QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 26, 2017 2:24:58 GMT -5
I also grew up cleaning and eating chicken gizzards. I still like the gizzards, livers and hearts. My wife refuses to chop them into the stuffing, though. <sad> My wife won't knowingly eat anything with giblets in them either. But to me the livers and hearts are the best part of poultry. Unfortunately, other than purchasing whole chickens it's very difficult to find a store that sells chicken hearts around here (piedmont area of NC). When I was a kid many of the stores sold 1 lb containers of hearts. Today the only place I know of in the area that sells hearts alone only sells in quantities of 20 lbs ... or at least that's what my wife tells me. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 23, 2017 5:17:35 GMT -5
It's possible it's Bakelite but doesn't really quite have the same feel as the Bakelite Jewelry and Bakelite radio cases we used to run across when we were dealing in As & Cs. I'm not familiar with Catalin but it's another possibility.
I'm pretty sure I remember Rio Grande used to sell this material in their catalogue and I think I remember Greiger's and maybe Thunderbird selling it as well. I was hoping someone whose been at this a long time may have a better memory than I do as to what they sold it as. But thank you to everyone who has responded!
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 21, 2017 23:46:12 GMT -5
 Does anyone remember the blocks of man-made cabbing material that many of the jewelry supply companies used to sell back in the 1970s and 80s? What it was called and what it was made from? It used to be made in several colors including turquoise blue, red coral, pink shell, yellow, brown, etc.. I've attempted to post an image above of some of the yellow and brown blocks using Postimage.org . It's the first time I've attempted to use this photo image host service so I'm not sure if it will work here. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 14, 2017 22:39:42 GMT -5
I am signed into Google. I'm on an iPad. I just see a big minus sign inside a circle. Your image wasn't a big minus sign inside a circle, was it? Lol! No. It was a set of dops. So now I have no idea why the photo shows for some and not for others. But thank you for letting me know! Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 14, 2017 14:15:22 GMT -5
I'm wondering if only people who are signed in to Google, or have a Google photo app can see it? Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 14, 2017 1:12:43 GMT -5
Yep Larry clear and clean Thank you! Now if I can just remember how I did it the next time. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 14, 2017 0:00:12 GMT -5
Please let me know if this image is visible? Thanks!  Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 8, 2017 1:55:48 GMT -5
I'm going to make my first attempt at using Google Photos hosting service here to post an illustration of the before and after cross sections of a saw blade with a worn down side kerf and rounded edge v.s. what it should look like after being hammered.  Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 2, 2017 1:32:52 GMT -5
A streak test is the easiest way to tell the difference. Lapis will steak blue and Sodalite will streak white. Just as a side note, becasue of it's deep blue intensity and it's color stability over time, ground Lapis pigments have been used as a paint pigment for over two millennium. Larry C. Yes, Leonardo da Vinci's famous Ultramarine Blue pigment was made from ground lapis. It must have been outrageously expensive at that time since the cost of transport from the source to Italy was considerable. It had been used as a paint pigment in Asia and the Middle East for hundreds of years before that time. Another side note: lapis was the original "sapphirus" or sapphire; the name was transferred to blue corundum somewhat recently because corundum color was similar and its hardness and durability are greatly superior. Yes it was expensive. And Rare. Prior to the development of techniques for purifying lapis, only the highest grades of lapis, which were low in calcite and pyrite content, were useful to artists. Processes for removing calcite, pyrite and other impurities from lapis to produce the "ultramarine" pigments and their usage date back long before Leonardo da Vinci's time. There are existing European recipes for how to produce ultramarine dating to the 13th century. But many art scholars believe that ultramarine was being processed from lapis and imported into Europe even earlier. I used to use a lot of powdered pigments in antique restoration work and got interested in the history and devolvement of paint pigments and paint & varnish formulas several years ago. And did quite a bit of research on them. If anyone is interested in learning more about the topic of mineral (and other) art pigments I would recommend THE MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF MEDIEVAL PAINTING by Daniel V. Thompson, THE CRAFTSMAN'S HANDBOOK "IL LIBRO DELL' ARTE" translated by Daniel V. Thompson, and THE MATERIALS OF THE ARTIST by Max Doerner. And for formulas for various mediums to mix them in FORMULAS FOR PAINTERS by Robert Massey. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Sept 1, 2017 14:30:09 GMT -5
A streak test is the easiest way to tell the difference. Lapis will steak blue and Sodalite will streak white.
