Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Jul 14, 2003 0:32:48 GMT -5
Thanks for my newest out of control Hobby !!!! I now have a Model B Thumblers, a Chiacgo 3 lb tumbler and a Lortone 1.5 lb going. I also took the kit that came with the Model B that will convert it over to 2 3 lb. tumblers and built a new frame and added my own motor and walla..I have dual 3 pound tumbler. So I have lots of rocks going at one time. I have lace Agate or MExican Jasper in three of the drums....beautifull stuff un polished. I have to be away for 7 days and this should give them time to finish phase 1. My question is I put in a few pieces of Snowflake obsidisn in with the jasper....are the hardness close enough so it will be OK ??
Thanks Out of control Dwight in Alabama
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Jul 14, 2003 21:13:30 GMT -5
Hehe, I know what ya mean Dwight. I have 2 tumblers going. A small hobby 1.5#er, experimenting with obsidian and the 15# thumbler with flint, chert, agate, and jaspers. I have one batch ready for final polish, but too small of a load. One batch that is running comes out of the second step tonight and into pre-polish. When it is done, I'll high grade and get one good final polish batch going....can't wait. The obsidian experiment, is neat. I took some slabs of rainbow, and silver sheen and cut them with a tile cutter into small triangles. Then I knocked the corners off so they tumble into tear drop like shapes (hopefully ) As far as mixing jasper and obsidian? From a flintknapping stand point, there is a pretty big hardness difference between the two, especially if the jasper hasn't been heat treated, which will lower the hardness some. So I don't know if they will work well together in a tumbler or not? I would guess not. Good luck buddy, later, Don
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BadgirlTee64
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2003
Posts: 7
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Post by BadgirlTee64 on Jul 15, 2003 0:00:46 GMT -5
Omg, i thought i was the only one who had lost it..... i went to ebay and got the killer deals on 3 tumblers one loretone 33b and two thumblers 6lb cap one i paid 40.00 and the thumblers i paid 14.00 and now i went and looked and cant get them less than 80.00 guess i was just in time....my friends say i have rockolitis..LOL
happy tumbling
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Post by Terry on Aug 5, 2003 16:59:13 GMT -5
Well I am out of it... tumble up to 100 lbs on my homeade job but would never consider leaving it for that long... what if a leakk or worse a bearing freeze... could be a disaster... hope you have someone to keep an eye on it for ya...
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Aug 16, 2003 14:29:11 GMT -5
Greetings All,
Well I can't claim to be there yet but give me a few months (and my wife's permission) and I might be joining you. I'm already convinced I need a second Lortone QT66 and for doing real experiments (especially comparing different times per stage and types of polish) a small three-barrel machine makes sense. That way I can optimize conditions before doing production runs in the 40-pounder (well, someday). Of course I've read that vibratory machines are quite good for the final polish stage, so there is plenty to do to keep the scientist in me curious and busy.
Oh, and building up a nice collection of polished rocks for trading and (maybe) for my son to try and sell as he grows older would be good too.
Happy tumbling all!
