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Topics - ToTheSummit

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1
Discs, Wheels, Belts, Pads, and Polishing / Problem with a DP galaxy wheel
« on: February 25, 2016, 05:29:03 PM »
When I built my custom cabbing machine I bought a set of Diamond Pacific wheels.  The set designed for a Titan (8" wheels).  The set consists of two galaxy (hard) wheel in grits 80 and 220 and four Nova (soft) wheels in 280, 600, 1200 and 3000.

My machine has always worked well and I love the wheels, but I noticed a problem with my 220 galaxy wheel early on.  I thought it would work itself out but instead the problem seems to be getting worse as the wheel breaks in.  The problem lies in the fact that somewhere on the 220 wheel there is (what I am assuming is) a bit of contamination that was introduced during manufacture.  Whatever it is it creates scratches that are deep enough that they do not come out as I continue on through the grits.  I can actually grind out these scratches on the first nova wheel (280) but only if I have identified where they are and have left enough meat in the stone to work them out.  And the problem is they are very hard to see until you get into the polishing stages.  When the stone is wet they cannot be seen at all and when the stone dries out I usually cant see them until at least after the 600, and thats only on stones that already start to take a shine at that grit.

I have taken to jumping from shaping on the 80 grit to going directly to 280, especially on things like obsidian where these scratches are devastating to the finish.  I have to assume the offender is a small diamond particle embedded in the 220 wheel because it is hard enough to scratch even the hardest things I have ever cut.  I thought maybe it would pop out or wear off, but it seems to be getting worse as the wheel wears in.  I don't cut lots of rock so I expect my wheels to last for years.  In fact I've already been using them for a couple years and they are just getting broke in nicely, but I can't continue with this one.  I have tried inspecting the wheel meticulously under magnification but I cannot identify the spot.

The scratches are small so I know the contamination is small.  In hand on most stones where I still have scratches after finishing them it is very hard to see the scratches with the naked eye.  The exception is darker stones in uniform colors with a high gloss finish.  Things like bruneau and obsidian are terrible unless I can find the scratches at the next stage and remove them.  Lots of my finished stones I haven't even noticed the scratches until they were done and I started trying to take macro photos of them.  Then I'm like "Awww Damnit!!"

So has anyone ever had a problem with a wheel like this in the past?   Is there a way I could identify the offending spot and possibly remove it?  Do I need to bite the bullet and just buy another wheel?  Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Here is a stone I finished today to illustrate.  This is a piece of agua nueva agate.  The cab is large (about 56X43mm) so the dome is fairly low.  In hand the scratches are all but invisible.  You have to look at a reflected light source shining off the stone where the scratches are to see them with the naked eye.  But in the photos I took they are very apparent and it drives me crazy.  You see them as the small white streaks crisscrossing the center of the stone.

2
This slab dropped off the saw this afternoon.  My first thought was "There is gonna be a great cab here!".  Upon closer inspection I realized I could not improve on this one by cutting it up.  It will be polished as a display piece.

Agua Nueva Agate:


This was just a cellphone pic.  I'll attempt a better photo later with my good camera and lightbox.

3
Thats one less saw Tony will have to pack up and haul back to Idaho this year.  And no more smashing rocks with a hammer to get them to fit in my 10" slab saw!  Yes, I have done that.
bricks21


Highland Park 18"...awesome rock eating machine.  My rock pile better watch out!
Thanks Tony!

4
For a couple years now I've been wanting to go roam around the Wiley's Well area. I have no doubt the place is picked pretty clean given its popularity with rockhounds for the last 80 years or so, but I still want to see the area. If nothing else just for some nice sightseeing and camping. So I am gonna take a few days off work and make a long weekend out of it to go roam around and see what treasures I can turn up. Really, its just an excuse to get out and sleep under the stars for a few nights. If I can find some nice rocks to bring home that will be a bonus.

So does anyone have experience with the area? How about advice of any kind? I've done a fair amount of research on the area already but first hand knowledge is always the best kind. I don't really need any advice on the topics of back country camping/driving/survival. Those are things I have done on a regular basis for more than a couple of decades. I am a desert rat at heart and I will be right at home out there. I just need some pointers in the rockhounding department, especially if anyone has first hand experiences they would like to share.

Of course the area is famous for its geode beds. But from what I've heard the area has been picked over something fierce. People tell stories of digging a hole 4 feet deep in search of geodes just to find a beer can. But I believe that a guy can still find some if he knows where to look. And I'm sure there are other things worth searching for. Interesting rocks abound throughout the deserts of the southwest and I can't believe this area is any different. And I've heard of uncommon things like psilomelane being found in this area. There is also a pay-to-dig fire agate mine (which I will probably skip).

