Trylobyte
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 101
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Post by Trylobyte on Nov 10, 2003 17:07:26 GMT -5
I leaped into rock rolling with the purchase of a Lortone 12lb, and decided I couldn't wait a month for a batch of rocks, so I bought 3 more Thumler Model B's so I could put out a batch every week.
The topic that doesn't get much press is:
What are ya doin' with the spoils?
I dug a hole in the backyard, 'bout 2 feet around and deep, put some 1" crushed rock in to keep things loose, and I dump everything in there and let it soak in. I change all 4 rollers once a week, and I figure between the goop and rinse water that I'm probably puting 20+ gallons of water in the hole per week.
I haven't noticed the nearby trees wilting, so I'll presume that I'm not creating a toxic waste dump, but I'd like to hear from the old timers on this subject...
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Post by docone31 on Nov 10, 2003 18:01:15 GMT -5
It doesn't make a toxic dump. It sure can get hard. It makes a mess out of drains. I use it to make hard spots near the driveway, and fill in holes in my driveway. I have used it to kill grass in the spots where I do not want it, but it takes a bit to work. It is kinda like concrete waste. It just gets solid.
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Nov 13, 2003 11:15:47 GMT -5
I can't see much of a problem. The chemistry of most tumbling fodder is pretty benign; I'd say the majority are silicates, so you're not polluting the environment. SiO2 is harmless unless you're breathing it; eating it might not be too healthy either. Don't let pets drink the stuff. Unless you're tumbling things like cinnabar or autunite, which would be insane, no worries, it's just inert rock dust. Malachite would be one to watch out for, I've heard that copper poisoning is an issue when grinding it.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Nov 13, 2003 16:21:29 GMT -5
Greetings All, Well I've got to admit that I've been dumping the liquid into a storm drain that is conveniently located in my front yard. I know this is technically polluting but I figure that there is a good 100 yards or so of concrete pipe between the drain and its outlet into a stream, and that is plenty of room for most of the grit and silt to settle out (mental note, go down to the outlet sometime and see if there is anything coming out). There are also a number of cracks and holes in the sides and bottom of the concrete drain itself, so hey, maybe the stuff will actually do some good and plug these up There is one good thing about this though, it gives me a chance to talk to my neighbors while I'm washing the rocks. I've met several of them this way, shown them the rocks and explained what I'm doing, and no one seems to think there is any problem. Now if I ever get the 40 pound tumbler I'll have to re-think this approach, but for now it works. William C
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Nov 13, 2003 22:34:54 GMT -5
Erk, being a closet environmentalist, that kind of makes me cringe. Stop it! Seriously, streams have enough troubles without having to put up with neighborhood waste. The materials are benign, I believe, but trust me it does end up in the stream. Silt damages the gills of fish and destroys spawning beds, and even if it's just a nasty brown trickle of a stream I bet there's fish in it. Get thee a shovel, dig a hole for thine sludge in the back forty, and sin no more! Here endeth the sermon.
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Red
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2003
Posts: 12
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Post by Red on Nov 14, 2003 2:23:26 GMT -5
Must agree with SirRox; we gotta look out for the little creatures. In the back yard I have one post hole that I use for dog sludge and another for barrel sludge . I have been using the small rocks/chips that I do not tumble to fill in the dirt path from the back yard to the front. I have this great vision of pushing my lawnmower from one yard to the other over a gravel path of semi-precious stones! Boy will the path look nice when the sun comes out after the Portland rains!
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in2gems
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2003
Posts: 3
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Post by in2gems on Nov 14, 2003 19:52:52 GMT -5
I agree with everyone one else on this.dumping is not a good thing. thank goodness i have a place to dump my waste.
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Post by docone31 on Nov 14, 2003 20:06:48 GMT -5
With all due respect, I seriously doubt the toxicity of any slurry from tumblers. However, if more individuals embraced the ethics behind the motives in what we do, I feel there would be more available beauty. Careful disposal of the slurry is to prevent clogging pipes. The slurry hardens. Now, tumbling cinnabar might be a different story. I also doubt any person who handles mercury, or cinnabar, is unaware of the potential severity. Basically what we produce is mud, and sand. I am pretty extreme in my disposal, I literally go out of my way to not put the slurry where it will have long term effects. I have found however, when I dispose in random patches, the grass grows great where it is. Stack a few, and I have a sand circle. We have ethics, and I am proud to be part of this forum. In our extremity we set an example. We unveil beauty and we try to not leave tracks. Good for us.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Nov 14, 2003 21:58:27 GMT -5
ditto cheers, 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 Nov 15, 2003 17:20:49 GMT -5
I am putting all my slurry in a post hole with a post in it, I also raise goats and am building a new pen, i put the slurry then dirt and pack it down, I have time so I am doing it in layers, hope it will help hold the posts some, then I am killing 2 birds with one stone tumbling slurrrr
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WILDONE
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2003
Posts: 13
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Post by WILDONE on Nov 15, 2003 17:21:18 GMT -5
I am putting all my slurry in a post hole with a post in it, I also raise goats and am building a new pen, i put the slurry then dirt and pack it down, I have time so I am doing it in layers, hope it will help hold the posts some, then I am killing 2 birds with one stone tumbling slurrrr
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Post by docone31 on Nov 15, 2003 20:57:13 GMT -5
Since we are on the topic of slurry, I wonder what would happen if a quantity is put in a kiln? I know, when I facet, there is a substantial amount of slurry. When I tumble there is slurry and grit mix. I would think it might make an interesting glass, or just a bland lump. Has anyone of us ever melted slurry?
