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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 14, 2014 17:35:30 GMT -5
I just finished a batch in the Lot-O. Here it is:  Some day, I'd like to make a rosary out of rocks I've done myself. This was an experiment in bead making. The beads are a little big and they didn't round up as much as I expected. I made cubes and then ground off the corners. Then they spent a few weeks in my rotary tumbler before moving to the Lot-O. I swear they got more cube shaped after tumbling. I wasn't going for perfection, but more random shaped pebbles. I'll try again.  This is one of my biggest tumbles ever:  The red one on the top is sort of a curved slab. I can't remember how it got that way. I must have broken one along a fracture. There's another piece in the batch that is from the same rock.    |
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,548
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Post by tkvancil on Dec 14, 2014 21:44:06 GMT -5
So much red and green ... very Christmasie. Love the crosses, nice work Rob.
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 15, 2014 14:48:38 GMT -5
I like the dark green epidote.. All the other epidote looks like stuff I would pass up on river beds.. maybe I should start collecting some  . Also that being your largest tumbled rock ever, what size is your rotary tumbler... My largest tumble is 4-6 inches every way you look at it |
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Post by Toad on Dec 15, 2014 15:44:23 GMT -5
Great job on those stones - beautiful polish.
Hope to pick some of those up this coming summer...
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 15, 2014 16:41:34 GMT -5
Glen, my rotary tumbler is a six pound Lortone. I have never finished a batch in a rotary, because I bought a Lot-O before my first batch was finished. The Lot-O has a 2.25 inch hole, so that limits the size.
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azgnoinc
spending too much on rocks
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Post by azgnoinc on Dec 15, 2014 18:38:52 GMT -5
Very nice job on this batch Rob, gonna have to keep my eye out for the unakite when I'm collecting on the beach now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 19:09:22 GMT -5
That epidote looks really familiar. The green and clear that I found last summer looks spot on to the last pic bottom right stone. Here is a comparison.  Jim |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Dec 15, 2014 19:25:22 GMT -5
That epidote looks really familiar. The green and clear that I found last summer looks spot on to the last pic bottom right stone. Here is a comparison. Jim What is the clear material that healed that Jim ? would it be chalcedony ? Rob's has similar fill in it. |
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Post by Roller on Dec 15, 2014 19:44:24 GMT -5
This is great . I love the crosses !!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 22:44:21 GMT -5
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Dec 15, 2014 23:09:31 GMT -5
I see similarities to the nephrite you sent me long ago. Seems like crystalline quartz. I have Rob's material, it seems like the clear sections are quartz too. Rob's has a lot of shifted layers like high pressure /heat similar to granite type rocks. Never thought about it being nephrite. |
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 16, 2014 2:54:03 GMT -5
Glen, my rotary tumbler is a six pound Lortone. I have never finished a batch in a rotary, because I bought a Lot-O before my first batch was finished. The Lot-O has a 2.25 inch hole, so that limits the size. I see. If you do ever decide to tumble something really large in your tumbler I'd use the large thing with a lot of small rock for it to get a decent polish. I think if I was to ever get a vibe I would get a commercial sized one seeing how I have the ability to fill up my 40 lb barrel of tumble stuff any day in the summer if I stop being soo picky |
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Post by snowmom on Dec 16, 2014 5:53:43 GMT -5
That epidote looks really familiar. The green and clear that I found last summer looks spot on to the last pic bottom right stone. Here is a comparison. Jim What is the clear material that healed that Jim ? would it be chalcedony ? Rob's has similar fill in it. Could be some form of (white) feldspar (not the pink k feldspar) Unakites are by definintion feldspar and epidote sometimes with quartz, many of the ones from this area are very complex and confusing with perthitic formation as well. (larger perthitic structures can be seen with the naked eye). the one in this photo is awesome! |
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Post by snowmom on Dec 16, 2014 5:55:20 GMT -5
Love that big tumble and the fact that it is a breccia too... what a shine!
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39don
starting to spend too much on rocks
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DonsLapidaryArts
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Post by 39don on Dec 16, 2014 10:04:12 GMT -5
WOW!!!!!!!!!! I'm loving the red stones.............Super tumbled rocks!!!!!!!!!
39don
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rodeodan
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by rodeodan on Dec 16, 2014 12:07:40 GMT -5
great shine!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Dec 16, 2014 12:35:00 GMT -5
What is the clear material that healed that Jim ? would it be chalcedony ? Rob's has similar fill in it. Could be some form of (white) feldspar (not the pink k feldspar) Unakites are by definintion feldspar and epidote sometimes with quartz, many of the ones from this area are very complex and confusing with perthitic formation as well. (larger perthitic structures can be seen with the naked eye). the one in this photo is awesome! Researched unakite snowmom. It happens to be state rock of Virgina. Here is a little write-up. Says it is metamorphic, which often means complicated  Georgia is a big felspar/quartz bearing territory. Pink granite a major quarry product. Epidote not so common. Felspar in many colors. "Unakite is a metamorphic rock that is formed when granite or similar rock is exposed to elevated temperatures and hydrothermal fluids during the emplacement of a volcanic dike or overlying lava flow. The resulting rock contains epidote, orthoclase feldspar, and quartz, and it is green and pink in color. Unakite only occurs in the Blue Ridge Province, and is prized as a semi-precious gemstone. Because it is relatively resistant to weathering, unakite can sometimes be found as rounded cobbles in rivers that flow from the Blue Ridge Mountains." |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 16, 2014 13:37:03 GMT -5
I had to look up "perthitic".
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Post by tandl on Dec 16, 2014 17:32:15 GMT -5
Nice array of unakite and epidote . my thought on what the clear mineral is , is quartz .
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2014 19:29:05 GMT -5
I see similarities to the nephrite you sent me long ago. Seems like crystalline quartz. I have Rob's material, it seems like the clear sections are quartz too. Rob's has a lot of shifted layers like high pressure /heat similar to granite type rocks. Never thought about it being nephrite. There is a LOT of feldspar around here and a lot of the nephrite is mixed with it which I learned is very common. I have only found the salmon colored stuff but that is not to say other colors are not here. The nephrite mix looks way different than this stuff. When I sent the "supposedly" nephrite to you James I knew way less than I do now so it is hard to say what I sent. I wish I would have started this quest when I was about 10 but you can poop in one hand and wish in the other and see which hand fills up the fastest. Hope I live long enough to figure out at least a little bit. Hate dieing so dumb. Well I guess it really won't matter huh. lol Jim |
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