So, anyone have any advice for me? And if there are any rockhounds who would like to join me you are welcome to do so. I'm going to invite some people I know but I often end up alone on my adventures. I'm going down the first 5 days of April (4/1-4/5 a Wed thru Sun). Thats the soonest I can get away, and any later in the year it will start to get too hot to enjoy this area with any level of comfort.

I cross-posted on multiple forums to maximize exposure to this.  Hope that was OK.

5
One of the first things I think we all learn is how different a stone can be just depending on how it is cut.  Orientation changes everything.  So here is my first good example of cutting two completely different stones from one rock.

I started with a piece of Owyhee.  Not a large chunk, probably about the size of a baseball and shaped like a loaf of bread.  Cut an end cut and a slab off one end and decided I wasn't getting the pattern I wanted.  So I rotated it 90 degrees and cut the rest into 3 more slabs.  Then I proceeded to cut two hearts.

Here is the first heart (which also happened to be one of my first test slabs when I started drilling holes for pendants).  This was the slab I cut off the end first.


Here is the second heart.  This was from the slabs cut the opposing direction.


Both hearts side by side.


And a picture to show the original orientation of the stones in the rough.


One thing I was really pleased to see was the red that showed up in the second one.  That was completely unexpected and made a nice addition to the heart.  I'll call it my "bleeding heart" cab.  But overall I thought this was a fine example of how drastically a stone can change due to orientation.

6
Kicked this year off with a moss agate.  First cab I finished in the new year.  In hindsight I wish I would've taken pics of the slab/preform because I would enter it in the KCC just because it was the years first stone.  But I didn't think about that before I started, so instead I'll just share it with you here.



7
I have had multiple women now ask me to make something for them from charoite.  That bold lavender color just does something to women I guess!  Anyway, it commands a pretty hefty price and I am skeptical about buying any without putting my hands on it first.  But I trust the good people of this forum.  If anyone has recommendations about shopping for some charoite it would be appreciated.  What to look for, what should I pay for it, how do I know its a decent quality?  These are all things I could use some advice on.

Also, if anyone sees it being sold in Quartzsite, especially at a fair price, let me know.  I might drive down on a weekend just for that (I already plan on being there for the weekend of the PowWow).

Also, feel free to share pics of charoite in this thread if you want.  It really is a gorgeous stone!

8
Beadmaking, Drilling, and Beading / Tutorials / First Pendant
« on: December 26, 2014, 03:23:13 PM »
Finally rigged up a system to drill holes in cabs.  I can start hanging them as pendants to give to people now instead of just handing them a rock they have to carry around in their pocket.  I bought a cheap set of diamond bits for my dremel at Harbor Freight.  This set here...
http://www.harborfreight.com/50-piece-diamond-rotary-point-set-69665.html
I had seen the set a few times and passed by it.  Never sure how I feel about cheap Chinese stuff.  The set is $20 but there was an open box missing 2 of the 50 bits marked at $15 so I thought "what the hell, give them a try".

Didn't take a picture of how I rigged up to drill.  I placed a piece of wood in a pan at the edge of my workbench, set the preform on top of the wood, and clamped the whole thing down with a big clamp so nothing could move.  Put just enough water in the pan to barely cover the stone and carefully drilled with the dremel hand held.  There was zero splash and it worked like a charm.  Used a cone-shaped point to drill one way through until the point penetrated the far side.  Flipped the stone over and used the point from the other side to open the hole up better.  Then used a round-tipped cylindrical bit to finish the hole off nicely.  The holes came out nice.  I drilled holes in 4 different stones in about 15 min.  And the cheap bits seem as good as new when I was done.  All in all I would call it a successful experiment.  Next time I rig up some rocks to drill I'll take a picture to better illustrate my technique.

This is the first pendant I finished.  I'm sure it won't be the best I ever do, but it was the first so I gave it to the wife as a Christmas gift (she didn't know I had started drilling holes so it was a surprise to her).
edit-just for reference, that hole is about 4.2mm



9
Shop / Work Area Safety / Prescription safety glasses.
« on: December 24, 2014, 02:18:32 PM »
Should've done this a long time ago!  I got the eyes checked recently and bought a couple new sets of reading glasses.  While I was at it I ordered a pair of prescription safety glasses.  Got them in a nice strong prescription also for a little extra magnification when working up close.  I'm anal about eye protection and it was always such a hassle to try to combine my reading glasses with a face shield or put a pair of safety glasses over them.  And since I can't see to work on anything closer than arms length without my glasses it was a constant battle.  But these safety glasses make life so much nicer when working stones now!  I recommend it to anyone who needs to wear glasses to cut their rocks.

