panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 20, 2017 8:17:51 GMT -5
Look good Rob. I think you nailed it on the idea that the vibe does flats extremely well, while the roller does rounds really well.
The one you ask is it Montana - I think might be AZ petwood.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 19, 2017 19:18:20 GMT -5
Great idea Jean! I sent you my email via PM. Thanks for the foresight!
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 18, 2017 17:40:22 GMT -5
Those bryozoan jungle is fantastic
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 17, 2017 12:18:19 GMT -5
There is some good stuff on the site, but also some inaccuracies so read with care. I don't think the site is written by a true geologist/scientist as it has a lot of errors.
This particular inaccuracy on their site has been discussed in great detail: "Black is the most common color of obsidian. However, it can also be brown, tan, or green. Rarely, obsidian can be blue, red, orange, or yellow."
No one has been able to document a case of real obsidian in blue. And green, orange and yellow are highly debatable. Many unscrupulous people have tried to sell blue glass as rare obsidian.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 15, 2017 15:23:38 GMT -5
Jugglerguy You have a spectacular back yard. How long did it take for you to build that area out ? Okay Rob, Jugglerguy can you do this during your construction sensations? And how is your German? JK, you all should know he is a fantastic juggler as well as construction dynamo :-)
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 11, 2017 22:36:37 GMT -5
Looks like a piece done by Idar Oberstein. Yes, you are right. Some great craftsmen there. Here is another piece
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 11, 2017 14:42:52 GMT -5
The original caption said this was carved from a block of Brazilian agate before WWII. It is currently in Germany. Hard to tell scale, but my question is - How did they do this? Just days and weeks of work?
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 10, 2017 21:51:52 GMT -5
Nice Rob! That is kinda a strange unakite. You usually find the greener ones :-)
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 10, 2017 21:48:58 GMT -5
Will be interesting to see if anyone figures out how to make them shine. I don't think you are allowed to heat treat them or anything like that ? I am interested because I found some really fantastically figured rock like shown, but it only takes a matte finish based on my abilities. Very coarse grained compared to our usual tumbler materials. Watching with interest.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 10, 2017 21:43:36 GMT -5
Where were you collecting sap at Mark ? It gets dry in winters here in the south. Not uncommon to steam off 3 gallons of water per day in a pot. This was when I was living in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Lots of red maple with some sugars thrown in. It was interesting to see the sap flow change throughout the day. Trees are pretty active actually. And capillary action is great too :[) I am amazed that it is dry down in Georgia in the winter. Sure seems sticky in the summer. Not dry like Idaho though were we sometimes get 6 to 8 % humidity. Not like Panama either where it is 110% humidity - we just got 8 inches of rain in the last 30 hours (not too unusual). When it rains like that you can actually see and feel the fresh water layer on top of the ocean when you swim. Average rainfall here is 11.5 feet (of rain!). And where we live in Idaho the avg rainfall is about 8 inches. Contrasting climates for sure.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 9, 2017 9:31:41 GMT -5
Our down-draft stove was a Vermont Castings model. My experience was totally of operate the stove as designed and it works great. It kicked out a very even heat and the wood lasted a long time. One benefit was the huge flat top. We didn't cook on it, but we sure made a lot of maple syrup on it by putting flat pans of sap on it. The water vapor from reducing the sap could make the house a bit damp though. It was a fun thing to get out of the house and do in the early spring - tapping the trees, watching the buckets, etc.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 8, 2017 20:19:52 GMT -5
I no longer have a wood stove, but when I was a kid we had a neat down-drafting stove. The idea was to suck more heat out of the burning gas by making it go further via a baffle system(check out the patent date) . When you first started the fire you used it regular way until you got a good draw, then you flip a gate and the gas went around the horn. It was strange to carefully crack the door in downdraft mode and see the flames going down instead of up. That stove was super efficient and could heat the house well. A lot of iron though and it took a while to get it warm.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 6, 2017 18:17:06 GMT -5
Strange, I saw another post by him earlier today on FB and he was ONLY asking $40K I think. Maybe he is gonna highball now, then later have a "clearance sale - half off".
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 6, 2017 18:13:35 GMT -5
A truck intertube is probably EPDM. Lortone cap cover seems to be EPDM. Truck stops/tire repair may still have tubes. Tubes are used on tractors. Roofers use a lot of EPDM. I have had great luck with truck tire inner tubes. The local tire store just pulled some ruined ones out of a pile and gave them to me free. You can lay them out and find the flattest spot to cut out the liner. There will everywhere be some curvature, but it isn't a problem for the small area of a lit
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 5, 2017 18:51:57 GMT -5
One of the top batches ever. Very nice every and all. Thx for sharing.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 5, 2017 4:57:57 GMT -5
Okay, 99 cents for Bruneau jasper is just stealing it :-)
In your first posting, the first rocks look like nice Maury Mountain.
In the last posting the last pictures are nice picture jasper, including what looks like some Owyhee Gem picture jasper.
What a nice haul !!!!
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 3, 2017 13:26:14 GMT -5
My barrels seem to be lasting a long time, knocking on the wooden table as I type, it's the lid liner on the Thumlers that seems to wear out easiest. I probably need to look at making my own out of some rubber sheet stock, should be a bit cheaper than buying them. Could also make them out a thicker rubber which would extend the life. Hank, I had the same problem. When I complained to Thumler they were like "yes they wear out if you use hard rocks" doh I ended up cutting a piece of flat rubber from a large truck inner tube. I used some really good glue to affix it to a new lid bought from Thumlers. Rough up the lid's surface a bit before gluing. Then trim the edge of the rubber so it matched the OD of the lid. It is really amazing how just a thin bit of rubber makes it sooo much more durable. I am on about 2 years of heavy use. The rubber gives just a bit instead of being gouged by the rocks. I tried spray on rubber like a truck liner stuff and it didn't work. Not sure why. anyway, try sheet rubber and it should solve the problem. HTH - Mark
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 2, 2017 15:05:23 GMT -5
Funny thing along the lines of this thread, for some reason all of my daughter's boyfriends lately have been fascinated by my rock hobby. She even asked me "why do guys like that stuff?" Like I had been passing out the koolaid or something :-)
FWIW: both my wife and my daughter like to rockhound with me. But after that, not much interest.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 2, 2017 13:47:13 GMT -5
Where is the bamboo Mark ? Third picture down on the right hand side. Also more on their web site. They also have a write up somewhere on the web about some petrified horsetail fern (equisetum) type stuff they found. But it is disputed and to me could just be non-fossil tubular agate. Anyway, yes they sure have some neat stuff in Indonesia.
|
|
panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
|
Post by panamark on Jan 2, 2017 13:12:45 GMT -5
Yes, that is similar to what I have already. I just need to put in the time. My setup is a bit better than the guy's on the video. If I was using his equipment (which I wouldn't) I would have a better splash guard, rubber gloves, rubber boots, and a GFIC in the system !! But duct tape works too.
It seems like the Indo people get in the grooves better, but probably just a matter of a smaller grinding head.
Thanks for the idea and video Rob !
|
|