gemhunter
starting to spend too much on rocks
"Rock On"
Member since November 2009
Posts: 243
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Post by gemhunter on Nov 12, 2009 9:14:57 GMT -5
I am so new at this, doing my first tumble. Do you guys cut up your stones first, then tumble, or do you shape your cabs then tumble? I just got my first stones in September, mining and I am hooked. It seems like its all consuming I have learned a load on this board, I am glad you guys are all here. Thanks, Ed
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Post by Toad on Nov 12, 2009 9:26:38 GMT -5
A lot of folks do cabs without tumbling at all. Others will preform cabs on wheels or with dremel tools and then finish in a tumbler. All depends on the equipment you have access too and personal preference.
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Post by stonesthatrock on Nov 12, 2009 10:42:18 GMT -5
hi ed, welcome to the crazy house......... lol you can also preform, and grind them down with whatever equipment you have and them put them in a vibe to polish them.
mary ann
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,463
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 12, 2009 10:47:03 GMT -5
I do more tumbled cabs than I finish on the wheels. I do preform and cut my domes on the wheels. Then, I partially sand on the wheels and finish the sanding in a vibe tumbler ( vibes alter stone shapes very little). Once the sanding is done, I finish the cabs as I would any other tumbled stone with prepolish and final polish phases in the rotary tumbler with lots of plastic pellets and filler to cushion the load. Prepolish and polish do not alter shapes so the rotary is OK for these steps. Sanding in a rotary will mess your cab shapes up. I've posted pics of quite a few of my tumbled cabs in this section if you want to see how they turn out.....Mel
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