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Post by knave on Feb 16, 2020 18:12:48 GMT -5
Gadabout Congratulations on a great tumble!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 16, 2020 18:42:33 GMT -5
Congrats Gadabout. You're set. Looking for more.
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Post by RocksInNJ on Feb 17, 2020 1:51:51 GMT -5
Glad you were happy with the new results and hope your tumbles get better and better with each batch. Best of luck and have fun and thanks for sharing the results with us.
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sheriam
starting to shine!
Member since December 2019
Posts: 34
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Post by sheriam on Feb 17, 2020 5:29:53 GMT -5
This is the pebble beach at Grand Marais, MI, looking west. The photo is taken from the outer range lighthouse pier. In the far background is the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This whole area is magical. OMG, I would never be able to leave
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sheriam
starting to shine!
Member since December 2019
Posts: 34
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Post by sheriam on Feb 17, 2020 5:33:46 GMT -5
My favorite. This is apparently a type of agate that they call a "skip an atom." The swirls and colors are incredible. It got ground down a bit more than I wanted it to because of the failed first attempt and having to go through the entire process a second time, but it'll still make a nice necklace for the granddaughter. How did you get all these phantastic tear drop shapes? Did you pre-cut them?
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Gadabout
starting to shine!
Member since December 2019
Posts: 48
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Post by Gadabout on Feb 17, 2020 8:22:18 GMT -5
Glad you like the teardrops sheriam. I shaped them with a Dremel and a $10 diamond grinding wheel from Harbor Freight. It's a good exercise for someone who's OCD. Gotta get them shaped just right, ya' know. I found that if a rock contains different materials, it might not shape properly in the tumbler, like this one. I had high hopes for it, but the different materials caused the right side to grind a little flatter than the left side. Also, with all of the fractures in it, a small piece of the left lower"corner" broke off. Sometimes it's a hit or miss proposition I guess. I'll probably reshape this one and give it another shot. Maybe I'll get lucky.
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Gadabout
starting to shine!
Member since December 2019
Posts: 48
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Post by Gadabout on Feb 17, 2020 8:29:19 GMT -5
This is the grinding wheel I bought. I only use the small wheel and the small spindle. Haven't found a use for the larger wheel yet. It lasts a very long time. I dip the rock in a bowl of water and grind for 15 seconds or so, then dip it water again, etc. This method works good for me. A respirator mask is the most important piece of equipment.
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Post by knave on Feb 17, 2020 8:30:00 GMT -5
I have that exact set. Got it from Menards
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shardy
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2019
Posts: 110
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Post by shardy on Feb 17, 2020 9:45:52 GMT -5
Nice work. Looks like you've figured things out.
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Gadabout
starting to shine!
Member since December 2019
Posts: 48
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Post by Gadabout on Feb 17, 2020 14:26:01 GMT -5
Hey knave, I really like that small grinding wheel. Can't believe how long it's lasted. I bought 2 more sets just like this, but haven't had to change over to a new wheel yet even after grinding and shaping at least a dozen quartz stones
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sheriam
starting to shine!
Member since December 2019
Posts: 34
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Post by sheriam on Feb 22, 2020 8:40:37 GMT -5
Glad you like the teardrops sheriam. I shaped them with a Dremel and a $10 diamond grinding wheel from Harbor Freight. It's a good exercise for someone who's OCD. Gotta get them shaped just right, ya' know. I found that if a rock contains different materials, it might not shape properly in the tumbler, like this one. I had high hopes for it, but the different materials caused the right side to grind a little flatter than the left side. Also, with all of the fractures in it, a small piece of the left lower"corner" broke off. Sometimes it's a hit or miss proposition I guess. I'll probably reshape this one and give it another shot. Maybe I'll get lucky. Ah, ok thanks for explaining!
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 928
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Post by nursetumbler on Mar 26, 2022 23:23:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the helpful feedback, RocksInNJ The grit is 60/90, then 120/20, then 500/600 and the polish is 1200. That "agate" has been confirmed by people who know agates as an unusual type of agate called a "skip an atom" or "skip' for short. It is some kind of unusual quartz structure. Up close it is very pretty, and that's why I'd like to get it more shiny. After I let it set for awhile it actually did develop a bit more shine. And, when I rubbed it against my clothes like you said it improved 100%, so it would appear all is not lost! I think you are right that I had some porous stones in the mix that shouldn't have been there. I'll try and avoid that in the future. Although I had a couple pieces of softer stone (feldspar, lots of micah in it?) in the first course run that polished up beautifully after that first course grit run. I took those out of the mix though, and will experiment with polishing those later I've got my second batch in the tumbler now, all quartz, and I set the agate and one other stone aside for final polishing or burnishing later. But I'm not going to do any final polishing or burnishing on those until I have a better idea what I'm doing. Wish I had a second tumbler. Thanks a lot NJ. Really appreciate the feedback. GadaboutHave you thought about maybe a single or double 3# from Harbor Freight? I know they aren't as good as Lortone but it does the job.
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 928
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Post by nursetumbler on Mar 27, 2022 0:03:32 GMT -5
Hey thanks whyofquartz (love that user name). No, the photo does not show all of the rocks I had in the 3 lb barrel. I only took a photo of just enough to show the variety I had. I probably had at least 3 times as many stones, plus some ceramic media (I added the ceramic media as the volume of stones was reduced due to the tumbling). I always kept the barrel 2/3 to 3/4 full. From what I've heard from other folks here, I think my main problems were that I had stones in the mix that were too soft, and that I also did not do the course grit long enough. I just ordered a whole bunch of new grit (wow, shipping is expensive when you order 30 pounds of stuff). By the end of this winter, with a few loads under my belt and the great advice I get here, I should be on my way to knowing a bit more about what the heck I'm doing. I've got some real pretty stones in the batch I'm tumbling now. I'll be sure to post a pic if any of them turn out nice. GadaboutYour agate looks awesomely shaped. I'm new (as of January) and I've been told the coarse is complete when the shape is what you'd like with no pits, chips, cracks or gouges. Stage 2 is for getting the scratches off that the coarse grit caused, this could be twice as long as 1st stage because it's at least twice as fine. (Don't hate me experts that's what the guy doing Lapidary at a rock shop I frequented in New Mexico said) then pre-polish and polish about a week each, at least polish longer if your finish isn't how you'd like, high gloss, satin or however you prefer. Then I burnish with plain ivory soap shavings, cheap hand held flat grater from either dollar tree, dollar general or family dollar, three stores in the tiny town I was in that didn't require a hour drive will help grate it up fine. With ingawh suggestion, I added 2 tsp of sugarfree Metamucil with a tsp of bleach, to stop the gas effect, to each stage. The Metamucil creates a gel cushion to protect your stones from clacking together it also helps with keeping the grits from slipping under flakes and into cracks (what ingawh mentioned) If you live in the UP I am very jealous of your playground. Granted I am a troll and have beaches of my own BUT Grand Marais is my happy place. Happy tumbling. P.S. If you have already been given any of this info, didn't get a chance to read your post through, sorry for the duplication
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