10
Miscellaneous Shop Talk / Christmas surprise
« on: December 22, 2014, 06:38:37 PM »
Got my gift a few days early.  It had to be picked up this weekend and the wife couldn't exactly hide it from me.  No more digging through drawers trying to find the right tool!  This box has all the space I need to properly organize my tools.  Something I have needed for many years!


My workshop is looking pretty complete now.  The old toolbox (red one) became useful storage space for many misc items.  Power tools, hardware, stuff like that.  Oh, and Frankenstone (my custom rock machine against the back wall) is purring like a kitten these days!

11
I've been wanting to dive into some intarsia so I bought some epoxy 330.  Figured I would do a test run with the epoxy so I gathered up some scraps that were lying around on my bench.  Slab trimmings from 3 different kinds of rocks.  A Gary Green jasper for the center, sandwiched by pieces of Montana Agate, and some Goldfield Rhyolite for the outer edges.  This was just a test run to try out the epoxy so I didn't put a lot of thought into the stone, just used what was lying in front of me.

Heres the pieces ready to glue up...


Stuck together, waiting to cure...


Ready to grind...


Finished stone...



This will probably become my latest "pocket rock".  I always carry one to show to people when the topic of rocks comes up.

12
Miscellaneous Shop Talk / Epoxy 330
« on: December 17, 2014, 05:39:29 PM »
Ok, so its time to try this stuff out.  I haven't used it before but I have plenty of past experience with other epoxies in many different forms.  But the 330 is not cheap, and I want to be sure not to mess up a project and waste stones also.  So are there any tips I should know before diving in?  Are the ratios of the two parts extremely critical or can I just "eyeball it" like I do with most epoxies?  Is temperature a big deal (its winter now, but even so my shop here in Vegas is almost always above 50F). How thoroughly should I clean stones before bonding?  Any other helpful hints for me?

My first project is going to be a stone built from slab trimmings.  I will be sure to share.

13
Our Place / Hooray for geology!
« on: September 13, 2014, 09:22:34 AM »
Don't know if anyone posted this yet but its a pretty cool video.  Nature is a lot more active then we give her credit for at times!
http://youtu.be/yAZ1V_DJKV8

14
Rock Hounding Trips, Tips, and Pics / Some Labor Day Rockhounding
« on: September 03, 2014, 06:40:37 PM »
Went to Southern California to stay with some friends in Lancaster over Labor Day.  Found some time to go hunt rocks along the way.

On the way down I stopped in at the Calico Hills, near the ghost town tourist trap of Calico.  Found some nice jasp-agate up Mule Canyon.  Heres a sample from about half a bucket I collected.


As I was making my way up the hill collecting the float I kept wondering where the stuff originated.  Then I found this boulder at the top of the hill.   Thats a 22oz long-handled hammer.


This why they call them the 'Calico Hills'...


I made a nice panorama of the area from the top of the hill where I was collecting.  This spans about 270 degrees and my truck is on the far left.   But its a big picture so I didn't want to put it here full size.  You can look at it on my photobucket page by going here...
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ToTheSummit/media/Labor%20Day%20Weekend%202014/CalicoHillsPanorama_zpsb63c5292.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Also went to a place to get some agate nodules that form in basalt.  Its backbreaking work to retrieve them.  You have to break large basalt boulders to find them, and even after you find one you need to extract it from the basalt.  Lots of hard work with large sledgehammers was involved and I put in way too much effort for a handful of these.

Here is one that broke in half as I was trying to extract it.  One half still embedded.


Here it is once I got home.


This one is about the same size as the one above, but I got it out whole.  Haven't decided what to do with it yet.  Also got a handfull of slightly smaller ones.


And of course, the obligatory rockhounding self-portrait!

15
Besides the lace agate I entered in the KCC heres a few others to come off the wheels in the last few days.

A group of stones requested by a friend.  2 cabs, gary green and red onyx.  And 2 polished slabs, more red onyx and a red jasper with quartz veins.


Closeups of the gary green and the red onyx cabs



A couple from Washington state was dealing in this stuff at Quartzsite this year.  They said it is serpentine.  I bought a few dollar slabs just to play around with because it had such beautiful green color.



Our club has a themed cab contest each month at our club meeting.  This month the theme is a cab in the shape of Nevada from a native Nevada material.  This material is Goldfield Rhyolite.

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