Did you enjoy this video and find it to be informative? You can help ensure that more videos just like this get made by supporting the project on Patreon. www.patreon.com/currentlyrockhounding
was literally talking to a customer today that lives in Brazil and I was talking to him about my rock hounding... and how I want to go to Brazil and knock my own out of a mountain!! more day dreams!!
Hi Jared, that is really cool. I am blown away by how you can find something that looks like a rock to me, cut it open and polish it into something amazingly beautiful. You clearly see rocks differently than me. 😲😊
That turned out beautifully!!!! In my opinion.... great work and thank you for sharing!!! If no body wants that beautifully done Brazilian agate let me know...lol
That’s a gorgeous agate. You just never know what your going to get when the rind doesn’t show what’s inside. I think it’s really a great specimen. I’d love a Richardson polisher. It’s really cool. I will make a video soon to show you how I hide fractures so it looks more like one piece. I’ll send it to you. Maybe you’ll like the method 🤷♀️. Everyone has their own method it seems. Thanks so much for sharing this cool episode 😊 Stay Crystal 💫 Maribeth
My 2$ worth (adjusted for inflation) on polishing the crack out of rocks .. it is the flaws that make us beautiful, this applies to rocks too! Awesome stuff Jared thanks for sharing
I about cried at that end cut that you said is going to the discard pile. I would so break and tumble that lol I know you dont tumble but that would look awesome tumbled!
I paused this at 1:39, just before you cut it. My bet is going to be that it is going to be beautiful inside and very well worth it. Now I’ll get back to the video🤔
That is a huge agate! My goodness! And very generous giveaway on the members side! It is a lovely agate, and i cant wait to see what you plan on doing with that thick slab! I like the wheel covers you made for the saw! as long as it protects laika, that's all that matters!
Thank you. I've also just started to make sure to put her in the house when I run the saw. She doesn't need to be outside all the time with me. I would hate for her to get hurt cause I want to cut a stupid rock.
Fairly new to the rockhounding world and really don't know much about how intricate agate cracks are or fillers. However, resin, if you have not yet tried it and messy though it may be, might be a nice one to experiment with. It dries clear and hard. I use Envirotex, half and half. I don't have any agates otherwise would have tested it prior to this comment. They also sell small kits in Walmarts to fill small chips in vehicle windows.
do you have a video with the layout of your rock workshop? that would be great to see what others are doing. New to this world and currently trying to figure out how other people layout a rock workshop and why.
to get rid of the crack you can submerge the rock in a vacuum chamber filled with clear setting resin. I have seen this done on another channel to great effect. Might be worth looking into. i can't recall which channel at time of writing. Perhaps a youtube search will find it though. hope that is a help. 👍
I have looked into it and I have never seen it done in a way that I think looks good but if you recall what the video is in question I would love to see it.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding i put a link up right after i posted that message buddy, if you have a look. It maybe isn't exacly what you were trying to do, so i was slightly mistaken as it was a while ago i watched it, but i wonder if this process could be slightly altered if it wasn't quite what you were looking for. I haven't ever tried it as i'm way too novice at the moment. But i imagine with the rock you use in your vid that it would be kinda straight forward to do as it's a good flat surface you could keep level until activated. Be good to know if you try it or thubk it could work tho. :)
I've tried a couple of brands of silicon carbide sanding disks over 800 grit. I find them to be inconsistent and sometimes dull the finish I've achieved to that point. I think you've gotten the shine you're going to get out of that rock. Looks good if you asked me.
I'm still playing with different glues and filler to find the right combo because people say its out there but who knows. I have never found anything that I really like.
Thanks for sharing sir, love getting a good Brazilian nodule. Yes, if you get one with white bands you can get a parallax effect or with the right banded pattern and a thin slice some cool iris stuff. Maybe it'll be in the next one? haha That's part of the fun IMO, just seeing whatcha find inside em~ Have a great rest of your week!
It's unfortunate about the crack. Most "old stock" Brazilian mined before about 1965 has less fractures. They started blasting to get the nodules after that, so now days it's uncommon to get solid material. It did look like it might have nice banding running through it, but I guess that was only skin deep. Interesting, my next video is going to be a bunch of my Brazilian collection. Purely coincidence. Hmm. Dice? Sphere? What could you need a 1 inch slice for????
