blueangele
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2003
Posts: 86
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Lapis
Jan 14, 2004 19:00:14 GMT -5
Post by blueangele on Jan 14, 2004 19:00:14 GMT -5
has anyone ever tumbled this? I found some at a reasonable price and am considering getting it, its so beautiful, but not sure about hardness, etc.. I am also trying to find some malachite, another of my favorite colors!
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Lapis
Jan 14, 2004 21:38:09 GMT -5
Post by docone31 on Jan 14, 2004 21:38:09 GMT -5
Lapis, malachite, turquoise are very soft in proportion to most other stones. It will tumble but it seems a shame to limit the shape to random. If my memory serves me, they are all minerals of copper. Malachite is formed in a sulphite environment, lapis in a chloride environment, turquoise in a phosphate environment. I am not totally sure of this so do not quote me, but I remember a mineralogist giving a lecture on this once. Lapis/malachite, or azurite is a combination of these situations. One of the reasons aside from its beauty is lapis is very easily worked and polished. Do not get ammonia on polished lapis. It makes a sulphate surface and ruins the polish. I routinely clean, and colour silver and copper with ammonia and I ruined the polish on a lapis piece, and a malachite piece once. There is a great deal of difference between knowlege and wisdom. Lapis sands very easily with wet or dry paper, and it will polish with jewelers rouge, or Zam.
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blueangele
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2003
Posts: 86
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Lapis
Jan 14, 2004 22:26:49 GMT -5
Post by blueangele on Jan 14, 2004 22:26:49 GMT -5
I passed up on the piece I found, it was on ebay of course, but it was just one big chunk that would have needed to be cut or broken or something along those lines and I don't have a saw, yet. compared to some of them though it was very resonably priced, probably not as good quality, but until I have done this for awhile I'm not sure I want to buy an $80 piece!
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Lapis
Jan 14, 2004 22:50:08 GMT -5
Post by docone31 on Jan 14, 2004 22:50:08 GMT -5
An inexpensive tile saw makes a good trim saw. It is not really good at making details like the lapidary saws but it will slab, and make some shapes. I had one for quiet a while, I got it at Home Depot for about 80$ and it lasted much longer than I expected it to. I also used it for doing the tile work for our hallway.
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shorty
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2003
Posts: 392
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Lapis
Jan 14, 2004 23:21:53 GMT -5
Post by shorty on Jan 14, 2004 23:21:53 GMT -5
hi every one i just picket up a tile saw on the net. today.a wet or dry. table style. new for $40.oo you get what you pay for. but mabey it will do the trick. till i get rich. ;D mike
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