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Post by Alice on Mar 7, 2005 10:57:51 GMT -5
Don't recharge?
I'm doing emeralds right now and was told that I should recharge the grit after 1 week, leaving the slurry in the barrel, and let it tumble again for another week, before I change to fine grit.
are you suggesting that I leave it run for 4 weeks before I recharge?
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Post by Cher on Mar 7, 2005 11:15:48 GMT -5
Pretty dang close- That is what I use! I rechecked My thumblers info and the have a course fine Pre and polish- No med! So it should be 60/90; 500; Tripoli; and Aluminum Oxide- The trick here is to let the course run extra long (4 to 5 weeks) and don't recharge after the second week! You should run at least these 4 stages. (using grits within these general numbers.) 60/90 for coarse 120/200 for medium 500 for fine polish Tripoli should not be used as a replacement for any of the stages but as an additional step in the polish process. Lots of tumblers run just these four steps with success, the thing you need to remember is you can add additional steps but do not delete any. I tried the tripoli after the 500 grit, as a pre-polish but found that using the 1000 grit gave me a better shine but this is added as an additional step between 500 and the polish, not to replace one of the steps above. Ok ... I just called Thumler's and asked them for the number's on their grit. This is what you get in a Thumler's grit package ... Coarse grit = 46/70 Fine grit = 120/200 Prepolish = Silicon Dioxide ( I asked for #'s, the gal said there were no numbers for this one, it's just silicon dioxide) Polish = Titamium Dioxide Cher
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 7, 2005 11:31:35 GMT -5
WHAT- Tit Dioxide- Now when I called I was told This course 60/90 fine 500 prepolish tripoli polish alum oxide Hmmmm I wonder if they changed suppliers or something recently? Oh and I have been forgetting the 500/ 1000 stage (BF) I Know that Trip is not a grind but a polish- I don't know why (actually I skip it cause I have NO PATIENCE) I keep forgetting IT- Not this batch however! I had called them late last year so maybe they have a different supplier.
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Post by Cher on Mar 7, 2005 11:39:03 GMT -5
Yup, that's what she said, I called while I was typing that reply. Did you call Thumler's direct? (True Square or whatever it is) That stinks when you get different answers from a company or maybe you're right and they did change their supplier or their grit packages.
Cher
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 7, 2005 11:54:52 GMT -5
Yup called them right after Christmas! They did indicate that there grit does change occasionally- (I thought they meant they went through a lot of it) Hmm Well no matter I got stuff from the rock shed and it still sounds like Thumblers has a good formula there -
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Post by Alice on Mar 7, 2005 12:10:02 GMT -5
Oh great, now I have no clue what I have
I bought coarse and fine grit from thumler's last week... more then likely the stuff Cher was told.
But I bought the Thumler's tumbler from a hobby shop. The box was all dirty and dusty as if it was sitting there for a number of years.
And a few days after I bought grit from Thumlers directly, I bought prepolish and polish from the hobby store, marked "thumler's" (which also looked YEARS old)
I'm shaking my head right now. Guess I'll just have to play it by ear / eye
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Post by puppie96 on Mar 8, 2005 1:40:36 GMT -5
Since the stuff with the kit is a small quantity anyhow, why not use it for your early batches and meanwhile, source up some websites where you can buy the exact grits you want (based on the readily available information here) and get them in quantity so they will be cheaper? In other words, does it really matter what it is, why not just use it up and get on with your day?
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Post by GUEST on Mar 8, 2005 4:36:41 GMT -5
Seems logical--If you want great looking rocks-polish as perfectly as possible! Use as many steps as it takes--PATIENCE!!--
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 8, 2005 11:05:16 GMT -5
Alice You should be fine with what you have- regardless of what it is- It is pretty easy to tell which is courser and finer!
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Post by Alice on Mar 8, 2005 12:09:59 GMT -5
Pup, I think of grit as sand paper. As long as the grit is pretty much the same, the brand name doesn't really matter. My "OH Great" was meant sarcastically. Guess you can't really tell tones when reading these threads. Suppose it would have helped if I put a smiley in there.
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