Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 10, 2015 9:22:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the input, Rob. The thin slurry for hard rocks makes sense, thanks for pointing that out. As for the volume...I knew it would be a change but was kind of startled that it was that much. I saw one or two that I thought might be done, but I decided to put them all back in with some more grit and water for another week. I know some of the rocks have a lot of (what looks like) fractures going through them...mostly the red ones and that little round white one on the left side of the (tumbled) picture. This gives me some ideas in what to look for when I make my next rock hunt...whenever that might be.
It's good that the change won't be so drastic next week...I'd rather them not get much smaller. They're not tiny, but I'd like'em to stay about where there at. I think most of the room was made from rounding the corners off which allows them to fit a bit closer together. I would guess that I'm nearing 50% barrel capacity at the moment.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 10, 2015 10:04:26 GMT -5
Too target larger finished rock you often have to start w/ rocks a good bit bigger unless they are pebbles/rounded to begin with.
Lookin good Ed. Wait till you get those 6 inch barrels cranking at 30-40 RPM.
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Post by broseph82 on Oct 10, 2015 10:16:57 GMT -5
Intheswamp next time you go to your spot, get more reds, oranges, and the brownish/clearish colors. Those so far look the best tumbled. Those big square pieces look really good too
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 10, 2015 10:52:31 GMT -5
Jim, I'm looking forward to turning some 6" barrels. Got most of the parts together, now the time to put it all together...still gotta figure out the motor mount, but it'll come to me. I tend to be too picky about things sometimes (lots of times) so it takes me three times as long as most people to do things like this...not that the result is great, just takes me longer. Jimi, your timing is great on the input. I had a bad day yesterday at the office, kinda big changes for me. So, I'm going to go to the rock hole and even if I don't pick up a rock I'm just gonna sit there and watch the world go by...a little fresh air will be good. Thanks for the encouragement, guys, I need it. Ed
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 10, 2015 11:03:20 GMT -5
Agates will round a lot slower than our quartz Ed.
Coastal chert and coral too. Will have to take you and Jimi over to Valdosta and show you Bamans some coral.
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 19, 2015 9:08:55 GMT -5
Great info from you guys. I really don't know much about this but thanks to ya'll (and others, too!) I'm learning...albeit *slowly*. That coral sounds interesting, Jim. Those designs are really nice. In looking back at the last two images that I posted above I've noticed something "interesting", at least for this newbie. In the coarse tumbled photo there's a dark gray, round rock just about center of the photo. This has got to be the whitish, dull-looking round rock at the top center of the "before" photo. The coarse tumble has apparently "knocked the crust off" which I'm sure is *very* common, but it's cool seeing it in person...pretty neat what can be uncovered.
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Post by captbob on Oct 19, 2015 10:34:27 GMT -5
I would guess that I'm nearing 50% barrel capacity at the moment. Your barrel is only half full?
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 20, 2015 8:09:30 GMT -5
Yep, it was nearing half full when I opened it the first time. I'd read from 50-75 percent full and that must of clouded my thoughts as after closing it back up I thought I should've added more rocks. I don't think it worked well letting these run another week by themselves. I opened them up yesterday evening and I *think* I see some beat up rocks *or* they were already fractured when I started the tumble. I'll post some images in a little while of what they looked like. It may be shutting the gate after the emu is out of the barn but I went ahead and added plenty of rocks to get the level back up. Good catch, captbob. For the granddaughters tumble I added rocks to bring it back up to around 75%...
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 20, 2015 9:38:54 GMT -5
The pictures weren't that great, but here's a shot and a close-up. I really wasn't trying to get the chipped/fractured area when I shot these so I cropped into the ones showing what I perceive to be rocks that were beat up due to low volume of them in the barrel... lesson learned!!! IMG_7307a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_7307acrop (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 20, 2015 9:42:35 GMT -5
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Post by broseph82 on Oct 20, 2015 10:48:58 GMT -5
Remember to throw a light behind all the pieces. You might be surprised what you see
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 27, 2015 12:16:25 GMT -5
Ok, basically did a complete clean-out this time. Added just a few rocks to get it back up to 75% level. Same-0-Same-0. Basically noting it here to keep up with when I did things.
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Post by snowmom on Oct 28, 2015 3:15:49 GMT -5
beautiful! now figure out how to get a little LED behind it so you can use it as a night light !
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 28, 2015 6:23:16 GMT -5
Now, that's a thought!
