Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Jul 18, 2003 17:27:28 GMT -5
I bought some Thunder eggs off ebay, they are about the size of cue balls or a bit smaller. Can I tumble them in my Model B Thumlers ??
Thanks Dwight P
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Post by docone31 on Jul 19, 2003 21:45:50 GMT -5
Thunder eggs can be tumbled I suppose, however what is the expectation? Once you cut them open, you will know what I mean. Sliced, and polished, they make very interesting jewelery items. Tumbling them, to me, would be like tumbling opalized wood where the wood fibers are not visible, and the opal has not been formed with silicate deposits. Just flat blah. However I was informed tumbling emeralds was a waste and I have been doing very well selling finished products with the tumbled emerald going for 9$ a carat set. Perhaps thunder eggs will have the same return for you.
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Jul 20, 2003 0:18:52 GMT -5
Well, I really have no way of cutting them open :-(
So I broke them apart..most broke pretty evenly in half..I used a large cold chisel and a steel plate. They were really hard and ruined a couple of shop clothes that I used to cover them while I tried to break them. Well the entire bunch went into the tumbler with some 60 grit and after tumbling 24 hours they have cleaned up pretty well. Most of the pebled outside coating is smooth now and the center is looking good. I am going to try and avoid too much polishing on phase 1..Im hoping to retain as much of the original shape as possible.
Thanks Dwight P
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Post by docone31 on Jul 21, 2003 18:41:10 GMT -5
For about an hundred bucks, you can go to home depot and get a tile saw. For tumbling, the coarse blade will work ok. To keep the mess to a minimum, put a towel on whatever you are cutting on. It does spray. For really good prices on good lapidary equipment to to Kingsleynorth.com. They have good prices, good equipment, and stand behind all brands whether you bought them from them or not. An inexpensive grinding wheel, 6", and an overhead fan rheostat in line with the power source will get you grinding. For fine cutting, add an aquarium pump and a water source and collection bucket. You can cut, cab, and mount. I cut opals using the cheap grinder, a water drip, and a flexible rubber drum with belts for polishing. It is all a lot easier than most folks think.
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