vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 14, 2022 13:28:43 GMT -5
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 14, 2022 18:05:41 GMT -5
Any guesses as to how it will go?
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lapidarycentral
starting to spend too much on rocks
(Brian Rhode) LapidaryCentral.com - Fueling your Lapidary Addiction.
Member since August 2021
Posts: 209
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Post by lapidarycentral on Oct 14, 2022 18:50:45 GMT -5
In my opinion, with less water, you run the chance of the dust/muck building up and little action happening and the stones possibly just being cemented to the walls. Due to the lack of cushioning your going to get some pretty beat up stones though, but not as much grinding. With the water levels recommended, you avoid the chance of this, but still have a good water to air ratio to cause the agitation needed for the grinding action. With too much water you lack the air, and the water will cushion the rocks and very little grinding will occur, as well as running the risk of rocks staying in the same position for long enough for them to grind grooves into each other.
Its sort of the same effect as a side loading washer, if you've ever seen one run.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 14, 2022 19:25:26 GMT -5
In my opinion, with less water, you run the chance of the dust/muck building up and little action happening and the stones possibly just being cemented to the walls. Due to the lack of cushioning your going to get some pretty beat up stones though, but not as much grinding. With the water levels recommended, you avoid the chance of this, but still have a good water to air ratio to cause the agitation needed for the grinding action. With too much water you lack the air, and the water will cushion the rocks and very little grinding will occur, as well as running the risk of rocks staying in the same position for long enough for them to grind grooves into each other. Its sort of the same effect as a side loading washer, if you've ever seen one run. ya i used "Junk stones" for a reason lol so far I am hearing decent tumbling but i did also put in a lot of smalls. 1 cup water put it just under half the barrel level wise,guess we shall see lol
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 15, 2022 12:59:14 GMT -5
So day one check, just pulled out 1 rock and rinsed it off. I am definatly getting a good cutting action, the rock is notable smoother than any of them were going into the tumbler. Still had some flaws but shaping nicely and seemingly pretty fast considering its only been a lil under a day. No new photos yet.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
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Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 16, 2022 12:19:45 GMT -5
So, is this more or less water than you usually use?
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 16, 2022 17:07:31 GMT -5
So, is this more or less water than you usually use? This is way less water than I normally use. I measured out 1 cup of water, which displaced by the rocks was a bit under half way full of water. It should be noted that I have a 4lb tumble bee barrel which is a tall barrel not wide. Its dimensions are Inner diameter: 4" Outer diameter: 4-1/2" Height: 7-1/2" and without rocks i would guess the water would have been maybe 2.5 inches deep at most.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 16, 2022 17:12:21 GMT -5
Day two Check Update: The slurry is fairly thick, but still thin enough to allow good movement and tumbling action. The slurry feels mostly smooth at this point with only a very mild grit level. I have noticed substantial smoothing on the rock I pulled out to check, so I am getting a very good cutting action. The slurry is also very brown, but I attribute that to the color of the rocks in this batch, many were plain redish brown rocks. So far, 1 cup of water seems to be working fairly well.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 17, 2022 17:36:32 GMT -5
Day Three Check, Slurry hasnt gotten noticeabley thicker, the grit feels like it has broken down to somewhere slightly finer than about 220 grit. I Pulled all the rocks out leaving the slurry in the barrel and they are VERY smooth, even the red rock that was broken right before going in has smoothed and rounded off. There are still gouges and flaws, they are not perfectly rounded but they are dramatically smoother than when they went in just three days ago. Mind you this is a 60rpm tumbler, its not a super fast machine. Honestly, I am seeing better results SO FAR With 1 cup of water than I did filling the barrel up to just below the top layer of rock.
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
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Post by dshanpnw on Oct 18, 2022 7:18:32 GMT -5
love the experiment, vance71975. I'm anxious to see those rocks when they are completely done. I'm wondering what they are.
