88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Jan 19, 2011 13:58:09 GMT -5
Here's the latest batch out of my Thumler's Model B fifteen-pounder. Misc Oregon agate, beach agate, jasper, etc I picked up while rockhounding. The pink agate is partial limbcast/seam agate from a mountainside near Sumpter, Oregon that my brothers and I picked up after deer hunting this last fall. I think I found a petrified sequoia pinecone there! Gotta go back for more this next summer.....lol. I couldn't say how long they all took, I have at least enough rough to make two batches so I rotate rock through stages. Some of those rocks only ran a week or so in coarse, some were in there for better than a month. 1-2 weeks in 220, 1-2 weeks or so in 500 grit sil/ox, then all have been in polish for at least two weeks. I tried polishing one week with A/O and went to another week in cerium oxide to see if it made any difference. Probably didn't, but it's fun to experiment. This was all done in the same barrel, from coarse to polish. Some Lakers that took a nice shine... I have another batch going back in for another week's worth of polishing...pet wood, more agate, etc. I'll take mo' betta pictures and post here when I get them all resized and edited.
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Post by rockrookie on Jan 19, 2011 19:53:48 GMT -5
nice batch !! i really like the Laker that is striped , the 2nd closest to left edge of bottom picture . --paul
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Post by Bikerrandy on Jan 19, 2011 21:37:23 GMT -5
Those lakers are beautiful
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firewalker45
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 929
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Post by firewalker45 on Jan 20, 2011 6:01:17 GMT -5
Nice batch, sweet Lakers. Daniel
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marinedad
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2010
Posts: 813
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Post by marinedad on Jan 24, 2011 8:40:11 GMT -5
thats a good looking batch.
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Post by frane on Jan 24, 2011 10:16:03 GMT -5
Looks like you have a wonderful mix there and a beautiful shine! Great job! Fran
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Post by gr on Jan 24, 2011 11:11:34 GMT -5
88, pine cones don't usually survive the petrifaction process, because of the nature of them, which makes them very rare and potentially worth mucho denerio. Nice batch of tumbles you've got there
Gary
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racevw112
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2010
Posts: 174
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Post by racevw112 on Jan 24, 2011 13:04:58 GMT -5
WOW!!!
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Post by beefjello on Jan 24, 2011 20:17:52 GMT -5
Terrific batch Aaron! Lotsa shine.. and them Lakers are drool worthy :drool:
How cool finding a petrified pinecone, did you take a picture of it?
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Jan 24, 2011 20:54:04 GMT -5
Nice batch, love the lakers!
Nate
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88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Jan 24, 2011 21:20:17 GMT -5
Thanks everybody! I took pictures of the "petrified cone". Since I'm not an expert and it's a rock that sincerely looks like a sequoia/cedar cone to me, I'll leave it up to everyone else to judge for themselves. This is actually half a cone, it's also chipped at the bottom. You can see some radial/organic structures inside on the back... This is some of the Calapooya moss/plume agate from the last batch as well.
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Jan 24, 2011 21:26:52 GMT -5
Dang if that Calapooya aint some colorful material. Nice.
snuffy
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88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Jan 24, 2011 22:17:51 GMT -5
More pictures! This was the score of the year. Pink/white agate littering the hillside as far as the eye could see. My two brothers and I spent an hour or two picking up what we could find and I ended up with about 15 pounds. This came from outside of Prairie City towards Sumpter. My grandpa-in-law told me where to go. Also showed me a nice hefty chunk of petrified tempskya he'd found. We managed to accidentally visit Greenhorn (gravel road up into the mountains for forever, then BAM, little houses in the middle of nowhere), and my brothers each bagged a small buck. From what I can see, some of this appears to be seam agate, some forming in remarkably regularly-shaped chunks. (Triangular/pyramidal shaped pieces were common). Many pieces show botryoidal shapes and "bubbles" of opalescent-to-clear agate. Some pieces look just like limb cast, but not very many. A lot of it is full of holes and hairline seams but we found enough solid rough to make a pretty good batch. I'm going back for more next summer if I even remotely get the chance! My poor car can only carry 700 pounds....I may have to be picky. lol Here's a pic of the rough I didn't tumble. Lots of bubbles, bunches of really sharp, crunchy corners, and even a crystal cast on the inside of one little piece. Looks like it was a quartz crystal. The biggest piece is about 4 inches or so across. These pieces surprised me big-time when I whacked 'em with a hammer. Big piece is about 6" across. Surprise! Nasty rind of greenish/yellowish crap conceals a juicy pink center.
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88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Jan 25, 2011 0:08:20 GMT -5
Just to keep it separate...here's the other stuff I tumbled. Carnelian/sard: Big tumbles: pet. wood, the biggest Newport Blue agate I've ever seen, carnelian/sard. American 50-cent piece for reference. Slab-ette's...leftovers from other people mostly. Some Brazilian agate, some Skull Springs jasper, some coral, some pet. wood, needle of pietersite, needle of palm, misc other stuff. Jaspers of all kinds, mostly found on graveled roads and/or the Willamette river in Salem. I'm gonna quit there, there's one more parcel of white/clear agate but I'm tired of editing pictures!
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88pathoffroad
spending too much on rocks
Oregon ROCKS!
Member since August 2008
Posts: 305
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Post by 88pathoffroad on Jan 26, 2011 20:48:51 GMT -5
Forgot to add - I found some of this crazy cracked greenish-tannish-brownish-opalish type stuff on the same hill as the pink stuff that has weird little pine-needle like patterns on the skin of some of it. I tumbled some of it and it's soft stuff, haven't tried polishing it because it keeps breaking. I need a 10-lb vibe!!!
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deedolce
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2006
Posts: 1,828
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Post by deedolce on Jan 26, 2011 22:56:15 GMT -5
wow, I usually do cab and wire, but thinking I need to take the steel shot out of my little tumbler and shine me some rocks! Beautiful batch!
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Post by Condor on Jan 26, 2011 23:02:59 GMT -5
Those are some great polished stones. Thanks for showing them different parts like you did. Those pink ones sure are nice. And to think they're all over the place. Lucky you.
Condor
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franzibear
starting to spend too much on rocks
Let's rock
Member since October 2008
Posts: 139
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Post by franzibear on Jan 28, 2011 21:09:25 GMT -5
Man, I need to move to Oregon!
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