My first batch at last

[bschultz]

Just pulled my first batch out of polish. Not bad.....not great but OK.




One thing I learned from this batch is to leave them in 1st grind a whooooole lot longer. I recharged my Model B today with coarse grit and pulled some out to go on to medium but I was being really picky about which ones went on.
Later Bob

[sandsman1]

hey bob thats the way my first one came out i picked out the good ones and started the rest back in 60/90 i didnt wanna believe it took that long in 60/90 i kept sayin the next grit will take more off,, hahaha never happend unless you are doin real soft stone most of the shaping stops after the first grit now i keep recharging till it looks like there finished except for the shine,, then i work on that starting with 120/220 ill get it yet hahaha seeya---john

bob whats that big purple one top left cool lookin rock
and i realy like that snow white quartz that came out great--and about halfway down on the right edge whats that one with the hint of purple just under the cool striped one

[bwalters]

Hi Bob,
Congratulations on finishing your first batch! Yours look much better than my first effort! I've also decided that coarse is just gonna take much longer than we want it to. I've come to the conclusion that with rock tumbling, patience is not a virtue, it's an unavoidable necessity!

BE

[rollingstone]

I think a lot of those look really good. The quartz, the green rocks (jade?) and the glassy striped rocks (?), all seemed to have rounded nicely and taken a good polish.

There is some kind of mottled rock in the batch that seems to have a lot of pits in it, but I don't think you could ever grind those out no matter how long you left it in first grind. I'd avoid that particular rock in the future, and go with what works.

Nicely done.

[creativeminded]

Good job on your first batch. That is the best way to do this hobby, trial and error, what works for one person won't work for another. I think it also depends on the condition of your water. Around here we have very hard water with alot of chlorine in it at times.

Tami

[puppie96]

Looks like you did what I continue to do -- take them through polish, and it works great, only there are surface flaws in the rock that didn't get removed in the earlier stages. My recent kick is redoing everything. I keep taking gleaming, glassy rocks and tossing them back in 60/90 to see whether I can get the pits or cracks out. This is insane, of course. At least maybe I'll end up with a feel for what I'm trying to get and how long I need to coarse grind them to get it.
Having said all that, your batch looks really nice and as you go on they will get better and better.

[rockyraccoon]

bob you have some great ones in there. my 1st batch was not my first to make it to the end because i got so disgusted with it i put it in time out for a week or 2 while i worked on some others. then when i took them out of time out they acted better ;D.

kim

[stoner]

Hey Bob. Looking good on your first batch. Things have a way of clicking as you continue to learn from previous batches, so get the next one rollin'.

Ed

[bschultz]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments and sound advice. I don't know what the purple ones are but I'm going to stick one in my pocket today and take it with me to the rockshop so I should have an answer shortly.
The green is the adventurine that I got from Banjo. Thats some really nice stuff.

Later, Bob

[llanago]

Lookin' good, Bob! I do like that big purple one. And I love the green adventurine from Banjo. I have some of it in both polish and prepolish now. Can't wait to get them out.

That first step does take a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGG time that's for sure. I have moved some into medium too soon and although they turned out okay, I know they would have been much prettier if I would have left them in coarse a bit longer. One of these days, when I have a tumbler empty (yeah, right!), I will go through all my rocks and pull all the ones that needed a little more coarse and send them through the cycle again.

Going to the rock shop today, are ya'? I'm jealous. I sure don't need any more rocks, but I sure hate to pass up a sale! I do want to go back before the sale is over and stock up on enough to hold me until the big 1/2 price sale next year!

[bschultz]

Here's a shot of the purple one that I believe you guys are referring to.


The name of that stone is Laredo Agate. Curently on sale at the rock shop for 50 cents a pound. A customer who was out at the bins at the same time told me that you can pick it up off the ground for free at a place called (and I'm not making this up) "Bob's Knob" down around Falcon Lake. Helen at the rock shop said the place was listed in the Texas Gem Trails book. I need to find mine or get another one.

Later, Bob

[sandsman1]

hey bob if you make a trip to bobs knob keep me in mind i wouldent mind buying 10lb or more or trading for it eather way im in hahaha

[bschultz]

My son goes down that way from time to time on fishing trips. I'm going to try and get him to bring back some. If I'm succesful I'll let you know. Maybe I can become the kingpin of the Laredo Agate Cartel.
Bob

[bschultz]

My son goes down that way from time to time on fishing trips. I'm going to try and get him to bring back some. If I'm succesful I'll let you know. Maybe I can become the kingpin of the Laredo Agate Cartel.
Bob

[krazydiamond]

i love the little green stripey number above the purple one....also the guitar pick wanna-be in the middle....

good going! nice shine too...did you burnish?

KD

[donwrob]

Alright Bob, those are beauties! That is some white white quartz, we call those lucky stones up here. Real nice, great job on them, Don

[cookie3rocks]

How strange!
I have a piece of white quartz from my first batch I carry in my purse, I like to rub it sometimes. Call it my lucky stone. ;D

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