wediscount2 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Yes it's me again, thought I would bother you one last time. (other than one last post that's important, should be in a few days). I do apologize for my loss of memory. Had I not experienced this memory problem I could have saved a weeks time and the needless repair of some junk marbles. I do not detest the trial but rather consider it a true blessing from GOD as there was more correction needed in my life. Feeling a little melancholy from not receiving positive feedback from my recent posts, I went into a deep thought process that resulted in being able to solve a marble restoration problem that had burdened me for almost 20 years. Well enough of that lets get onto the matter at hand. I forgot all about some posts I had done on this board over 4 yearsago. Lucky for me I found some notes about these old posts and that is why I am posting this time. At this site (Marble Connection) and from the home page there is a list of selectable topics and the 8th one down from the top is the Restoration Q&A topic. Click on it and it will bring up the first page. Down towards the bottom of the page are three posts from wediscount. One of those (looking to polish a few marbles) is messed up as those are not my marbles or my posting . The other 2 are my posts and my pictures, Looking to shine some marbles and Grime Shine. If you will go there and read the content and view the photos it may help and be of an interest to you. The marbles photoed was my first batch I received from a member at Lou's Marble Connection. Thanks, Ronnie... Please Remember.....Never allow yourself to become so exalted that when your test does come, that you fail because of your pride. IF NEED BE DOUBLE CLICK THE THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE THE IMAGE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmuehlba Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 well they all look great but sill wonder what you do to them . ?? was it back a while age where you did only half a marble to show how it looked ?? or that might be some else . Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn691500 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hi Ronnie, I apologize fo not responding,, as a member here i should be more forth coming of what little i know,,, im not sure where to begin,, if there was one tag on this forum site i wished there was a "Like" button so everyone can see your post arnt going unseen at the very least.. you have some great akros ,,, bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstmmrbls Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 You must also realize that A large percentage of marble collectors (and most long time collectors) look down on polished marbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wediscount2 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 You must also realize that A large percentage of marble collectors (and most long time collectors) look down on polished marbles. Hi Ronnie, I apologize fo not responding,, as a member here i should be more forth coming of what little i know,,, im not sure where to begin,, if there was one tag on this forum site i wished there was a "Like" button so everyone can see your post arnt going unseen at the very least.. you have some great akros ,,, bj Glad to here from you John. Those were not my Akro's they were sent to me from a member here. Those are the types that really turn out well. Not a lot of damage but enough damage to merit a little help. Thanks Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wediscount2 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 You must also realize that A large percentage of marble collectors (and most long time collectors) look down on polished marbles. lstmmrbls"You Stated"-- You must also realize that a large percentage of marble collectors (and most long time collectors) look down on polished marbles. "End Of Statement" I take it that it means real advanced marble collectors don't want nothing to do with polished marbles. Thats not what the worlds most advanced collector team thought when they brought their 'Pair of doves kissing sulphide"in blue glass to my home and had me make a few tiny adjustments to it. The man had tears of joy in his eyes when I handed him back his marble that he had just bought at auction for $5000.00 less than 3 hours before. That was 20 to 25 years ago. Now back to your statement. Would that statement above have any bearing as to why you have replied to Scoops article on hand polishing 3 times? What and how do you put the finish polish to the marble? What grit # And you gave up the grapes on where to get the pads for the diamond polishers (at toolocity) This means you had to do a little searching. Inquisitive??? or are you one of those closet polishers! Now as far as this little Grime Shine or AKA Scrubber deal goes, You, Me, or anyone else simply cannot tell if a marble that has been through the process "ONE" time has ever been messed with. If the marble was put through a second time you would not be able to tell with the human eye and a loupe. If you had an expensive 4 digits to the right of the decimal point caliper you may be able to detect a difference of 1 ten-thousand's of an inch. I know these things because it was my intent from the start to build a machine that did not alter the original size. Now you want to see a marble that has been messed with, check this one out. I know the photo is not super hi-res (taken with a 1 megapixel camera) I did it about 20 years ago when I was employed at a firm that designed and manufactured optical and laser lenses and I still have the marble. Hope your future marble endeavors treat you kind. Ronnie DOUBLE CLICK THE THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richsantaclaus Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Polishing is one way to restore an old marble but torching can get all the bubbles out of the sulphide without losing so much glass. Each sulphide marble owner makes the decision to leave it alone, get it polished or get it torched. Here are two torch repairs I did for a friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wediscount2 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Polishing is one way to restore an old marble but torching can get all the bubbles out of the sulphide without losing so much glass. Each sulphide marble owner makes the decision to leave it alone, get it polished or get it torched. Here are two torch repairs I did for a friend. Rich Two thumbs up on the sulphides. I was at your site yesterday or the day before admiring some of your handiwork, keep it up. I was at the Amana Iowa marble show 27 to 30 years ago and was talking to Larry Castle about repair work. At that time Larry was cooking a few mibs and the results were very good lookin marbles. One problem Larry was having was marbles exploding on him. I knew way back then that this was the wave of the future and still feel that way. Problem is we are all human and want it now. If we could just keep our damaged marbles in a box until something is available either for a kiln or a stand alone application we would be better off. Working with those high temperatures is not for everyone, and those interested in doing that type of work should be tutored by an expert and have a good knowledge of the fundamentals. As far as grinding the glass goes, once you grind it off, it's gone. Good luck to you. Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg11 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I agree with Galen and let's not forget about buffed marbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstmmrbls Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I was simply giving a reason that I believed helped explain why the response may have been so low. I am also going by what I know from talking to dozens of collectors at dozens of shows. Most do not visit these boards. And observing the amount of polished mibs that have found there way into collections that I have seen at many recent shows I am now becoming anti-polish myself. If they never left the owners home that would be a different story. But many of these buffed and polished marbles find there way into the world and get passed as unpolished marbles. I have bought and used the pads and even bought a machine to run marbles through so I know what to look for. Many older eyes do not see that the marbles are polished. I am not making Judgement on what anyone chooses do do with their marbles as long as they keep them home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richsantaclaus Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks Ronnie - I have programmed my kiln VERY carefully to raise the temperature VERY slowly when repairing old marbles and even at that, I have had 3 sulphides, out of the 150 or so I have repaired, explode in the kiln during the warm-up process. I always tell a potential customer that IF the marble will stay in the family and be passed down to future generations - leave the marble alone. IF the damage is so bad that you can't even see the figurine, I leave it up to the owner to decide if they want to chance an explosion during the warm-up process. There will always be a controversy whether to polish, buff, torch, grind, whatever verses leave the marble alone. Honestly, I have lost count of the number of marbles overall that I have repaired for customers. So far, my client list is over 50 vintage collectors that have used my torching techniques to repair their marbles. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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