Post by mountainmama on Sept 15, 2007 17:06:33 GMT -5
I've been lurking here on and off for a few months and am finally out of the closet, so to speak! ;D
Been collecting 'pretty rocks' for most of my life. You know how it goes... go on a road trip, pull over, take a walk, always with my head down, see something interesting on the ground ... I'm such a scavenger ;D.... each road trip brings more rocks into my collection. Just can't help picking up a rock or two and slipping them into my pocket whenever I'm walking about... after reading many posts on this site I KNOW you all know what I'm talkin' 'bout here... ;D
You folks are terrific, by the way... I think one reason I decided to de-lurk is the sort of kinship I feel with y'all. You got rocks in your head, just like me!
Well, now I've reached that time in life where I'm gathering all those rocks I've collected over the years and have stashed around the house, garage, yard, etc. and putting them all together to see what I've got. Turns out I've got quite a nice little collection. Some rough, some polished, some labeled for display, etc. I'm sorting them now into those I want to tumble and those I want to display as is.
I spent the bulk of this summer at our cabin in the Sierra Nevada (near Silver Lake, off Hwy. 88, elevation 7300') and came back home to the valley with a bucket of pretty green rock to tumble (got lots of quartz and red/brecciated jasper, too). At first I thought the green was travertine then green jasper but after reading way too many posts and other info that has all turned to pea soup in my head I'm now thoroughly confused as to what my pretty green rock actually is (jasper? bloodstone? travertine? jade? heck, could be anything at this point ). Most is hard so I guess that separates out the travertine. Some is more waxy looking, so I guess that's the bloodstone? jade? arghhhh! Like I said, I'm now thoroughly confused.
About tumbling... boy oh boy have I learned a lot by reading the wisdom offered on this board. I got a Sears rock tumbler from santa as a kiddo which I still have, and which I'm in the process of bringing back to life. That's another story waiting to tell. In the meantime, on one of my trips home to the valley this summer to feed and water the house, I stopped at harbor freight and lo and behold they were moving the very next day and were having a sale on display items. I offered $25 for the double barrel CE tumbler on display, guy said he could do even better than that, and let me have it for $15! I figured the barrels alone were worth that so I got it.
I bring it up to the cabin, we're all excited about tumbling a batch of rock from up there, then.... kablooey.... the FIRST belt only lasted 23 hours. Two weeks go by, anticipation builds, get it all going again, and then... kablooey AGAIN. The second belt lasted 25 hours. I knew then that it was time to modify the piece-o-garbage into something usable ;D.
The current jerry-rigged configuration is a result of moving the motor over (had to drill new holes in the metal box for the screws) so that now it's a direct drive motor, eliminating the belt altogether. I put some rubber bands on the big round thing the belt used to go around to facilitate contact between it and the fan thingy. Voila', we now have direct drive. It spins a little faster than with the belt, but you know what, after a week now it is still running, and that's a lot more than I can say for how it ran under it's original configuration.
Heck, I figure each day of running is a bonus day. ;D
In the meantime, a friend is helping me get the old Sears tumbler going again. It has a 6 pound barrel that I'm thinking will be my dedicated coarse-grind barrel. Anyway, during the tumbler's 30-some odd years in storage, an un-sealed can of 60/90 opened up and, well, you know the rest of the story... grit everywhere, even where the sun don't shine on such machines... Right now the motor is all taken apart, parts have been rinsed a couple times in diesel, and tonite we're gonna work on fine tuning getting the grit out.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying this board and the camaraderie you all share with one another. Time to go get some grub going for the kiddo and I .... Mtn Mama, aka Karen
Been collecting 'pretty rocks' for most of my life. You know how it goes... go on a road trip, pull over, take a walk, always with my head down, see something interesting on the ground ... I'm such a scavenger ;D.... each road trip brings more rocks into my collection. Just can't help picking up a rock or two and slipping them into my pocket whenever I'm walking about... after reading many posts on this site I KNOW you all know what I'm talkin' 'bout here... ;D
You folks are terrific, by the way... I think one reason I decided to de-lurk is the sort of kinship I feel with y'all. You got rocks in your head, just like me!
Well, now I've reached that time in life where I'm gathering all those rocks I've collected over the years and have stashed around the house, garage, yard, etc. and putting them all together to see what I've got. Turns out I've got quite a nice little collection. Some rough, some polished, some labeled for display, etc. I'm sorting them now into those I want to tumble and those I want to display as is.
I spent the bulk of this summer at our cabin in the Sierra Nevada (near Silver Lake, off Hwy. 88, elevation 7300') and came back home to the valley with a bucket of pretty green rock to tumble (got lots of quartz and red/brecciated jasper, too). At first I thought the green was travertine then green jasper but after reading way too many posts and other info that has all turned to pea soup in my head I'm now thoroughly confused as to what my pretty green rock actually is (jasper? bloodstone? travertine? jade? heck, could be anything at this point ). Most is hard so I guess that separates out the travertine. Some is more waxy looking, so I guess that's the bloodstone? jade? arghhhh! Like I said, I'm now thoroughly confused.
About tumbling... boy oh boy have I learned a lot by reading the wisdom offered on this board. I got a Sears rock tumbler from santa as a kiddo which I still have, and which I'm in the process of bringing back to life. That's another story waiting to tell. In the meantime, on one of my trips home to the valley this summer to feed and water the house, I stopped at harbor freight and lo and behold they were moving the very next day and were having a sale on display items. I offered $25 for the double barrel CE tumbler on display, guy said he could do even better than that, and let me have it for $15! I figured the barrels alone were worth that so I got it.
I bring it up to the cabin, we're all excited about tumbling a batch of rock from up there, then.... kablooey.... the FIRST belt only lasted 23 hours. Two weeks go by, anticipation builds, get it all going again, and then... kablooey AGAIN. The second belt lasted 25 hours. I knew then that it was time to modify the piece-o-garbage into something usable ;D.
The current jerry-rigged configuration is a result of moving the motor over (had to drill new holes in the metal box for the screws) so that now it's a direct drive motor, eliminating the belt altogether. I put some rubber bands on the big round thing the belt used to go around to facilitate contact between it and the fan thingy. Voila', we now have direct drive. It spins a little faster than with the belt, but you know what, after a week now it is still running, and that's a lot more than I can say for how it ran under it's original configuration.
Heck, I figure each day of running is a bonus day. ;D
In the meantime, a friend is helping me get the old Sears tumbler going again. It has a 6 pound barrel that I'm thinking will be my dedicated coarse-grind barrel. Anyway, during the tumbler's 30-some odd years in storage, an un-sealed can of 60/90 opened up and, well, you know the rest of the story... grit everywhere, even where the sun don't shine on such machines... Right now the motor is all taken apart, parts have been rinsed a couple times in diesel, and tonite we're gonna work on fine tuning getting the grit out.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying this board and the camaraderie you all share with one another. Time to go get some grub going for the kiddo and I .... Mtn Mama, aka Karen