daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Jan 26, 2011 9:33:05 GMT -5
I ordered some labradorite when I ordered my grit. I also picked up some moonstone on ebay. I have been reading here that, being feldspars, they can both be rather chippy. I see that the preferred way to deal with this is to add pellets in the last three stages. I'm wondering two things. Where do people get these locally? And how much do you put in? I'm really excited about the moonstone, as I have been somewhat obbsessed with it for a while now. I really want them to work!
TIA Meira
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daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Jan 26, 2011 9:36:54 GMT -5
Any other tips on these two would be greatly appreciated too.
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lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
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Post by lparker on Jan 26, 2011 10:13:28 GMT -5
You "can" check out your stuffed animal collection. Some of them are filled with beads. That's as local as I can point you. Lee
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Jan 26, 2011 10:19:56 GMT -5
We have tumbled several pounds of sunstones [basically same mtl. as moonstones] in a 1qt. [3lb.] tumbler; we hunt them near Plush, OR. We run a week each in 220, tripoli polish, and a thick laundry soap mixture as a burnish run. The polish and burnish runs are padded w/leather scraps 1-1 1/2" in size. Padding is about 20% of load volume, and each process has dedicated padding. No chipping problems encountered. Nothing at all against pellets, leather works for us, and is much cheaper and easier to get.
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 26, 2011 10:23:15 GMT -5
rotary or vibe? I would put plastic pellets in a rotary form the start, adding more as the rock ground down. you might want to uses different pellets for each stage. In a vibe, I would put ceramic in from the start, but move it along with the rock. How rounded do you want? Are you thinking very rounded like pea gravel or jelly beans? That will take a bit of time in the rough grind. you can see some pink feldspar I did in the pile on the right. It tumbles similar to labradorite. The issue is the cleavage planes of the crystal. That is why you can see a line running up the middle of one or two pieces if you look close. Same again for the pink feldspar mounted in the center of the pic below. The lighter orange colored veins are the thin edges of a cleavage plane. No amount of grinding get that off until the whole layer is remove, leaving a very thing stone behind. Enjoy!
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daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Jan 26, 2011 10:46:30 GMT -5
I have a very small rotary. I actually prefer the more natural shape of stones. I really just want to knock enough off to keep them from scratching each other later, and hopefully let all the ones that are gonna break do it in the first stage (I know that might be wishful thinking). Someone on here said they use tile spacers for pellets. I think I'll check into those. I hadn't thought of leather. I might see if the leather place has any scraps. Thank you all! deb193redux: How long does it take to drill through those thin stones? Do they break often?
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Jan 26, 2011 11:52:16 GMT -5
We get our leather at garage sales and the like, anything fairly thick and cheap. I cut it up w/a box cutter using scrap wood under. Using new mtl. would be nice, but time and distance to go get it count.
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 26, 2011 12:54:55 GMT -5
I mostly drilled the green butterjade on the left. they break infrequently. the feldspar did break more often (abotu 10-12% of the time) so for those I used glue-on.
Still, I did drill a few. It did not take long. SInce I was making a hole large enough for leather cord, I used a 2 or 3mm core drill. That type of drill gives the best results.
I would not recommend making beads by drilling. I swear I do not know how beadmaking is commercially feasiable. It could take 20 minutes to drill a 1.25mm hole thorugh a 3/4" bead. I got through 3/16" flats in about 1-2 minutes with the core drill.
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Post by tkrueger3 on Jan 26, 2011 13:30:37 GMT -5
For scrap leather, contact "mynewhobby" on this board - she will send you a box packed full (bulging) of scrap leather for the price of postage. A deal you can't hardly beat anywhere, AFAIC. And she's become somewhat of an expert on tumbling labradorites, as well.
Tom
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daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Jan 26, 2011 18:00:32 GMT -5
Wow, I think we have very similar taste in stones. I ordered some of that Turritella Fossil Agate with the moonstone. I will PM her. Maybe she can give me secret to fabulous feldspar.
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daisyd681
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2011
Posts: 104
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Post by daisyd681 on Jan 26, 2011 18:44:36 GMT -5
Oh, and there's a suggestion for the folks at "How It's Made". 4 mm stone beads. There has to be some specialized machine or something.
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Post by MyNewHobby on Jan 27, 2011 14:10:26 GMT -5
When it comes to Moonstone ... talk to NatureNut ... she is an expert on Moonstone.
She looovves Moonstone and has worked with it for years.
As Always!
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