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Dec 1, 2015 21:02:43 GMT -5
GRRRR!!! Well, I done it to myself. I left the rocks in the coarse for *way* too long. I think I beat them up. I did the second clean-out yesterday...a month had gone by. When I poured the contents out it was a very watery slurry, not thick like the first one...I had even added a little psyllium to the batch. I can tell the rocks have been smoothed some more but I *think* I see where they have been busting each others' chops. The volume had dropped considerably. Not all of them seem to be frosted/chipped/fractured and I'm not sure if the damaged ones got that way in the tumble or were that way to begin with. Anyhow, here a are a few images of what I have now. I'll add a link to the Flickr album which includes more images (I don't want to overload the thread with all the images. The definitely damaged rocks are at the end of the Flickr album. Thanks for looking and feedback is welcomed! The Flickr Album... flic.kr/s/aHskmPCFMEIMG_9280a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9292 (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr This one twinkles with light... IMG_9297a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr Look into the depths... IMG_9301a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9306a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr The other side is cool, too. It's in the Flickr album... IMG_9311a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9316a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9343a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9351a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9367a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr ...more in the Flickr album plus some shots of the definitely damaged rocks that I'm curious about (they're at the end of the album). broseph82 jamesp Jugglerguy
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Post by broseph82 on Dec 1, 2015 22:28:12 GMT -5
GRRRR!!! Well, I done it to myself. I left the rocks in the coarse for *way* too long. I think I beat them up. I did the second clean-out yesterday...a month had gone by. When I poured the contents out it was a very watery slurry, not thick like the first one...I had even added a little psyllium to the batch. I can tell the rocks have been smoothed some more but I *think* I see where they have been busting each others' chops. The volume had dropped considerably. Not all of them seem to be frosted/chipped/fractured and I'm not sure if the damaged ones got that way in the tumble or were that way to begin with. Anyhow, here a are a few images of what I have now. I'll add a link to the Flickr album which includes more images (I don't want to overload the thread with all the images. The definitely damaged rocks are at the end of the Flickr album. Thanks for looking and feedback is welcomed! The Flickr Album... flic.kr/s/aHskmPCFMEIMG_9280a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9292 (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr This one twinkles with light... IMG_9297a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr Look into the depths... IMG_9301a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9306a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr The other side is cool, too. It's in the Flickr album... IMG_9311a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9316a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9343a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9351a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr IMG_9367a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr ...more in the Flickr album plus some shots of the definitely damaged rocks that I'm curious about (they're at the end of the album). broseph82 jamesp Jugglerguy Really nice colors and patterns
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 1, 2015 22:51:29 GMT -5
What kind of rocks are those? My guess is that those rocks were flawed from the beginning. I think they had cracks or weak spots to begin with. I don't think I've ever had a problem over tumbling anything in course grit, except that the rocks eventually get too small. I'd love to hear what others say though.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Dec 2, 2015 8:01:23 GMT -5
Howdy Rob, thanks for the feedback. This is some quartz, pet wood, and ? All came out of the same gravel bed. I know that there is a good bit of fractures in these rocks, which makes me understand a little more of jamesp sitting there breaking cobbles... For comparison, below is a "group" shot of the rocks after the first clean-out and then one of the latest clean-out... (after looking at the two images I can't tell a lot of difference from them, but figure I'll leave the images up for thought provacation). First clean-out: IMG_7292a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr Second clean-out: IMG_9376a (Custom) by Intheswamp, on Flickr
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Dec 2, 2015 10:13:06 GMT -5
What kind of rocks are those? My guess is that those rocks were flawed from the beginning. I think they had cracks or weak spots to begin with. I don't think I've ever had a problem over tumbling anything in course grit, except that the rocks eventually get too small. I'd love to hear what others say though. I always leave my rocks in course grit for two weeks,never had a problem...(yet).....The tumble you are posting seem to be nice in my books,a few fractures on some.. Have you checked them out to see if they are new or healed fractures?? I do know that Montana moss agate have healed fractures in them all the time...So other agates might too.. Good looking batch you got going there.....
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 2, 2015 11:24:37 GMT -5
The cobbles 10 miles downstream were bigger Ed. Big enough to extract some less fractured areas (with the tiny hammer). About all of them had a white frost on them from being beat up, those large gravel bars were bright as beach sand, the whole lot frosted. Main reason for breaking them was really to see what was in the center under the frost, and to make them tumble size. River cobbles up here on the Chattahoochee are soft ball to basketball size. Same well but different colored quartz cobbles with a frost coating. Use a sledge hammer to break them. Eventually you will find a few beauties. One cobble can fill a whole barrel after it is broken down. The main difference is some of your Alabama quartz is it has some unique colors, but some of it is the most compressed and fine grained quartzite. That quartzite is some gem grade stuff. They run into massive quartzite in the granite quarries in the gravel quarries in N Georgia. They will not let you in them anymore, but they spread with rail ways. There is a mile long track section in Fayettville spread with some fine quartzite. all the same color though. Keep checking the railways and you may run into some fine material. Some of the creeks up here have cut through massive quartzite layers 3-12 inches thick. Most of it grey to green. one with mica glitter, may have a photo, yes. So so quartzite, Rottenwood Creek, under I-285 Atlanta: quartzite plates in water, Rottenwood creek, creek loaded with mass schist, nice 1/4 inch garnets too: Mountain quartzite with melted garnets(or felspar) and biotite mica:
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