panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 9, 2013 10:51:30 GMT -5
Very nice Tony. I especially like the solid thunderegg material. The unknown almost looks like bone that didn't quite "cook" right. Good to have you back and posting.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 8, 2013 20:30:55 GMT -5
At least they made it interesting at the end. I must say I was feeling uneasy towards the end. We'll see if the Buckeyes move up or if Baylor leapfrogs us. Bill Oh Bill, say it ain't so. I had such high hopes for you, and to find out you're a Buckeye. Just kidding you (partially true) Watch out for Michigan State when you guys get in the Big10 championship as their defense seems stingy TOUGH.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 8, 2013 20:26:46 GMT -5
Great job on them Bill. Glad to have you posting them. Beautiful variety and they all came out nice. I am quite sure both of the "petwood" are really nice jaspers. Petwood will have much more uniform, smooth, well spaced annual rings (unlike the second jasper), and nearly always will not have a sudden big void of rings (unlike the first). But by whatever name, they are nice!
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 8, 2013 0:10:34 GMT -5
Yeah, but those crazy effective onside kicks of OU and the blocked FG sure made it interesting. I think Stanford it easily one of the top 3 teams. Oh I wish we already had the playoff system.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 7, 2013 19:49:25 GMT -5
And for a shocker, check out the price on replacing a blade in one of those. Ouch!
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 7, 2013 19:41:20 GMT -5
Got some more good work done. Purchased the pillow block bearings. Now to install them. Sounded simple, but what a hassle! We have a really good bearing store near here, so I took the old SealMaster bearing in. The guy said, "wow, that's old". He said he could order in a SealMaster but he showed me some similar IPTCI bearings that were MUCH cheaper and he said just as good. In my research it looks like they should function just fine. And they were about 1/4 of what SealMasters cost. Time to install. But first, a few problems. The base feet on the new bearings were just a bit too long to fit between the saw-squaring adjustment bolts. The new base was about 1/2" longer. I maybe could have mail ordered a better fitting one, but the hole pattern matched the original perfectly and I didn't think it would be a big problem. All I had to do was cut 1/4" off each end right? Well, it was hardened steel and I didn't want to overheat the new bearing and its grease. So it turned out it was a VERY slow cutting process. Sheesh! But I finally got it done and repainted. Then I installed them. You can see here the shaft alignment (blade-squaring) bolts that caused the fit problems. (Note everything is going to be "dry fit" on this part as I will be coming back, opening it up to square-up the saw blade to the carriage/vice. Therefore not all the bolts will be fully tightened.) It is interesting that HP now uses a different system for fine adjusting the shaft alignment. I suspect my bearings would have fit fine unaltered in their new set up. Also HP now uses pillow block bearings with zerk fittings. (And I don't think they use SealMasters any more. Can anybody confirm??) I was unfamiliar why sealed bearings would have zerks, so I called. They said they are shielded bearings, not sealed, and that if one uses the correct grease and not too much, then it is much better to periodically grease them. I like this idea. Not only gets fresh lube, but it also helps flush out water/dirt contamination if you get some inside. Hopefully the hardest stuff was now over. But no! you silly man. HP wisely uses gaskets around the shaft and bearing cover to help protect the bearings from dirt, etc. As we saw, it didn't work too well on mine. Maybe because the back gasket was missing! So I made a new one out of neoprene from an old computer mouse pad. You can barely see the gasket between the tank and the aluminum bearing cover. Then I went to install the front gasket and cover. For some reason, with the new bearings the shaft sits lower so it was no longer centered and the screw holes didn't line up. (The shaft it perfectly horizontal though, so no problem there) So I did a bit of modification. No, not "JamesP" style mod's. I just needed to drop the alignment a bit by adjusting some holes. With just a little abuse of a saber saw blade I was able to cut the aluminum cover so the shaft was centered in its hole. Then I had to recut the holes in the felt gasket. One could use a leather hole punch, but in this case a .270 case with the neck sharpened worked perfect. Note that you want to get a quite tight fit of the gaskets to the shaft. I was able to gently pound on the felt gasket to make the slightly worn hole smaller, and tighter fitting. Now that the bearing and shaft assembly is done, I think the rest is just reassembly and will go quite fast. (except for the totally rusted screws that broke off in their holes and have to be drilled out and retapped.) I put the arbor and saw blade back on to see what it looked like and I am really encouraged. It looked like a rock saw again! Hopefully not too much longer. Too bad the temps are in the teens now. Makes it hard to cut rocks, ha. I will post again when there is more progress. Thanks for watching.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 6, 2013 15:02:50 GMT -5
Yes flame agate. That is funny - too many names. Personally I like flame agate much better than fire agate. And that one is a real beauty!
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 6, 2013 11:12:09 GMT -5
James, do NOT let that one get away from you while still turning. I don't think OSHA would even allow that on a 9 inch hand grinder Mark. Yeah, you are right. So you probably have plans for a flipped-over lawn mower, right?
