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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 16, 2011 7:34:03 GMT -5
Your "green splotches stone" looks like a thin crust of malachite and/or azurite. It's common to find that combo in the basalt along the Bay of Fundy and it often occurs together along with copper and other sulphide minerals. Unfortunately, it only occurs as a thin crust.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 11, 2011 14:24:40 GMT -5
This competition has been going on for a few years now. A number of RTHers entered last year. Go to the Website below and click on the link for the competition. www.orovillerocks.com/You will get all the details and entry form. $40 to enter gets you 4 lbs of rock. You tumble 4 lbs and send back your best 1/2 lb for judging. Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 10, 2011 7:23:17 GMT -5
I'm a fan of American Pickers and would love to see a spin-off series American Rockhounds. You post some AMAZING scores.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 9, 2011 14:52:00 GMT -5
I agree with Susan. I haven't had a chance to get treally frustrated for a while, so tumbling some more of that Royal Nevada Jasper should give me the opportunity, once again.
I was so disappointed with my results last year, that I didn't even invest the postage to enter my tumbles. Ya, I'm in. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 7, 2011 7:44:38 GMT -5
At first glance, this site looked really cool until I read the fine print and looked a little deeper. With the tourmaline, there is no gaurantee that you will find anything in your bag of gravel. With the saphires, the bag has been "salted" with 11 karats, or so. Either bag of gravel ($70) will be closer to $100 by the time you ship it. It seems expensive, with no gaurantee.
If you dig a little fartehr on the site, they will sell you a pound of amethyst or citrine for $20/lb. I usually pay about $5/lb for that, so the prices seem high in general.
I would like to try the deal, but would need to hear from someone that has already tried it before I place my order.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 4, 2011 7:09:36 GMT -5
That's so amzing that you may have may have problems convincing people that it wasn't dyed.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 4, 2011 7:06:26 GMT -5
I also use AO 1000 for my pre-polish. There have been a few loads where the burnish after the pre-polish looks so good there is no need to complete the polish. I think this phenomena is material dependent, because it doesn't work all the time for every load.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 3, 2011 7:45:06 GMT -5
I have been using the Ameritool 8" Universal HG Grindr for a few months now and am really happy with its performance. It is expensive, and you will have to buy a few additional disks on top of the base price.
The base unit comes with a 180 mesh metal-bonded disk, three sanding pads, and a felt pad with 12,000 mesh diamond paste.
You will have to add one disk on each end. You will want an 80 or a 100 mesh metal-bonded disk for the initial removal of saw marks, or cutting the dome on a cab. The 180 mesh that comes with the unit doesn't have enough bite for the first round of grinding.
You will want a felt pad with 40,000 mesh diamond paste to give you the mirror like shine that you see on commercially sold slabs and end cuts.
Here is another problem that will require additional disks. The thee sanding pads that come with the unit are flexible. That makes them ideal for sanding the domed surface of a cab, but not so good for sanding flats of slabs and end cuts. I put an additional foam pad under my sanding disks to make them even more flexible for conforming to the domed surface of a cab.
I had to buy three additional metal-bonded disks to finsh flats on slabs and end cuts. The metal-bonded disks are rigid. The sanding pads are flexible.
At $70 for an 8" metal-bonded disk, the extra disks cost $280. The extra disk, felt pad, and diamond paste was about another $50. This is an expensive addiction, sorry I mean hobby.
JSGems had the best price on the base unit that I could find. Significantly less than what Ameritool charges from the factory.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 3, 2011 7:25:01 GMT -5
Nice batch, especially for a new member. Keep up the good work.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 3, 2011 7:20:31 GMT -5
The Model-B is a serious unit. I have run mine for 2 years 24/7. The empty barrel and liner weigh about 5 lbs before you load it and is guaranteed for 5 years. It is well constructed. The motor has a thermal shut-down to protect it from burn out if there is ever a jam on the rollers.
My only complaint (and it is minor) is that the drive-shaft and other shaft are prone to bending under the weight of the barrel. Place the barrel gently on the rollers. If you clunk it down, or drop it on the shaft, you will bend the shaft. I learned this the hard way, Fortunately, the replacement part was under $10.
