slapdasherie
starting to shine!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 25
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Post by slapdasherie on Mar 14, 2011 3:24:33 GMT -5
I'd like to order some things to get myself set up for a lot of tumbling. I plan to order from The Rock Shed, due to several good recommendations for them; and from Amazon if there's anything that can just generally be ordered from them. So I'm taking advice on what to get.
I'd like to order in enough stuff to keep me going for at least a little while. The Rock Shed has special pricing if you order 5 lbs of grit... is that a good idea? I'm in a very small apartment with next to no storage space. Will 5 pounds last me for 36,284 tumbles? Is it so voluminous that I will have to rent a storage unit to keep it in? Is it actually "just right"? I will likely be tumbling a lot of quartz (nice steady supply of that every year from the ole homestead), in addition to the regular rock tumbles of everything else. Do I need different grits or fillers for that?
GRIT: Stage 1: 60/90 or 46/70 Stage 2: 120/220 Stage 3: 500 Alum Ox or 500 Silic Carb Stage 4: Alum Ox, Tin Ox, or Cerium Ox
When there's a choice, which one should I get?
BARRELS: I've read that it is a good idea to have a barrel designated for each stage. I have a double barrel tumbler, so I already have 2 barrels. One is completely unused so far, and the other one is still rolling in the first stage. Should I just go ahead and get 2 more?
FILLER: What should I get? I had read ceramics were great, but what size (large or small)? Or the plastic pellets? Or should I order soft BBs, beads, or something else (assuming I would get those items from Amazon). Any idea on how many pounds I'll need (I'll need some for each stage).
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papat
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2010
Posts: 261
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Post by papat on Mar 14, 2011 6:18:02 GMT -5
just use the second barrle for polish i use the air soft bbs from walmart
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Post by 150FromFundy on Mar 14, 2011 6:39:01 GMT -5
Tim:
You need more coarse grit (46/70, 60/90) than polish. It may take several weeks in coarse grit, and only a week, or two in polish.
1 lb of grit = 15 tbsp 3 tbsp per week (in a 3 lb rotary barrel) 1 lb should last you 5 barrel changes, or 5 weeks
1 lb of pre-polish (1000F) or polish may last you an entire year.
I bought a barrel for each stage. This allows me to be a little less concerned with barrel cleaning and cross-contamination.
AO is your best general use polish for most rocks. The other polishes are usually reserved for "fussy" rocks that have special requirements.
Darryl.
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Mar 14, 2011 6:56:33 GMT -5
Yes,you definitely need more coarse. Be sure and get enough when you make your entire order,cuts down on shipping charges in the future if you had to reorder only 1 item.
snuffy
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 14, 2011 7:52:26 GMT -5
I order 50 Lbs of course at a time (50 Lbs just about fills a 5gal. pail). THat has lasted me a LOOOOOOONG time (but then I took about 18 months off from tumbling). I buy all my other grits in 5 lb. lots. Polishes I get in the 1 lb. lot. I have a seperate barrel (actully 2 of each) for each stage. Makes life easier (but then I have 1 12lb machine that runs nothing but course and 2- 2barrel 3 lbers and a single 3 lber). My entire tumbling setup (minus the rough rock) fits in 3 dresser drawers and a 3' by 3' foot closet (with shelves).
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slapdasherie
starting to shine!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 25
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Post by slapdasherie on Mar 15, 2011 12:39:05 GMT -5
Thank you for all the advice. Darryl, I'll be tumbling a decent amount of New Brunswick rocks (where my husband is from). We used to live right on the Bay of Fundy. The tides there are pretty amazing.
This gives me a much better idea of how much of everything to order. Anyone else want to chime in on if I should get ceramics, beads, plastic pellets, or BBs? Does it really matter, or do I just get whatever is cheapest?
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cornorstone
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2009
Posts: 19
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Post by cornorstone on Mar 18, 2011 10:10:50 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I use ceramic pellets on the rough grind, 1 set of plastic beads for each grind & polish thereafter.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Mar 18, 2011 11:55:47 GMT -5
I use about six times as much coarse grit as I do any of the others. I also use dedicated barrel or tubs in the vibe, for each stage except tripoli prepolish and AO polish where I can clean the barrels after prepolish and it works just fine....Mel
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slapdasherie
starting to shine!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 25
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Post by slapdasherie on Jun 1, 2011 13:12:56 GMT -5
Two and a half months after I started this thread, I finally managed to get my order in. It seemed like every time I tried to do it, the baby would squawk, or the toddler would need something, or supper started burning, or something - anything - that would keep me from completing the order. In fact, my current batch of rocks has been tumbling for 3 weeks straight, because I haven't been able to grab a couple minutes to take them out. I hope they're ok in there.....
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Jun 1, 2011 16:45:27 GMT -5
I'm sure they're fine. Tumbling is one of the few hobbies where you can do a better job by being too busy to do anything.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jun 1, 2011 17:11:57 GMT -5
5 lbs. of grit will come in a plastic bag inside a box that's 5" X 5" X 6" high. Doesn't take up much room. How much to order depends on how large a tumbler you plan to buy. For my 15 lb. Thumlers Model B, I use a level one cup measure for both 60/90 and 220 grit. For pre-polish and polish I use half that amount. Don
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jun 2, 2011 0:52:46 GMT -5
Hi I get 25 Kgs ( 50 lb ) of 80 Grit and 25Kgs of 220 Grit from a wholesale merchant
These are the 2 main grits I use and reading above what others consider their main grits also
Im not a big polisher as some of the above but it cuts down costs in the long run
I have 2 main rotary tumblers I made, I also use a Lot"O" vibe from stage 2 ( 220 G )
I have 2 vibe barrels one used only for the prepolishing/polishing 1000G on (as it is never washed in this cycle just added to the mix)
You need to be clinicaly clean if your just using one barrel but it can be done
I used only one 6" barrel with the rotary the smaller 3" barrels take a lot longer due to the mass pressure in the tumble
Jack Yorkshire uk
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