charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Feb 11, 2011 10:03:52 GMT -5
i've seen different mentions of quartz but no real idea if it is different than agate for an example. i think the hardness is the same but there is a lot of mention of fracture or such. any advice will be appreciated. right now i am doing 500ao on a batch in the vibe. i have some amethyst and blue quartz and pink quartz and some citrine that i got from therockshed.com. tomorrow the ao500 will be complete and hopefully will be ready for the polish phase. thanks, charlie
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Feb 11, 2011 10:11:58 GMT -5
Agate is quartz. What your working on is crystals, Agates, Jaspers, Flints, CHerts are made up of microcrystalian (microscopic) quartz. Same stuff- different size crystals! If the stuff you have is real fractured- then make sure to cusion the load with some kind of filler (I use plastic pellets in my rotaries)
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 12, 2011 18:59:21 GMT -5
yes but in a vibe never use plastic
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charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Feb 12, 2011 20:24:27 GMT -5
i finished two days in ao500 today. washed the rocks in borax and soap powder for 4 hours. would have done it overnite but try to keep sunday for the family. started with ao1000 now for two days. the vibe was full to the brim and nice movement of the quartz. they looked beautiful after washing from the ao500 process. don't have any other stuff to put in with the rocks other than gravel. i do have a way to get different sizes of gravel with my screens of different sizes. but my mind says ceramic beads are just like rounded gravel that we have here. does that make sense? charlie
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Post by Roller on Feb 12, 2011 22:03:04 GMT -5
yeah ...my comments would be just like stefans .. from what I know the different sized miniature crystals that make up the material visible under micro only and the way they interlock is what makes a material stronger than others ...for example two materials could be the same hardness but one could cleave alot easier than the other...I really dont know the answer between agate and quartz but my guess is that quartz cleaves alot easier than agate and its mini-crystals that make it up are not as well interwoven..Greg ///
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charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Feb 13, 2011 10:51:23 GMT -5
the instructions for the lot-O vibe say there is an adjustment on the bottom of the unit that controls the strength of the vibe. would this adjustment be needed for a less active vibration for the chrystals of the quartz? charlie
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MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
Posts: 1,081
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Post by MikeS on Feb 13, 2011 11:44:00 GMT -5
hmmmm.....not familiar with the adjustment on the Lot-O....
The secret I have found to getting a good shine on quartz in the Lot-O is to use plastic tile spacers in every stage, use AO polish...and DO NOT do a burnish stage after your final polish...every single time I have burnished quartz they go hazy again....
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charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Feb 13, 2011 12:49:46 GMT -5
ok. i do have some plastic beads from therockshed. i have ao1000 in the polish right now. my next step to doing regular agate is tripoli for one day. then i usually put in a half teaspoon of to and half teaspoon of co. i do have ao polish though and will use that after the tripoli? thanks for the help. charlie
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MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
Posts: 1,081
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Post by MikeS on Feb 13, 2011 18:13:30 GMT -5
I don't use tripoli, so I'm assuming you use that as a final pre-polish stage...
You can use the TO or the CO...I usually don't mix different polishes, I never tend to get as good of results compared to when I use just one or the other. CO is commonly used for quartz, but it is a slower working polish IME...
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Post by tntmom on Feb 13, 2011 22:40:30 GMT -5
I would not use the plastic beads/pellets from Rockshed in your Lot-O. Rockshed plastic beads/pellets are way too light, would mess up the motion, plus I think it even states on their website that it is for rotaries only. Ceramics or the gravel you mentioned would work much better IMO. I use ao polish on quartz myself and love the shine.
~Krystee
Also, I probably wouldn't mess with the bottom adjustments unless all of your loads aren't going well. If you want to slow things down in the Lot-O, just add a bit more water. I also add 1 tsp borax to my loads to help cushion the fragile stuff.
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Feb 14, 2011 3:46:32 GMT -5
Charles
I would also say Do NOT adjust your Lot"O" springs , as it is set at factory and Sealed for life to give the propper motion for a full load.
Jack yorkshire uk
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charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Feb 14, 2011 5:26:51 GMT -5
to mikes: i have been following a receipe from connrock for polishing. start with 48hr ao1000, add 24hr tripoli, add 48hr to and co. then wash and dry manually. really puts a nice shine on the rocks. tripoli must be prepolish like ao1000. i will skip the tripoli today and go right to ao polish instead of to and co. it only takes time. lol. tntmom, i won't put the plastic beads in. the barrel is full right now... but i can put in a little more water. when i am ready to wash a batch, i add a few drops of dish soap and fill water to half full where the rocks slow down but still move around the barrel. jack, i won't adjust the springs. the lot-O is working wonderfully as is. i really like using it to polish the rocks. have you every done flourite with it? charlie
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Feb 15, 2011 2:59:24 GMT -5
Charlie, No I havent had much sucess with soft rocks , it is just the way I operate though , some others might have tried and give you better advice A Lot"O" is very very agressive so start the softer rocks in a later stage 400G or 600G and check regulary
Jack Yorkshire uk
Ps I always use the Tom's (Conrock) recepie
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MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
Posts: 1,081
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Post by MikeS on Feb 15, 2011 9:50:27 GMT -5
Jack has a good point...the vibrating action of a Lot-O (or any other vibe for that matter) can be pretty aggressive and rough on softer materials, even with pellets or tile spacers to cushion the load. For very soft material, a rotory tumbler will give you better results.....
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