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I ordered a few pounds of the large size Mexican Lace Agate from The Rock Shed recently and am having a hard time with it. Some of it is rounding nicely, but most of it the layers are just chipping off. Even the ones that are rounding are leaving behind a bumpy texture. This is the first thing I've ordered from The Rock Shed that has left me feeling disappointed. I know not every rock can be "perfect" but normally they seem to be a small percentage of the batch. I haven't started all the ones I've gotten, but most of the ones I have started do not seem like they are going to turn out super well. I thought the rough was promising.
Here is a short video I made during my weekly cleanout this past weekend. I think these have been tumbling for about 3 or 4 weeks at this point. I'm only adding about 5 pieces into the barrel (QT6) and the rest is medium/small sized Botswana Agates. I added extra pea gravel for the last 2 weeks to try and provide a little more cushioning, but not sure it's helping. Any tips? Just be patient and see how they look in another 3 weeks?
Mexican Crazy Laces are stunning but I had the same problem in tumbling as you described. 1. The lace layers could chip off easily. 2. The crushed rocks have a lot of fractures. 3. There are some porous areas that don't polish and can collect black residue. 4. The agates have quite a few softer areas.
IMO It doesn't matter where you ordered them. My suggestion is to get prepared to start from large roughs and grind them to much smaller. Also preform them as much as you can, for example I will make faces that are perpendicular to the lace layers which reduces the chipping off. I also buy roughs and make thick slabs and cut them into smaller pieces to avoid the fractures as much as possible (absolutely not cost effective). Here are some of my journeys (and rants): forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1318928/thread Still I enjoy them a lot when finished: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1307902/thread
Last Edit: Aug 5, 2024 13:02:47 GMT -5 by pebblesky
Mexican Crazy Laces are stunning but I had the same problem in tumbling as you described. 1. The lace layers could chip off easily. 2. The crushed rocks have a lot of fractures. 3. There are some porous areas that don't polish and can collect black residue. 4. The agates have quite a few softer areas.
IMO It doesn't matter where you ordered them. My suggestion is to get prepared to start from large roughs and grind them to much smaller. Also preform them as much as you can, for example I will make faces that are perpendicular to the lace layers which reduces the chipping off. I also buy roughs and make thick slabs and cut them into smaller pieces to avoid the fractures as much as possible (absolutely not cost effective). Here are some of my journeys (and rants): forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1318928/thread Still I enjoy them a lot when finished: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1307902/thread
I guess I should adjust my expectations then. One of the very first rocks I tumbled when I started in 2021 was some Mexican Crazy Lace and didn't have this problem. The only thing I have besides my tumbler is a Dremel. I do use it sometimes... usually to cut off a protrusion or something like that. It's very slow going.
Most of my Mexican Crazy lace depends 3 to 9 months in course (which I why I will only order the large size). Some pieces are a lost cause (my last batch of 25 pounds saw maybe 1 to 2 pounds that just were never going to behave). Some stuff goes pretty quick, but most of it takes a long time and a lot of patience. cutting or grinding out the bad spots will speed things up.
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
It's been a while since I've tried to upload any photos, so I'm hoping this works. My last order of crazy lace from The Rock Shed is acting similar. It seems to be chipping and what I think of as delaminating. The photos are not the best, but I hope they offer a glimpse of the problem. To me, it seems as if there are layers with a weak cement in the rock, allowing the pieces to flake off. I do have a several more pieces that I've started to polish, and it's starting to do the same. I will update with more photos when I get a chance.
Yup pretty typical crazy lace. I tend to take pieces like that and smack them with a hammer and chisel. I would rather take care of the problem in course than have it fall apart in later stages.
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
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dfwrockstar: Ha! Noobs! I have the complete set... Twice!
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RickB: You can catch a polar bear with a can of peas
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amygdule: Frozen Peas will sting when fired from a Wrist Rocket
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gary95340: Hello, I read the Jasper Point post, 2009. I am part owner of the KAREN LYNN claim. It’s located in Hunters Valley. It’s a Jasper load claim. To my knowledge it is illegal to collect rocks in the Lake McClure area, owned by MID. Jasper Point is in MID
Dec 7, 2024 23:57:23 GMT -5
gary95340: New to this, I haven’t a clue on posting. I have about 1 ton of jasper, various sizes.
Dec 8, 2024 0:02:13 GMT -5
gary95340: No use to hang around, I’m out of here.
Dec 8, 2024 0:03:29 GMT -5
gary95340: Jasper point is a geographic location easily located on a topographical map. It obtained its name, because Jasper was mined there at the time of the railroad. I visited the site by boat during the end of the last drought.
Dec 8, 2024 0:08:15 GMT -5
rocknrob: One of my biggest wishes is for whirled peas. Much easier to eat than Jasper.
Dec 8, 2024 16:59:54 GMT -5
1dave: gary95340: No use to hang around, I’m out of here. You are Welcome This is just the chatter box!
Dec 8, 2024 20:29:57 GMT -5
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1dave: Nature is messy, don't expect it to be uniform and consistent. - Eldridge Moore
Dec 9, 2024 10:23:32 GMT -5
gary95340: How do I upload a photo? On this site
Dec 9, 2024 23:56:06 GMT -5
Rockoonz: gary95340 post on the forum in the introductions, if you ask the question there we can help you get started posting with either the cloudinary for PC or the tapatalk app for apple/android. Not sure if it's even possible to post pics in the shout-box.
Dec 10, 2024 11:17:30 GMT -5
1dave: If the earth is flat, what is on the bottom side?
Dec 10, 2024 11:24:45 GMT -5
1dave: Rockoonz, the image needs to be small, around 200dpi. Place img] before, and [/img] after.
Dec 10, 2024 11:31:02 GMT -5
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1dave: In the next ten yeas, our confusion will reach new heights of sophistication. - Alex McBirney
Dec 10, 2024 17:15:53 GMT -5
gary95340: Easy answer, go to FLICKR.COM. In the search bar enter “Jasper claim” that’s my name on that site. All photos were uploaded by me, years ago. Should be 64 photos, Helen Trumbull shows 4 photos. If you search Hornitos jasper you’ll see some jewelry I made,
Dec 10, 2024 23:30:23 GMT -5
1dave: How well does your expectations match reality? The Principle of least astonishment, or least surprise.
Dec 11, 2024 9:27:35 GMT -5
Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
It's been a while since I've tried to upload any photos, so I'm hoping this works. My last order of crazy lace from The Rock Shed is acting similar. It seems to be chipping and what I think of as delaminating. The photos are not the best, but I hope they offer a glimpse of the problem. To me, it seems as if there are layers with a weak cement in the rock, allowing the pieces to flake off.
Maybe you can post some pictures here