WilliamC
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Aug 16, 2003 15:25:16 GMT -5
Hi WilliamC, yes, I think that is what I like best about this hobby. The experimenting, trying different grits and polishes, and methods to fine tune the results. It is also like a treasure hunt when the final run is done. Plain old rocks have turned into gems. I also have to get the go-ahead from the boss . In my favor, we have a 1 year old granddaughter who already seems to be fascinated by the polished rocks. Although, for now, trying to eat them seems to be her favorite thing. We only let her handle the large pieces for now to prevent her from swallowing them. That would be nice huh, a granddaughter with rocks in her stomach and her pappap with rocks in his head ;D . I now have slyly convinced my wife that we need a small vibratory tumbler for polishing, you know, just in case she did swallow one, it would go down smoother and not iritate her poor little throat. Pretty smart hey? Hehe, can't wait to get it and try it out. Let the rocks roll! Later, Don
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Aug 16, 2003 20:32:00 GMT -5
Hey donwrob, your mentioning of your grandaughter remineded me of something I haven't thought of in more than 30 years. When I was 4-5 years old, one of my friends (or her parents actually) had a gravel pile in her back yard, probably left over from when the house was built. We used to dig through it to find different colored pebbles, and I distinctly remember swallowing a few on a dare. So yes I can see where you need to keep her away from the small shiney pretties, otherwise she will be starting her own gizzard stone collection Ah the silly things kids do. I hope you get the vibratory polisher, since it is now a safety issue I think you have a strong case for it WilliamC
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Aug 16, 2003 21:51:50 GMT -5
Let us know how the Vibratory polisher works, I have a large Dillon Reloading Vibratory machine, I tried using it for rock polshing once..the rocks did not move around and the polishing media just collected at the bottom ? I never tried it again and went onto buying rotary tumblers. It would be nice to know how to use it for final polishing..I know due to the fact that the frequency is higher than a tumbler it would probbly give a better finish. If anyone has any comments on using vibratory polishers please post !! Dwight P
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 5, 2003 20:52:54 GMT -5
Greetings All, Well I've done gone and purchased a Lortone QT12 (12 pound barrel) off of Ebay, and I'm currently bidding on another QT-NR (older version of QT12) , a 33B (dual 3 pound barrels) and a 3A (single 3 pound barrel). To my credit I am bidding at a little under 2/3rds of the cost of new machines, so if I win them it will be at a good discount. And if I get all of these I'll end up with 5 tumblers, which will (proably?) be enough to keep me busy for quite a while. Of course I'm still saving up for the 500 kg rock purchase, which if it goes through will necessitate the purchase of an RC20 (20 pound barrel). So I think I can honestly claim to be getting in the "outta control" catagory ;D WilliamC
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 10, 2003 20:45:51 GMT -5
Greetings All, Well I lost out on all three tumblers I was bidding on through Ebay That's ok though, it means someone else somewhere is getting one, and maybe it's even someone who frequents this message board. There's plenty more where those came from, and I've already got one 12-pounder on the way. Besides, this way I have some "extra" money... (well, my wife would disagree that it's extra, she's a little bit miffed at me because I consider getting rock tumblers and rocks as important as she considers getting new furniture) ...to spend on MORE ROCKS ;D But not too much though, I'm still saving up for the 500 kilogram purchase through indiarockhounder.com....someday. WilliamC
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Djinjuice
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 47
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Post by Djinjuice on Sept 11, 2003 1:08:44 GMT -5
Good Lawd Man !!! 1,100 lbs of rocks? What does a man do with over a thousand pounds of rocks ? Tumbles em' I guess ;D..... More power to ya ! Just curious, what kind of rocks are you gonna get in that monster batch?
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 11, 2003 14:34:08 GMT -5
Greetings All, Hey Djin, yea it is a lot of rocks, but this IS the Outta control thread I'm looking to get 100 kilograms each of the red jasper, red aventurine, dark green aventurine, grey lace agate and either the moonstone or the black tourmaline. All this would add up to about $700 for the rocks and according to the person I'm emailing with at indiarockhounder.com shipping via sea freight would be a total of $283. So for under a thousand dollars I can hopefully get enough rocks to keep me tumbling for years and years. Of course this all depends on if the company is legitimate, but I work with people who have friends in Bombay so I can have them check out the company first-hand, and I will ask the company for references of other people in the USA they've shipped to before I send them my money. I might be out of control but I'm not naive either...at least I'll try hard not to be William C
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Post by docone31 on Sept 11, 2003 18:51:22 GMT -5
Dude, I thought I had a passion for the stones. Way cool. What the heck are you going to do with 700kg of stones? I kinda cornered the market on dinosaur doo-doo, as they make me advertise it at the market, but I cut and facet each piece. I can see it now, Stones anonymous, my name is Doc, and I collect stones. I was doing ok, but yesterday I bought a piece of dinosaur doo-doo. My wife had enough and I am homeless, I swore I would never get another piece. I had a slip. A little humour there, with the quantity of rough, I suspect there will be some real spectacular pieces. I saw a piece of jasper at a show that sold for 2500$.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 11, 2003 20:22:38 GMT -5
Greetings All, Hey Doc, sounds like you are in deep doo-doo Sorry, couldn't resist. As for what to do with 500 kg of rocks, well I will tumble some but if there are some large pieces I'll save them for sphering. Of course that means a saw, and a sphering machine, but hey, that's the price of progress But more seriously, I do intend to have my son learn about working for money by producing polished rocks for anything more than his basic allowence, and as he gets older he at least will have something of value to sell even if I never get around to trying my hand at it. Also, I figure I can always trade rough for rough if I have so much of it. Besides, I can already see how I could let myself get rocks from Ebay that, over a year or so, would easily exceed what I would pay for this type of large scale purchase (I'm already bidding on ~$100 worth, but this will have to be it if I'm to save up ) My main concern is to make sure the company is legitimate before I send them my money, and I'm hoping that by having someone actually check out the company in Bombay, both in person and through the equivalent of the Bombay chamber of commerce, that I will find out if there is something more to the website than a scam. Hey, if I do want this hobby to become profitable getting bulk rough at "dirt cheap" prices is an important first step.