Question on the Richardson's Sander - I've been looking at getting one, but their website doesn't say how tall the space is between the base and the sanding disc (in other words, how tall of a rock will fit in?). Also, where are you getting the 800 grit discs? I noticed Richardson's has only 30-600 on their site. The agate is awesome, by the way. I'd love to see some 3/16" slices with light coming through, but I know that crack would probably fail on you. Have you tried gel-based cyanoacrylate glues as a filler? I do a lot of woodwork too and superglues will take a really nice polish, but the liquids are so thin you could fill that crack for days and they'd never stop seeping in. But the gels may do the trick.
I checked for you. The distance between the base on the Richardson sander and the bottom of the sanding pad is 11". As for the sanding pads the absolute best deal that I have been able to find is actually on Amazon I think in the description box of one of the videos I have on the Richardson's sander I do have a link to the exact ones that I'm using. I have also tried CA glue with limited success.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding Cool. thanks for the info! 11 inches clearance is actually pretty significant - it looks smaller on the photos. I may have to pull the trigger on one of those.
So what are u saying?..safelite just seals cracks?...lol..I get ya bud..jk. nice rock and I hope I win. I'm just amazed at the fact that ur using all homemade machines..to do this...although modified saw..it's still home made. Very cool man. Thanks bro
Here is what I want to know...often these things are fully coated with...crust. How do you spot them in the field? The large one I found looked like a common rock, and could only tell up close with the bands and the crystals. How do you spot them when they are fully coated? Is there anything special about the crust???
Its hard to speak in general about this but once you see the inside and the outside of something you can generally match it up out in the field. Thundereggs are a great example of that.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding To be fair, thundereggs do have that interesting texture they have going. Agates..eh... unless really up close, they look the same as chert or hematite within the same area.. the first one I thought was breccia... I literally picked it up and cut it apart expecting breccia...
I had to sand a 103 lb. Laker for my boss back in the day. He had it cut in half. It was difficult to hold on his floor stand sander. I saw it was fractured up a lot. I told the boss it would be delicate work because of the unpredictability of heat buildup blowing out agate at the crossroads of cracks. What he was NOT told is the guy sealed it himself before bringing in. That was a horrible experience. My eyes burnt & watered. My throat dried out (even effecting the flavor of my 🍺 later). I got dizzy & stumbled out the garage door. So I am not a fan of those sealers.
Did you enjoy this video and find it to be informative? You can help ensure that more videos just like this get made by supporting the project on Patreon. www.patreon.com/currentlyrockhounding
love the stone its always great to see what hides on the inside
was literally talking to a customer today that lives in Brazil and I was talking to him about my rock hounding... and how I want to go to Brazil and knock my own out of a mountain!! more day dreams!!
Love the colors! Dont care if it has a crack! Great job on the polish!
Really like the uploads where you use the saw. The reveal of the inside of the rock is like opening a present.
You know I have never really thought about it like that but its a great comparison.
It turned out beautifully... What a fantastic giveaway 👍💕💕💕💕
Thank you!
Hi Jared, that is really cool. I am blown away by how you can find something that looks like a rock to me, cut it open and polish it into something amazingly beautiful. You clearly see rocks differently than me. 😲😊
Awe yeah! Big Brazilian Agate!!! Giggity! 😂 that turned out beautiful 👍🏽
Thank you!
Beautiful agate!
Thank you!
Jarod, that is Beautiful ❣️
Thank you!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
That turned out beautifully!!!! In my opinion.... great work and thank you for sharing!!! If no body wants that beautifully done Brazilian agate let me know...lol
Thank you!
Waiting for the project reveal video. You do great work.
That’s a gorgeous agate. You just never know what your going to get when the rind doesn’t show what’s inside. I think it’s really a great specimen. I’d love a Richardson polisher. It’s really cool.
I will make a video soon to show you how I hide fractures so it looks more like one piece. I’ll send it to you. Maybe you’ll like the method 🤷♀️. Everyone has their own method it seems.
Thanks so much for sharing this cool episode 😊
Stay Crystal 💫
Maribeth
I would love to see a video of your technique with it.
Hi Jarod, that piece came up a lot nicer than I thought it would. I couldn’t see the detail of the lines when it came off the saw. Nice piece.
Yeah its not half bad! :)
I always find it interesting to see the cut & polish results. Really curious about your upcoming use of the slab.
