jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Feb 24, 2017 15:01:21 GMT -5
|
|
napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
|
Post by napoleonrags on Feb 24, 2017 16:26:27 GMT -5
Whillikers. That's pretty amazing. Briefly looking through the seller's offerings I wonder if they are all naturally colored, or if there is some malfeasance going on. Price-wise it's out of my league. Has anyone purchased from this seller?
Thanks for posting,
Colin
|
|
|
Post by melhill1659 on Feb 24, 2017 16:30:58 GMT -5
Wow
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Feb 24, 2017 16:44:21 GMT -5
Whillikers. That's pretty amazing. Briefly looking through the seller's offerings I wonder if they are all naturally colored, or if there is some malfeasance going on. Price-wise it's out of my league. Has anyone purchased from this seller? Thanks for posting, Colin 100% They are heat treated Colin.(a few dyed) No matter, that rock is probably sexy before it got cooked. I wish they would sell it natural too. Us Merican's don't have to extreme everything in size and color. Whatever that agate is the ad said it comes from Madagascar. Madagascar is a smokin rock source. sure would like to see it natural. Never bought from them.
|
|
doublet83
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 118
|
Post by doublet83 on Feb 25, 2017 18:37:31 GMT -5
I agree that some of these Madagascar agates are quite attractive and look like a well banded laker. I'll try to buy a cheap one and cut it up to see what it looks like natural. I am also curious. (edit..actually if the heat treatment goes all the way thru the stone cutting it up won't reveal anything different, does the heat treatment affect the entire stone?)
|
|
napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
|
Post by napoleonrags on Feb 25, 2017 22:00:21 GMT -5
I agree that some of these Madagascar agates are quite attractive and look like a well banded laker. I'll try to buy a cheap one and cut it up to see what it looks like natural. I am also curious. (edit..actually if the heat treatment goes all the way thru the stone cutting it up won't reveal anything different, does the heat treatment affect the entire stone?) Rockin good news. Keep us posted. Colin
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Feb 26, 2017 6:01:41 GMT -5
I agree that some of these Madagascar agates are quite attractive and look like a well banded laker. I'll try to buy a cheap one and cut it up to see what it looks like natural. I am also curious. (edit..actually if the heat treatment goes all the way thru the stone cutting it up won't reveal anything different, does the heat treatment affect the entire stone?) Great question doublet. It depends. The surface of a heat treated rock definitely has a different color to varying depths(1/16" to 1/4". Usually more intense color but not necessarily. You can heat a 5 pound rock and break it into tumbles to get 'inside' colors. Or you can heat completed tumbles to get surface colors. Or you can heat rough broken rocks just before tumbling and get a combination of surface colors at low wear spots and inside colors at high wear spots. Judging from the consistency of the Madagascar's they look like inside colors. Guessing they would have the same color if sawed in half. Furthermore, they would probably not put that much work into tumbling such big rocks and then risk cracking them by heating them. Example of a rock heated after tumbling. Note phantom cloudy color on inside, outside color is clear in this case: Sawn face after heat: Broken to reveal inside colors:
|
|
doublet83
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 118
|
Post by doublet83 on Feb 26, 2017 11:39:14 GMT -5
Those are nice. What did the blue colors look like before treatment?
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Feb 26, 2017 20:47:14 GMT -5
Those are nice. What did the blue colors look like before treatment? Started a very slight tint of grey, almost white. Some of the light grey can go dark grey or blue or jet black. Or does not change lol. Heating the grey in this material is hard to predict. I have heard that it is salt(NaCl salt), perhaps from inland ancient ocean deposits. Coral found along the shore in ocean water has lots of black. It can be chemically complicated. I just learn the behavior of the rocks I collect in mass, layman's approach. Chemistry ? Who knows.
|
|
megalotis
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2009
Posts: 226
|
Post by megalotis on Feb 28, 2017 19:10:00 GMT -5
NIIICE agate, James! The polish is beautiful!
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Mar 1, 2017 5:58:45 GMT -5
NIIICE agate, James! The polish is beautiful! Not mine @megaltis, an Ebay listing from our oversea master tumblers. I wish. They must have cheap electricity and abrasives. I have been watching my landscape clients purchasing oversea 50 pound bags of 2-3 inch tumble polished cobbles for years. Price per 50 pounds must not be too expensive.
|
|
Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,102
|
Post by Thunder69 on Mar 1, 2017 7:03:17 GMT -5
James do I see a monster tumbler in the near future for you..lol..
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Mar 1, 2017 7:20:44 GMT -5
James do I see a monster tumbler in the near future for you..lol.. I will say John, my only success at tumbling those big guys has been using multiple small barrels with smalls and one big rock per 8 pound barrel. I have no idea how they are tumbling such big rocks together. Perhaps and probably a large barrel filled to 85% turning very slow with lots of smalls and perhaps a thick slurry. I have pulled off a few two pounders so far.
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
|
Post by Fossilman on Mar 1, 2017 10:10:55 GMT -5
Nice material.......I know of a place you can buy rough that is from Morocco,just as good as that other agate and get your moneys worth too...Heck they might even have this material too.... richardsonrockranch.com/
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,175
|
Post by jamesp on Mar 1, 2017 10:43:17 GMT -5
Nice material.......I know of a place you can buy rough that is from Morocco,just as good as that other agate and get your moneys worth too...Heck they might even have this material too.... richardsonrockranch.com/the agates at Richardson are fine enough without bringing imported stuff in.
|
|
vwfence
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2013
Posts: 557
|
Post by vwfence on Mar 1, 2017 20:27:25 GMT -5
how are they heating the agates ?
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
|
Post by Fossilman on Mar 1, 2017 21:18:02 GMT -5
Nice material.......I know of a place you can buy rough that is from Morocco,just as good as that other agate and get your moneys worth too...Heck they might even have this material too.... richardsonrockranch.com/the agates at Richardson are fine enough without bringing imported stuff in. They are getting a full yard for sure.............If they don't have it,you don't need it...LOL
|
|