Just as a side note, becasue of it's deep blue intensity and it's color stability over time, ground Lapis pigments have been used as a paint pigment for over two millennium.
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 31, 2017 0:36:06 GMT -5
I have been buying rough threw the summer from several different sellers on Ebay and have yet to get good quality stones. We gather our own rocks threw the fall but it doesn't last us long enough to run year round so we resort to buying rough stones online. I was hoping some of you could share some online sellers that you deal with and buy from or maybe is there a seller in the group. Thanks in advance!! The best places to buy cutting rough in the Southeastern U.S. is at the late July shows in Franklin, NC and late July/early August shows in Spruce Pine, NC. Both locations have multiple shows being held during the same week at each town. There are also Shows in Frankiln, NC in May. Usually Mother's Day weekend. The one I prefer to attend is the GLW (Gems & Lapidary Wholesalers) show in Franklin. Although the GLW has shows held at both towns one week apart. You have to have a resale number to get in to the inside vendors but some (not all) of the outside vendors will sell retail as well. Of these my favorites for buying rough are El Paso Rock Shop, Enter The Earth, and Gem Center USA. All three have web sites where one can purchase but I've always bought in person from them at the shows. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 31, 2017 0:15:35 GMT -5
I usually recommend that beginners start out with inexpensive materials like the quartz family (Amethyst, Citrine, Rose Quartz, Smokey Quartz, etc.) which are fairly easy to polish with cerium oxide and can be polished on less expensive laps like Spectra-laps, CeO Lightning laps, or Gearloose's darkside or creamway laps, etc.. Or if you want to go old school then cerium oxide slurry on Lucite, acrylic or phenolic laps.
While lab grown CZ, Corundum and Spinel are inexpensive they are harder materials and to polish require diamond on higher end pre-polishing and polishing laps like tin, zinc, ceramic, or Gearloose's Matrix or Diamatrix laps.
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 26, 2017 20:07:05 GMT -5
Does anyone have a Thumblers rotary tumbler model A-R1 or A-R6 that you could measure the pulley outside diameter and the arbor hole size on? I'm looking for a pulley for another project and am having trouble finding a pulley with a 5" to 6" O.D diameter, with a 1/2" arbor shaft hole, and that can be used with a 1/4" or smaller diameter belt.
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 25, 2017 23:29:21 GMT -5
Impossible to say for sure from viewing photos but nothing I am seeing here screams aquamarine to me.
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 24, 2017 15:52:52 GMT -5
Nice! Have you tried aluminum oxide on suede for the chrysocolla/shattuckite cabs?
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 17, 2017 14:18:32 GMT -5
Life in the 21st century...so far I'm not impressed!
I've been waiting over 2 months for Insurance approval for an MRI that both my General Practitioner and my Urologist's P.A. have recommended. I guess the insurance company figures if there is anything serious wrong that if they make a patient wait long enough then they (the insurance company) will save money in the long run...if you know what I mean. Or possibly the MRI order is sitting in the computer cache of some lazy SJW hire who believes the world has too many old white men in it already.
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 4, 2017 1:01:46 GMT -5
I wouldn't try cleaning it in anything acidic until I knew for sure what it is. What area of the country was it found?
Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 4, 2017 0:54:51 GMT -5
I'd love to go, but I'm left with some questions. I don't have an RV, so I wouldn't be staying in town. More likely, I'd be staying at the CA/AZ border and driving in for the show(s). My concern would be parking after I drive in. Any insight to such a plan would be helpful. Thanks and regards. Dave There are dozens of homemade videos of the Quartzite show posted on YouTube that help give a good overview of the layout of the town, available camping, and with what to expect vendor wise. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 3, 2017 0:31:36 GMT -5
Not meaning to detract from the OP, which shows beautiful stuff, BTW, does anyone have a good source for Crazy Lace tumbling rough? I've put out some feelers and am waiting to hear back. If you have a source, please PM me instead of adding to this thread here. Thanks and regards. Dave Check with El Paso Rock Shop. They sell literally tons of Crazy Lace slabbing/cabbing rough each year and I would imagine end up with some small tumbling size. Or at least will have sizes you can hammer smaller for tumbling. Larry C. |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Aug 3, 2017 0:22:26 GMT -5
I've never tried cabbing synthetic ruby but when faceting it the 1200 grit lap is usually the culprit for orange peel. Most faceters skip the 1200 on synthetic ruby and just go from 600gt to 3k (or 8k) for the pre-polish. Then 14k for a commercial shine, and if desired 50k or finer for a competition grade shine.
Larry C.
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