Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Ranger_Dave

Pages: [1] 2 3
1
I picked this up on our club's last trip to Exeter, Calif. There are piles of this stuff scraped out of the nearby tangerine orchard.

2
Miscellaneous Shop Talk / DC motor
« on: February 18, 2016, 06:08:11 PM »
I just removed the motor from a treadmill. It's a 2.25 hp 130v DC motor. Would a AC to DC converter cost too much? Should I just take the motor apart and rip out the magnates?

Hey! I could use the belt and the motor to make one HUGE flat lap.  thinking12  How much diamond dust would it take to cover a belt about 12 feet long and 3 feet wide?

3
Mineral Specimens / Lab grown crystals being sold as natural on Ebay
« on: February 04, 2016, 11:59:34 AM »
Here is one example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/408g-Clear-Natural-Green-Ghost-pyramid-QUARTZ-Crystal-Cluster-Specimen-/172080233897?hash=item2810c7fda9:g:2cYAAOSwvUlWqqw1

I can't find it now, but one of these had a picture of the bottom of the cluster. It had 3 parallel lines from the wire rack in rested on in the autoclave. These are pretty, but fakes. They took a plain cluster, probably from Madagascar and grew some new crystals on it.

4
Rock Hounding Trips, Tips, and Pics / D Day Mine #2 ?
« on: February 01, 2016, 10:19:02 PM »
I have a tiny piece of andersonite and I was told it came from the "D Day Mine #2" in the Yellow Cat mining district in Utah. I can't find anything on such a mine. Does anyone here know anything about it?

5
Miscellaneous Shop Talk / How high should a work bench be?
« on: November 18, 2015, 04:29:33 PM »
I picked up today, for free, an old kitchen counter. It seems to be kind of short for a workbench. Is there a consensus as to what would be the best working height for a work bench. I'll have a trim saw, a flat lap I can't get back together, and a cab machine on it.

6
I picked this up about a year ago. It was a raffle prize at our club meeting. It didn't look like anything so everyone passed it over. I was pleasantly surprised when I cut it.


7
I would to get the upper part, the root, of the shark's tooth coated in silver (or other metal). My plan is to melt the silver, dip the desired part of the tooth into that and then solder a bail to it when things cool off. Would that work?

Instead of silver, could I just melt a bunch of nickles?

8
My cab machine has 6 four inch wheels. 80, 220, 400, 800, 1500, 3000. The 80 and 220 are fine and don't need replacing. The others are shot. The Nova wheels I'd like to get are 600, 1200, 3000, 8000. Is it too far of a jump to go from 220 to 600? Any suggestions?

9
Our Place / I'm back.....
« on: October 20, 2015, 09:32:12 PM »
It's been awhile. I just got busy with work and stuff. The last two weekends I got to go out rockhounding. It felt great! The first one, I got skunked. Oh well.  But last Saturday I went to Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, CA. I got over a dozen nice shark's teeth and a few sealion teeth.

Now I just have to learn how to wire wrap the teeth. I don't know if I want to sell them though.

10
Our Place / OK, What's the catch?
« on: February 18, 2015, 09:55:26 PM »
I was poking around EBay looking for some fluorescent minerals and I came across a rock for 17 cents. I forgot what kind it was, but doesn't matter. Shipping was free - from China.

I didn't buy it because that doesn't add up. What's the catch? Or, what's the scam?

11
Mineral Specimens / Can someone ID these flat crystals for me?
« on: February 05, 2015, 12:31:26 PM »
These are flat on two sides, with the flat sides being white with a rough texture. Those sides are, basically, triangular in shape with the opposing triangle rotated about 45 degrees. Between those two sides is clear.


12
Our Place / Clean workshop.... for now....
« on: January 26, 2015, 09:01:25 AM »
I haven't posted much lately. I've been busy around the ranch. It's amazing how much work there is to do on only 5.5 acres.  I decided that the main work bench in the shop is inconvenient for lapidary. Another work bench, at the right height is now needed along with storage for an ever expanding supply of rocks. To do that I had to clean 14 years of accumulation out of the shop. Now that that's done, I have to now build the work bench which will include a sink and water supply. THEN I can start making more cabs.

I need more practice before I start on this beautiful, and way too expensive, piece of Pietersite I have.

13
I recently purchased a Star Diamond vibrating flat lap Model OL-10. I think it was a good buy at $30.

It has some rust inside so I took it apart, fixed the rust, spray painted the whole thing. Now I can't figure out how to get it back together.

The main problem seems to be where three bushings/spacers go.

Does anyone know how to reassemble this thing?


14
I just picked one up for $30. A little paint, a new cord, and I'll be all set. Except, I don't have any instructions and have never used a flat lap before.

I assume I can use the graded abrasives for my tumbler. Just make a paste with it and leave the thing on for a few days.

I did look at some generic instructions online, but the use of weights on top of the slabs was mentioned. Do I really need weights?

Any suggestions?

15
Our Place / My fight with a rock.....
« on: September 02, 2014, 08:11:40 PM »
Last Saturday I want to Hollister, CA, for a bit of rockhounding. There's a dry river bed south of town. Lots of jasper, agates, and a few fossils.

I found a huge chunk of agate. It was just a plain, brown/grey, color on the outside. I wanted to see what was inside before I lugged it home. I started pounding on what I believed to be a weak spot. That darn rock had the audacity to send a chip flying and hit my thumb just to the right of my thumbnail. Boy that hurt! Got some blood all over some nice rocks.

Well.... I had to teach that rock a lesson. I got out my sledge hammer and a big chisel. I broke it right in half. Take that!

There was nothing inside.  dunno28

But I did get about 50 pounds of some nice jasper,  agates, and one conglomerate with some shells in it.  And a sore thumb.

Pages: [1] 2 3