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,330
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Post by rocknewb101 on Oct 18, 2022 7:44:34 GMT -5
I'm so interested in this. Curious of your outcome. When I was tumbling the moonstone, twice I found that my slurry was clay-like. Very very thick and I had to pry my stones out of it. I wasn't sure if I'd not used enough water, or perhaps too much grit? Following...
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 18, 2022 11:16:01 GMT -5
I'm so interested in this. Curious of your outcome. When I was tumbling the moonstone, twice I found that my slurry was clay-like. Very very thick and I had to pry my stones out of it. I wasn't sure if I'd not used enough water, or perhaps too much grit? Following... Thats a tough one to answer, I am so new myself that I cant say for sure. "Moonstone falls between 6 and 6.5 on the Mohs scale. It also has poor toughness." < What I found on google, Which I think means that it cuts very easily and quickly which would account for it getting clay like very fast. If you run moonstone again maybe try starting it with 120/220 grit, or a graded 220 grit, It will slow the cutting down but might prevent it turning into clay.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 18, 2022 11:18:25 GMT -5
love the experiment, vance71975 . I'm anxious to see those rocks when they are completely done. I'm wondering what they are. Honestly, this is just a One pass Stage 1 Expirement. The results are gonna be posted shortly and the rocks have been pulled and sorted into done for stage 2 and repeat stage one buckets in water.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 18, 2022 11:27:25 GMT -5
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 897
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Post by dshanpnw on Oct 18, 2022 13:16:04 GMT -5
I can definitely see a pretty big difference from before they started. I'm going to have to try a little less water next time, or at least not going to be overly worried about getting the water just right.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
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Post by Wooferhound on Oct 18, 2022 14:46:20 GMT -5
I only add water up to about 1/4 of the rock level. Always end up with thick slurry but not too thick. Using #30 grit so it will last the whole week.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 18, 2022 15:57:43 GMT -5
I only add water up to about 1/4 of the rock level. Always end up with thick slurry but not too thick. Using #30 grit so it will last the whole week. My next Grit Order will be 36 grit SiC or 46/70 Grit SiC. Leaning heavy toward 36 Grit tho. Maybe ill buy Both and Mix them. Not sure yet.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 18, 2022 16:32:58 GMT -5
I can definitely see a pretty big difference from before they started. I'm going to have to try a little less water next time, or at least not going to be overly worried about getting the water just right. One of my take aways is that as long as you have enough water to keep the slurry flowing its not super important. I give it a shake here and there, to see if it still sounds like there is ample movement. But I was checking this batch daily. I was shocked at how fast the grit was spent, because in my Tumble Bee with the normal water level just below the top layer of rock, the grit usually isnt spent until 7 or 8 days in. So less water surely did speed up the process. I will be doing all my harder and tougher rocks this way from now on. I will still use the standard method for softer or more brittle stones, just for the cushioning of the extra water. If you think about it tho, Less water makes sense that it would cut faster. The more water you have in the barrel the more the grit can flow around and maybe miss getting caught between rocks as they roll over. But less water, less room for the grit to move, the more likely the grit gets caught between rocks. Or at least that makes sense in my head anyway.
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brybry
Cave Dweller
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Post by brybry on Oct 18, 2022 17:37:33 GMT -5
I only add water up to about 1/4 of the rock level. Always end up with thick slurry but not too thick. Using #30 grit so it will last the whole week. My next Grit Order will be 36 grit SiC or 46/70 Grit SiC. Leaning heavy toward 36 Grit tho. Maybe ill buy Both and Mix them. Not sure yet. For 3lb or smaller barrels, 36 SiC wouldn't work as well.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 18, 2022 17:42:40 GMT -5
My next Grit Order will be 36 grit SiC or 46/70 Grit SiC. Leaning heavy toward 36 Grit tho. Maybe ill buy Both and Mix them. Not sure yet. For 3lb or smaller barrels, 36 SiC wouldn't work as well. I have a 4lb Barrel Tumble-Bee and I run about as close to the Max weight for my machine as I can, which is 6lbs 10oz. Hopefully 36 grit would work ok in that?
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