Highly recommended. Two thumbs up.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 28, 2011 17:13:32 GMT -5
I pulled a batch from the UV-10 a few days back, but had to wait for a little sun to bring out the shine. These are a few pre-forms and a whole lot of scraps from the saw table. Antique Candy Bowl Close-up Close-up Close-up Close-up Close-up Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 26, 2011 20:10:28 GMT -5
I use the Gryphon Twister. It has a water pump whick I prefer to the drip sponge.
You can get bits for edge grinding preforms, cutting a groove, beveling an edge, and grinding pins for cutting holes and working on inside edges.
Check out the Gryphon web page and catalogue.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 25, 2011 9:44:48 GMT -5
I have used my Dremel with the various grinding stone attachments. Slower than a bench grinder, but you`ll get there eventually. Wear a mask. You`ll generate some nasty dust doing this dry grinding.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 25, 2011 9:40:25 GMT -5
The cab would be beautiful, but I don`t know if I could cut away so much margin for one cab. Hang it in a window, or on a display stand. Even with the crack, it would be it is specimen worthy when polished.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 25, 2011 9:32:34 GMT -5
Beautiful, but oh so brittle. Nice specimens. There are a few there that may catch the eye of someone who facets.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 25, 2011 9:25:36 GMT -5
I know you have your own method and you are on a mission, but if you find that the edges are not rounding quickly enough, consider this ...
Maximize the grinding action in Stage 1. Do this by eliminating the pellets and not over-filling the barrel. I fill to 2/3 full with rock, and 1/2 full with water. This gives the rock plenty of space to tumble and maximizes the grinding action. When you reduce the space, you reduce the grinding action and increase the time necessary.
I have even tried 46/70 grit in Stage 1 for some extra grinding action. This doesn`t appear to make a significant difference because the SC grit breaks down as soon as the tumble gets going. Chances are, the 46/70 has been reduced to 60/90 within the first few hours of tumbling.
Nice pet wood and good luck.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 25, 2011 8:59:25 GMT -5
Weclome to the club! In my first year, I `popped` two lids and cut through another. Clean the grit, dry the tumbler, and get things running again. As long as grit didn`t get into the motor bearings, you should be OK. I beleive the motor bearings are sealed to prevent grit from getting in them, so there you go.
If you run your tumbler 24/7 you should be able to cut through a barrel lid every year. The lid is a $3 replacement part from most suppliers. I put a number decal on my barrel lids. When the lid cuts through, the decal prevents the spill. The numbers ID the barrel so I can keep things straight.
To reduce lid `pop-off`, I fill the barrels with hot tap water, then close normally. As the water cools, the air pressure inside the barrel drops a little compaired to the air pressure outside the barrel. This small differential tends to suck the lid closed, rather than pop it open.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 23, 2011 9:51:42 GMT -5
32 degrees, huh! We are 20 degrees below that. Around here, every well equipped shop has a wood stove in it to make it functional year round. Nothing like the smell of saw oil with a hint of maple. Hate to see the cold slow you down.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 22, 2011 16:53:45 GMT -5
If you want smooth edges, you will have to run them through several cycles (several weeks) of 60/90 or 46/70 coarse grit. This will smooth and round the edges. As you progress through the remaining stages the salbs will polish.
If you want natural edges and smooth flats, you can start at the 120/220 stage. Caution - the irregular edges (if you chhose this method) will tend to trap grit and carry it to the next stage where it will spoil your shine. You must clean and burnish very carefully between stages so that you do not contaminate the next stage.
Either way, you should add some mixed size gravel, or some large pellets to the load. All slabs do not make a `balanced`load. You need a mix of metrial sizes and shapes to get the best results. I usually go with 50% slabs and 50% mixed size gravel and get good results.
Good luck.
Darryl.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 19, 2011 21:10:30 GMT -5
I have a gravel driveway that has absorbed pounds of sludge over the years. A soak-away hole in the ground will work if you live in a more civilized area.
Darryl.
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