling. The first 3 years were spent learning the basics. It takes time to dial it in. For about 5 or so years, I'm able to pretty much come out consistently with great shines for those material that will shine like that. But obsidian still eludes me. I just bought a lot of it, and hope to try it again soon.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Apr 10, 2024 9:54:23 GMT -5
Bob how much grit are you using at each stage? Assuming a 3lb tumbler?
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Purchased another UV mini bowl for tumbling
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,433
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 10, 2024 10:41:19 GMT -5
These cherts and chalcedonies are amazing!
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Post by Bob on Apr 10, 2024 10:43:51 GMT -5
Bob how much grit are you using at each stage? Assuming a 3lb tumbler? 40lb barrel 4 cups 20 lb 2 cups 12 lb 1 cup 6 lb 1/2 cup
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Just getting into this....
Member since August 2022
Posts: 414
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Post by hplcman on Apr 10, 2024 11:14:02 GMT -5
Beautiful! I aspire for that polish from my tumbler barrels! I love the variety in that batch. You tumbled all of them together? Yes. This is my 11th year of tumbling. The first 3 years were spent learning the basics. It takes time to dial it in. For about 5 or so years, I'm able to pretty much come out consistently with great shines for those material that will shine like that. But obsidian still eludes me. I just bought a lot of it, and hope to try it again soon. I'm only about 3 years in, and still have so much to learn!! I have had some luck with obsidian. I'll try to link my posts about it. If I were you I wouldn't try tumbling obsidian in a larger barrel, too much movement and too much momentum in the rocks that can cause chips and bruising, even if you have a lot of cushioning material in there. But man, if you get a nice polish on obsidian, it sure is beautiful!!
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Post by Bob on Apr 10, 2024 11:27:02 GMT -5
I just bought about 10 pieces of obsidian grapefruit size, all different types. So I have no choice but to use the 12lb barrels but I will tumble them only with cushioning small pieces of something.
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Post by HankRocks on Apr 10, 2024 12:33:31 GMT -5
I just bought about 10 pieces of obsidian grapefruit size, all different types. So I have no choice but to use the 12lb barrels but I will tumble them only with cushioning small pieces of something. Found 3 - 1 gallon Ziploc bags of Snowflake Obsidian in a bucket of material I bought 5 years or so ago. Sizes ranging from 1 1/2 to 3 inches. Will pull a few tumble candidates out of the bunch and give them a try. I have successfully tumble polished Apache Tears. The larger size will be the challenge. That and being sure to bleed any produced gas off every 2 or 3 days, especially during the coarse stage. Hope to run several of these in a single batch with lots of smalls. Also have about 3 buckets of large pieces including a few that will not fit into a model B barrel.
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Post by Bob on Apr 10, 2024 13:42:44 GMT -5
Hank, hear you on the bleed. I no longer have my tumblers just on the garage floor. I now have them all in plastic pans about 3" high. Got tired of cleaning up the messes even though I have a blowout only about once or twice per year. Those pans oddly magnify the sound which I don't like, so I may build some out of 3/4" thick wood someday.
I'm really thinking about trying the cut pieces of leather method and I guess would need to keep those pieces of leather segregated for each grit level as would become embedded with grit. Seems like in a rubber barrel with only leather pieces and one piece of obs that damage that I experience might stop.
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Post by HankRocks on Apr 10, 2024 13:51:32 GMT -5
I am probably a week or two away from freeing a tumbler to run them in. I was thinking about adding a few scraps of the Neoprene I used to cut out new lid liners. I have have both 1/16 and 1/8 inch thick pieces. Not sure how it will affect the tumble, however I should be able to move the pieces from stage to stage as they will wash out easier. Also thought about putting less grit, especially in the coarse, so that I can clean out more often and check on everything.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 10, 2024 19:18:44 GMT -5
I don't know what it is, Bob, but I really like that multicolored one from Lake Superior. I haven't found one like that. Very unusual.
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Post by Bob on Apr 11, 2024 9:32:08 GMT -5
I don't know what it is, Bob, but I really like that multicolored one from Lake Superior. I haven't found one like that. Very unusual. When I found it, I was pretty excited being able to tell immediately in the rough that it was unusual and had an amazing pattern and might tumble well. So I tuned my search radar hard to try to find more--you know how that is after you have found one of something--but alas to no luck. It had to be cut in half and trimmed a lot and I think the other half might still be in processing. Came from middle N of the Canadian side. Will be there again in a few weeks and maybe will find some more.
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 434
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Post by hypodactylus on Apr 11, 2024 12:42:49 GMT -5
Very nice! I like the chert and petrified wood specimens.
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