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 6, 2013 9:07:45 GMT -5
James, do NOT let that one get away from you while still turning.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 21:40:45 GMT -5
Hey Mark,just checked on this.It does not say silicon carbide on this,just 80 abrasive grit.Have you used this before?Just checking before I order some.They say excellent for rotary tumblers. snuffy Yeah, I talked with them and they said it was silicon carbide. Plus if you look really close at their 2nd line header it says "Kingsley North → Lapidary Equipment & Supplies → Abrasive Grit - Silicon Carbide" I got 100 lbs coming - that should last me a while. No more having to skimp on it! Funny yesterday they had it listed as 50 lb lots for $65, plus no mention of ability to flat rate ship (so I had to call and ask). Maybe 50 lbs will not have fit so nicely in the Flat Rate boxes so they just proportionally cut the deal down. My poor mail lady - she is a real gamer, but she might have to ask me for help on this one.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 21:03:45 GMT -5
Wow JC, that is a beauty and no breaks! What a nice encouragement to get out more often, huh? Thanks for posting.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 21:00:36 GMT -5
Just a friendly FYI: If anybody needs coarse grit, Kingsley North has a really good deal going on now. It is size 80 silicon carbide grit and is only $59 for a 45lb bag. And best thing is they can ship it in a USPS Flat Rate box so it is real economical. Here is the link www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/product.php?id=100837&catID=1053 All totaled, this is even better price than I could get in bulk purchase from the closest sand blasting supplier. Unfortunately, I think it is a very limited supply. Thanks Kingsley. Just in time for the holidays, so we can keep the barrels turning! - Mark
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 18:54:33 GMT -5
The physics are that when you cut a thin rock the saw blade cutting portion is almost perpendicular to the rock. But if you are cutting a thick piece of rock, instead of perpendicular, now the saw acts like a wedge on the top portion of the rock to lift it up. In other words, rather than strict cutting, the rock is riding up on top of the saw blade. The problem seems to be the saw is not cutting well/fast enough to keep the rock from riding up. I think you need either a sharper saw blade or a slower feed rate, or both. Also, more force pushing down on the rock may be the simple fix as Jim mentioned. The new blades are relatively cheap (i.e. relative to a 24" or 30", ha!) so that would be the next step. Hope this helps
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 15:54:02 GMT -5
The problem is this. There are brazilians of unique stones out there in the field. Okay Scott, you are starting to sound like Archie Bunker, LOL. I have yet to see a Brazilian out there. A couple Panamanians though. Mike Stivic: You know, you are totally incomprehensible. Archie Bunker: Maybe so, but I make a lot of sense.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 10:15:53 GMT -5
You have some nice ones in there. Very interesting and revealing I think. My 2cents, it definitely looks like it is mostly a case of mixing rock hardnesses. The rocks in the "nice polish" batch are almost all nice, hard agates. Some of those rocks in the "poor polish" are of a type/softness that will never take a good shine. Try keeping them in these separate groups and running thru final stages again and see if they don't come out quite a bit better.
Is that a couple pieces of lapis in the 2nd group?
Not bad job. You will get even better though with experience with your new equipment.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 5, 2013 10:06:59 GMT -5
Hi Rob,
Just a thought, have you dressed the blade lately? I mention this because I use 50% RV antifreeze on my 10" saw. Well the other day I got forgetful and used virtually straight water (with borax) and within 2 rocks the blade was shot. Not ruined, but it will take me quite a while with a firebrick to get the blade back working. It was really surprising how quick it glazed over with just water! Made me a real believer in the antifreeze. (I, like you, don't want the mess of oil in this small saw). In the past (and for the first stone this time) the saw would cut very nice and fast, but now it really is ineffective and all kinds of binding and other problems are occurring. As I remember you have run this saw blade quite a bit with just plain water.
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 4, 2013 19:24:49 GMT -5
Interesting James. Thanks for posting. It seems very generalized though, or maybe applies to a specific park, e.g. Petrified Forest. For example I am pretty sure that the Gary Green petrified bog/wood of SE Oregon is green because of chromium. Green petwood is relatively rare. I think some copper can also cause some petwood to be green. But this is very rare. I had never heard that green came from iron, but I am still a novice. <I did some research and found, yes iron when in quite low concentrations and with the right reaction accounts for a lot of greens>
Thanks, Mark
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 4, 2013 19:02:41 GMT -5
I use borax and powdered detergent as a cleanup step between each of the late stages, i.e. as a rinse&wash b/n each step. I don't do a burnish step any more. I noticed the rocks seemed to be coming out of the (short) burnish stage actually less shiny, so I ran tests and proved to myself that the final burnish step was actually hurting my polish. So now I do a very short wash step at the end with rocks in water, detergent and a bit of borax. I wonder if others have actually tested if the burnish helps make their rocks shinier? I had one old timer tell me he wasn't sure it did anything, but everyone does it so he does too Not too appealing. What about you all?
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 4, 2013 16:40:31 GMT -5
Rob is too humble, but I should mention that not only is Brian an awesome rockhound, he has some good unicycle skills. Check him out here
And you get the two together and it can be "hide the children" time, LOL
Hope you don't mind Rob that I gave a shout out for y'all. - Mark
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Nov 3, 2013 18:09:08 GMT -5
That's a nice looking rock. I'm not sure what the difference is between epidote and epidosite is, but I'm assuming epidote is the mineral and epidosite is the rock made out of that mineral. I pick up a lot of unakite in Lake Superior. It is epidote and red or orange feldspar. How much red does it need to be called unakite? From what I understand, epidote is the mineral and epidosite is a rock made up of epidote and quartz. I guess it is similar to unakite being a rock made up of epidote and feldspar.
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