I think it will be fun! :)
My 2$ worth (adjusted for inflation) on polishing the crack out of rocks .. it is the flaws that make us beautiful, this applies to rocks too! Awesome stuff Jared thanks for sharing
Well said!
I about cried at that end cut that you said is going to the discard pile. I would so break and tumble that lol I know you dont tumble but that would look awesome tumbled!
I can't save it all! :)
What an amazing change in color when polished. Thanks for sharing.
I think it came out really nice.
Ohhhh that would be so cool to win! It looks really nice with that 800grit polish!
Thank you!
That's a beauty! Sucks about the crack!
Its not the best to have a crack like that but it has plenty of still very usable material.
Ok awesome. Love that massive agate. Also...all of your machines should have googly eyes. :)
I really need to get some big eyes for the slab saw.
Richardsons sander uses hardwood floor discs. Check stores that carry the sander to rent, they should have discs up to emery.
I paused this at 1:39, just before you cut it. My bet is going to be that it is going to be beautiful inside and very well worth it. Now I’ll get back to the video🤔
Interested in finding out what you're going to do with that huge slab... Thanks for the new video. Brazilian stones are notoriously large and pretty.
I think it will be a fun project when it goes up! :)
That is a huge agate! My goodness! And very generous giveaway on the members side! It is a lovely agate, and i cant wait to see what you plan on doing with that thick slab! I like the wheel covers you made for the saw! as long as it protects laika, that's all that matters!
Thank you.
I've also just started to make sure to put her in the house when I run the saw. She doesn't need to be outside all the time with me. I would hate for her to get hurt cause I want to cut a stupid rock.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding Absolutely! She is far more important than any rock!
Fairly new to the rockhounding world and really don't know much about how intricate agate cracks are or fillers. However, resin, if you have not yet tried it and messy though it may be, might be a nice one to experiment with. It dries clear and hard. I use Envirotex, half and half. I don't have any agates otherwise would have tested it prior to this comment.
They also sell small kits in Walmarts to fill small chips in vehicle windows.
I have tried some different resins but never Envirotex.
Carmell. LOL 🤘👍
Where did you get such a huge Brazilian agate? Wow!!!!😊
Richardson's rock ranch.
do you have a video with the layout of your rock workshop? that would be great to see what others are doing. New to this world and currently trying to figure out how other people layout a rock workshop and why.
I have done a shop tour but it was sometime ago, perhaps Ill remake it this winter.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding I just saw the video in the members area, nice layout
to get rid of the crack you can submerge the rock in a vacuum chamber filled with clear setting resin. I have seen this done on another channel to great effect. Might be worth looking into. i can't recall which channel at time of writing. Perhaps a youtube search will find it though. hope that is a help. 👍
I have looked into it and I have never seen it done in a way that I think looks good but if you recall what the video is in question I would love to see it.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding i put a link up right after i posted that message buddy, if you have a look. It maybe isn't exacly what you were trying to do, so i was slightly mistaken as it was a while ago i watched it, but i wonder if this process could be slightly altered if it wasn't quite what you were looking for. I haven't ever tried it as i'm way too novice at the moment. But i imagine with the rock you use in your vid that it would be kinda straight forward to do as it's a good flat surface you could keep level until activated. Be good to know if you try it or thubk it could work tho. :)
I've tried a couple of brands of silicon carbide sanding disks over 800 grit. I find them to be inconsistent and sometimes dull the finish I've achieved to that point. I think you've gotten the shine you're going to get out of that rock. Looks good if you asked me.
Thank you! I think you just saved me some time and money cause I was going to try and find some.
I think the drill press needs a moustache
I wonder if I can fashion one out of dog hair? Ill do it up 5-Minute Craft style.
That agate is pretty. Have you ever cut open a smoky quartz geode?
I have not cut anything like that.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding I've seen pictures of them. Smoky quartz geodes look really cool.
Even though it didn't have iris - it was still a nice looking agate.
I don't bother with filling cracks either. 🤷♂️🙂
I'm still playing with different glues and filler to find the right combo because people say its out there but who knows. I have never found anything that I really like.
Thanks for sharing sir, love getting a good Brazilian nodule. Yes, if you get one with white bands you can get a parallax effect or with the right banded pattern and a thin slice some cool iris stuff. Maybe it'll be in the next one? haha That's part of the fun IMO, just seeing whatcha find inside em~ Have a great rest of your week!