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Post by docone31 on Sept 11, 2003 20:50:14 GMT -5
I personally believe, what you and others like you are doing for/in prescense of sons/daughters is giving them something they will benefit from for a lifetime. I was forbidden the jewelery arts, and anything else mechanical. I had to learn the hard way. Today, with almost no credible teachers, I teach, and make my living from lapidary arts. What your son will retain, even from osmosis or just seeing it done will give him an approach that will last for a lifetime. I have learned many things from octogenarians, some had information that led to approaches that are long forgotten. Even if all that tumble ends up in sidewalks, or fishtanks, the process is worth any sacrifice. Your son will always remember the process, product, and beauty. Most of all he will learn he can. Spheres, way cool. There are many books on how to build your own sphere machines from hardware materials.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Sept 14, 2003 19:38:37 GMT -5
Greetings All, Thanks for the encouragement and kind words Doc. I (with my wife of course) am trying to walk the line between empowering my son and letting him become spoiled. So far we must be doing ok, at least according to other folks comments about him. But back to rocks I let myself get a little silly ,or outta control, on Ebay and ended up purchasing about $140 worth of rocks. But what I got!! A 25 lb piece of flame agate , a 30 lb piece of mahagony obsidian , an 7.25 pound peice of amethyst crystal , another 5.5 lb piece of flame agate, and 8 pieces of fire agate totaling 2 lbs. AND, there is still one auction left for yet another piece of flame agate, 7 lbs. These are all from the same seller, apparently part of an estate he acquired. Unfortunately, shipping is going to probably near double the cost, but even so it'll be 70 lbs of nice rock for about $4.00 a pound delivered to my door I'm emailing Andy pictures of the 25 lb flame agate and 30 lb mahagony obsidian boulders, so if we're lucky we'll all be able to see what I spent my money on But this will be the last Ebay purchase for me for a long time. I'm still saving for the 500 kg motherload from indiarockhounder.com. Someday..... WilliamC
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Sept 14, 2003 21:48:59 GMT -5
Hey you could sell some to the members here, I am talking about small ammounts for small tumblers. It might help to offset the high cost of getting that much rock at one time.
Dwight P
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Post by docone31 on Sept 15, 2003 7:03:53 GMT -5
With all that rough, in that size, it sounds like it is time to get a tile saw, and a 6" grinder. The grinder can be run either dry, or you can add a drip to the wheel. To slow it down, you will need an overhead fan rheostat replacing the switch on the grinder. Polishing can be done with a leather buff on a piece of steel welded to a threaded collar matching the threads on the grinder arbor. You can grind the amythyst with the standard wheels but you will need a drip. Dopping is easy. Melt sealing wax in an empty tuna can on warm on the stove. Put the piece to be worked on an aluminum plate, or hot plate. Once the wax is liquid and not boiling or smoking!!! wax the end of a dowel at least 4", transfer to the flat part of the stone, let cool and grind away. Heat from the grinding will melt the wax so have a cup of water handy for constant dipping.
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Post by Original Admin on Sept 18, 2003 11:43:03 GMT -5
Ok - finally logged in properly - I believe for the first time. William, I have just uploaded your three images to the visitors pages along with Dons Obsidian pic. You are going to HAVE to let us know what you do with all that when its done? Thanks for the shots - Andy.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Sept 18, 2003 13:18:47 GMT -5
Andy, you look like a 5 star General!!! hehe, I am going to go take a look at the pics. Thanks for posting them and for the great board! Don
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