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Post by Robert on May 10, 2003 15:56:49 GMT -5
Andy I've been messing with some Apache Tears and I can't get them to take a shine . Do you have any ideas? I've tried everything in the four step program and they still come out hazy.
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Post by Andrew on May 11, 2003 7:44:14 GMT -5
How long have they been left at stage 4? I'd be tempted to give them 3 runs at stage 4 - 8 days each run, then - to be certain - I'd do another run at 4 and leave it for 14 days. The polish stage can then commence, dont take them out for 2 weeks - at least. This is extreme - but if they dont shine after that - they probably never will - this is all assuming that the first three stages you are already happy with. Ive been frustrated with certain types of stone in the past - some just dont shine - Ive got to the point where I think what the heck - leave them in the polish and punish them for months!!!! - this made very little difference it depends on the density of the material and also how fragmented it is at a very fine level. Anyone any experience with Apache Tears?
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Post by docone31 on Oct 9, 2003 19:31:27 GMT -5
Apache tears, at least the real ones are not smokey quartz. They are a glass produced by obsidian. The real apache tears will not polish like quartz, the dull finish tells one that they are the real thing. Cerium oxide is the required polish for these.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Oct 10, 2003 8:55:11 GMT -5
Hi Robert, a question for you. I saw some raw apache tears at a rock store in S.Carolina this summer. They were small black Obsidian nodules with a partial white cortex on them. Are these the same as what you are tumbling? I didn't pick any up as they were pricey for obsidian I thought. I have also heard that not all types of obsidian will take a good shine, like doc was saying. Mahogany obsidian was another one that I heard will not shine well. I have been tumbling some peacock and silver sheen obsidian with pretty good luck. I've made a few mistakes with it and can tell you it is very finicky stuff. Several times I had a nice shine started on them only to check them the next day to find they had gone the wrong direction and hazed up again. I found that one or two of them had broken and the sharp edges were scratching the other pieces. This last batch that is in final now is doing great (knock on wood) I just got home from work and squeezed a little soap in the mix to finish them off. I plan to take them out this evening when I wake up. But a week ago, it was a mess. I had them mixed with some slag glass and the small difference in hardness had started to cause chaffing on the edges of nearly all of them. That is what I think caused the problem anyway. I pulled the glass and let the obsidian run a couple of more days, the chaffing started to go away. I decided to clean them up and double check to be sure there were no more glass pieces in the mix and then re-started the final with fresh tin oxide. This morning they look super, who knows what I'll find this evening If they turn out I have an idea for an unusual pic and will post it this week sometime. Sorry to be so long winded this morning, midnight shift does that to me Don't give up Robert, keep at it buddy. Good luck and talk to you later, Don
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WILDONE
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2003
Posts: 13
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Post by WILDONE on Oct 12, 2003 12:17:07 GMT -5
I read somewhere (with all the rock tumbling sites I been to, i dont remember where) that apache tears do well with the last tumble being dry, using Cerium oxide and oatmeal, anyone heard of that?
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Robert
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2003
Posts: 15
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Post by Robert on Oct 12, 2003 21:18:37 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions. The Apache tears were picked up somewhere near Chandler , Arizona. I carried the darned things around for years , and gave them to a neighbor who was doing some tumbling. He couldn't polish the stones , so he gave them back to me. I decided he didn't know what he was doing, and I would start from the very beginning with a new tumble. What started out as 1 in. stones are now about the size of green pea. Right now they're in a Tupperware container in the garage still unpolished, one of these days I'll give them another try. That is the story of , my Apache tears. Oh yes I did try CERINUM OXIDE. Thanks again , you guys and gals.
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Post by docone31 on Oct 12, 2003 21:49:01 GMT -5
I must put in my word to caution on using organics in tumbling. It makes a stinky mess!!!!! I have had to stop the tumble and restart with organics. No oatmeal, no cornmeal. Unless you like the aggrivation.
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WILDONE
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2003
Posts: 13
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Post by WILDONE on Oct 13, 2003 20:17:07 GMT -5
Does that include dry tumbles doc?
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Post by docone31 on Oct 13, 2003 20:36:25 GMT -5
I facet my tumble so I have never needed to try dry. I wish I could help there. One thing about this forum, it seems like there are very informed folks out there. My question for dry tumbling is, how does dry tumbling affect the charges and tumble duration per cycle? Why dry tumble? I would suspect water, and either a wetting agent, or without, would hold the grit longer and flush contaminants from the wear zone. Heat is a byproduct of friction, and water would also act as an heat sink.
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