I'm determined to find something that will Iris!
I hope you have a good week as well.
It's unfortunate about the crack. Most "old stock" Brazilian mined before about 1965 has less fractures. They started blasting to get the nodules after that, so now days it's uncommon to get solid material. It did look like it might have nice banding running through it, but I guess that was only skin deep. Interesting, my next video is going to be a bunch of my Brazilian collection. Purely coincidence. Hmm. Dice? Sphere? What could you need a 1 inch slice for????
Ohh I can't wait to see some of your collection!
@@CurrentlyRockhounding I'm uploading it today!
would the ultrasonic cleaner remove the cerium oxide from the crack if you were to polish it?
I could but unfortunately this agate is far too big for my ultrasonic cleaner.
Question on the Richardson's Sander - I've been looking at getting one, but their website doesn't say how tall the space is between the base and the sanding disc (in other words, how tall of a rock will fit in?). Also, where are you getting the 800 grit discs? I noticed Richardson's has only 30-600 on their site.
The agate is awesome, by the way. I'd love to see some 3/16" slices with light coming through, but I know that crack would probably fail on you. Have you tried gel-based cyanoacrylate glues as a filler? I do a lot of woodwork too and superglues will take a really nice polish, but the liquids are so thin you could fill that crack for days and they'd never stop seeping in. But the gels may do the trick.
I checked for you. The distance between the base on the Richardson sander and the bottom of the sanding pad is 11". As for the sanding pads the absolute best deal that I have been able to find is actually on Amazon I think in the description box of one of the videos I have on the Richardson's sander I do have a link to the exact ones that I'm using. I have also tried CA glue with limited success.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding Cool. thanks for the info! 11 inches clearance is actually pretty significant - it looks smaller on the photos. I may have to pull the trigger on one of those.
Looks good! I would much prefer cracked and natural. Then filled and fake.
So what are u saying?..safelite just seals cracks?...lol..I get ya bud..jk. nice rock and I hope I win. I'm just amazed at the fact that ur using all homemade machines..to do this...although modified saw..it's still home made. Very cool man. Thanks bro
I love my home made machines. Maybe someday I make a big 24" saw but I need a big shop first.
Here is what I want to know...often these things are fully coated with...crust. How do you spot them in the field? The large one I found looked like a common rock, and could only tell up close with the bands and the crystals. How do you spot them when they are fully coated? Is there anything special about the crust???
Its hard to speak in general about this but once you see the inside and the outside of something you can generally match it up out in the field. Thundereggs are a great example of that.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding To be fair, thundereggs do have that interesting texture they have going. Agates..eh... unless really up close, they look the same as chert or hematite within the same area.. the first one I thought was breccia... I literally picked it up and cut it apart expecting breccia...
I find Brazilian agate so interesting. Coming from Minnesota where a 1 lb agate is a giant. Brazilian agates really impress me.
what are you going to do with th slab?
It will be a future lapidary project but I don't want to spoil the surprise.
Wheres a good source to purchase and agate like this because, I've tried in the past but I keep getting dud rocks or just glass dyed geodes. 😅
You can buy them from Richardsons Rock Ranch.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding okay, thank you!
Richardson's lists discs up to 1000.
I have not noticed much of a difference in a final polish, skipping that grit.
How do I get in on the give away? 👏🏼
I do monthly giveaway for channel members. You should be able to see Join button on my channel page.
I had to sand a 103 lb. Laker for my boss back in the day. He had it cut in half. It was difficult to hold on his floor stand sander.
I saw it was fractured up a lot. I told the boss it would be delicate work because of the unpredictability of heat buildup blowing out agate at the crossroads of cracks. What he was NOT told is the guy sealed it himself before bringing in. That was a horrible experience. My eyes burnt & watered. My throat dried out (even effecting the flavor of my 🍺 later). I got dizzy & stumbled out the garage door.
So I am not a fan of those sealers.
Well I'm sure it looked amazing but yikes that's not good.
I enjoy watching your videos, I feel bad that your big agate was cracked and sort of a dud.
I wouldn't call it a dud.
@@CurrentlyRockhounding I only said sort of a dud because of the crack, It's still a great rock and anyone that collects rocks would love to have it!
@@flashdonat The crack does limit when I can do with it but it still has lot of good material on it.