herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 16, 2012 2:11:31 GMT -5
This was a full 10# batch that hatched tonight. It was very mixed, with mixed results. Some locally hounded epidosite cabbed: Yellow jasper from the rock shed Carnelian, rock shed Bahia agate, rock shed Lake Superior Agate Locally collected agate Aventurine, rock shed wampidy wood and jasper Piece of montana, rock shed Citrine, rock shed Smoky quartz, rock shed Rhyolite, nmonyx Pet wood, Ralph and Mary Ann Brecciated jasper, rock shed everything
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on May 16, 2012 5:24:05 GMT -5
Great looking rocks, your local epidosite cabs might be my favorites out those but I am a sucker for lake superior agates too.
Chuck
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Post by rockrookie on May 16, 2012 7:43:29 GMT -5
NICE !!!
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 16, 2012 9:15:03 GMT -5
I like the epidosite cabs the best too. I've got some unakite tumbling right now that my son and I are very excited to see finished. My son is the quality control guy for our rocks. He won't let anything leave the first stage if there's a hole of any size in it. Therefore, we don't finish rocks very quickly. How do you assure that no grit sticks in the holes from one stage to the next? Your rocks look shiny, so you must not be having contamination problems.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 16, 2012 9:44:16 GMT -5
I use a pressurized sprayed to meticulously clean a rock if it does have a pit.
I know this breaks the rules, but there are some that have a druzy pocket or seam that I would still like to polish, so I just spend extra time cleaning those.
I have a bunch of psuedo-Unakite (epidosite and feldspar with no quartz) that disintegrates in the polish stage of all places. The darker green epidosite shines well and stays intact much better.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 16, 2012 14:34:39 GMT -5
I figured you must spend some time on the pits. I don't have a great grinder, but I've ground a couple pits out.
In my very limited experience, the undercutting occurs in the pre-polish or polish stages. Some of the unakite we found is more like red and green granite. Others is more streaky rather than speckled like granite. I'm guessing that the granite-like stuff will undercut.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 16, 2012 15:16:22 GMT -5
Unakite is a type of granite, some has larger "patches" of rock versus having smaller grains but as long as it has feldspar, quartz and epidosite it can be considered unakite.
The stuff here only rarely has quartz, more often it is either just epidosite, or epidosite with some feldspar (or some just plain feldspar) - finding "true" unakite here only happens rarely.
Sometimes we get a piece with both feldspar and epidosite that is uniform hardness, but most often these pieces have streaks of softer material which almost dissolve in the polish stage.
as far as grinding, I am doing less in general, I just have a lot of rotary's feeding the vibe. I have ~130# of rock in rotary tumblers in my garage now. That means it is getting easier to feed my vibe, which runs constantly.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 16, 2012 15:45:23 GMT -5
I have 6 lbs. in rotaries and an empty vibe! You win.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 16, 2012 15:51:29 GMT -5
That was just to say that the volume is not due to a bunch of grinding, although that would certainly be a way to get there.
My biggest tumbler is becoming a curse. I don't have a good way to empty and clean it. I live in a residential neighborhood with landscaping and covenants and all that. I've been getting away with dumping the slurry and rinse water into some exposed dirt at the edge of the yard, but by the time I clean 90# from just that tumbler I'll have gallons of water and slurry to get rid of...
I think I'll probably be selling the big boy because I can't manage the output (all at once) very well. I have 2 12# tumblers and some smaller ones that are a lot simpler to manage and give me a decent amount of production.
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Post by talkingstones on May 16, 2012 16:30:01 GMT -5
Seriously, John, this output is a bit on the manic side. LOL! They came out nice though! I can't believe you've got a 90 lber! Tadd bit obsessive there...just sayin. Keep it to where you can enjoy it...or get with your local dump and see if they can accommodate your slurry. In any event, really nice batch!
Cathy
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rockingthenorth
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2012
Posts: 1,637
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Post by rockingthenorth on May 16, 2012 16:52:31 GMT -5
pretty nice, I like the different colors thanks for posting
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 16, 2012 19:09:13 GMT -5
John, I'm starting a new thread on how I dispose of my slurry, since it doesn't really belong here. I wanted to show you the rock I think is unakite and another that is epidote or epidosite. I have more, but these are the only two I've polished.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 16, 2012 19:18:50 GMT -5
Yeah that is Unakite-ish for sure. I think there is quartz in there. It is sort of a silly distinction, the stuff I have has little or no quartz so it falls out of actually being unakite.
Those are both nice.
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on May 22, 2012 0:15:08 GMT -5
I like your lakers! I have some tumbling right now.
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riverrock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2010
Posts: 1,395
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Post by riverrock on May 22, 2012 7:59:42 GMT -5
I like the stuff you hounded your self.
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cardiobill
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 879
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Post by cardiobill on May 22, 2012 8:46:24 GMT -5
Great batch. Wonderful shine. Love the surgical towel you displayed them on. Recognized it immediately. I have a large stock of them and they are fantastic for this hobby.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 22, 2012 12:24:10 GMT -5
I have a relative who gave me a bunch of these years ago from a surgery center.
I found them at Harbor Freight when I needed more.
They are very handy.
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