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Post by Original Admin on Nov 16, 2003 13:30:11 GMT -5
I put mine in a large water barrel. It silts up slowly, and I put VERY VERY small holes in as it nears the top, so the water can escape - but it gives the silt time to settle, the water just runs onto the back lawn. I guess when it silts up completely, i'll just take the barrel to the tip and get another. On the melting side - what kind of temperatures are needed to melt this slurry down? I suppose that the temperature required would be the melting temperature of the most heat resistant substance you had ground down. I dont have anything bigger than a bunsen burner so I doubt i'd be able to dabble with that. But it definately sounds like a good thing to mess around at. You could add to your collection a rock called amythitrinearnelianartze. Maybe? Andy
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Post by docone31 on Nov 16, 2003 18:48:10 GMT -5
Andy, I was thinking more of Doc'sorite. Seriously though, I am fascinated by the Choralski pulling method of "making" emeralds, and other flux type methods of making crystals. I just do not know enough of chemistry or physics to begin to understand the process. It seems like it would be like making the first vertical retort. It has my fascination however. All this tumbling has me rethinking Jules Verne, HG Wells, Jake Klymer, Aldous Huxley. Sooner or later, an alchemist I shall be!!! For the moment, I shall enjoy the polished finery, and the discovered gems. Perhaps if I used boric acid and charcoal in the kiln. The boric acid is an high heat flux, and the charcoal will absorb the O2. 2300 degrees in a graphite crucible. I bet it will come out looking like lava.
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Post by docone31 on Nov 16, 2003 22:00:36 GMT -5
Here is a follow up on recrystalization of the slurry. Apparantly we are dealing with organic chemistry here. Without being able to fully digest what I have found, a gem source is needed, which I have plenty, a means to seperate the corundums from the berriliums, and not the lease seperate the chrystallines from the batch. The carbon offset from the beryls skims off and is not that critical. My fair bride is beside herself. I only have to completely paint the inside of the house tomorrow, spontaneously create opus pieces which I have no idea of what they will look like. Draw some more silver wire and roll out some plate. I am almost convinced beyond a doubt that melting slurry and recombining it is something I have to re-evaluate in terms of practicality and completion. It also seems there is an electron incompatibility between the stones that made mud. Perhaps if I made a sceptor from a piece of exibition burly walnut, and a beautiful as yet undiscovered immaculate rock crystal. Add one floppy pointed hat, a tunic made with stars and the moon on it. A little stuff that makes smoke, de polluted of course, some holy city water, an obscure song, probably the Doors. Or I could throw the stuff out, get some recrystallized rough for a miniscule amount. Placate the Mrs., after painting the house etc., and getting a free facet design off the internet. I am already thinking of the hundreds of thousands of dollars I do not have to spend on an hundred dollar gem nobody would want but me. But what I have learned that I will never have to try! I might even be able to divert some of our humble available cash for the electric bill. Life is good, I can even listen to the doors without saying stupid words that do not work, wearing clothes that people would question my sanity in, doing things that would scare the neighbors pit bull. How does a simple tumbler, grit, and some crappy looking rocks, turn into such inspiring beauty and generate such creative thoughts? Of course, as one of my customers stated when I showed her one of my opus pieces....... Pretty.
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Post by Original Admin on Nov 17, 2003 0:07:03 GMT -5
LOL Docone1
I think it would be cheaper to sling the lot down a volcano vent and wait a few thousand years and see what comes back out!!!
;D
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Noah
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2003
Posts: 102
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Post by Noah on Nov 17, 2003 0:22:49 GMT -5
I'd be quite curious what would happen to the slurry..i'm just pondering if we should use it to make a bombshelter...
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Post by docone31 on Nov 17, 2003 8:01:25 GMT -5
I might be reluctant to put anything down a vent, the environmentalists and tree huggers might start an agenda. I could just see it now, I would be the signatory of an endangered volcano movement. Perhaps I would be the example set to ward off others from placing the newly classified hazmat compound, beryl, back into the earth. I would become a geohazard perpetrator! Of course the volcano wouldn't notice, might just enjoy it. All seriousness aside, the journey into technical journals produced tremendous information. My understanding has grown tremendously. I saw Mt. St. Helens and the aftermath. The colours were amazing. There are crystals in the layers. Of course no one can touch, might ruin the explosion aftermath. I am glad for that however, it might have been gone and nothing to see.
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Post by hermatite on Nov 18, 2003 13:52:19 GMT -5
I'm just wondering, if you had heat high enough to melt and fuse rock, what you'd make the kiln out of. The volcano sounds like the only workable idea.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Nov 19, 2003 20:53:55 GMT -5
Greetings All,
Just to follow up about my dumping the slurry into a storm drain. I went and looked where it opens up and folks, to be honest, it isn't even a creek, it's just a ditch that is completely dry for several hundred yards unless it rains. Just yesterday we had a good 3 or 4 inches of rain and there was so much mud and silt going into the storm drain that I honestly can't imagine the slurry I'm putting into it is having much impact at all on the environment. Honestly, I wouldn't do it if I thought there was any harm being done.
William C
WilliamC
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