mikeinsjc
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by mikeinsjc on May 17, 2014 13:56:37 GMT -5
Of course the people who sell the tumblers advocate a seperate bowl for polish, but in reality does it make any difference? I have at times been less than thorough in cleaning my bowl or drums between steps and never noticed any difference in the results. How about you?
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 17, 2014 14:02:13 GMT -5
I have a separate Lot-O barrel. I've always used a separate bowl, so I can't tell you if it makes a difference. Good question though.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on May 17, 2014 16:22:06 GMT -5
I always use a separate bowl. It takes me too long to do anything for me to risk screwing it up on the final step.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on May 17, 2014 17:35:50 GMT -5
I have never tried to polish in anything but a dedicated bowl/barrel. I have done all other stages in one barrel and they came out fine. I'm with peachfront, don't want to risk it.
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moogie
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2013
Posts: 77
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Post by moogie on May 24, 2014 12:04:57 GMT -5
If you use separate bowls, do you use the same bowl for prepolish and polish, or just keep the extra bowl for polish only? I have two vibe bowls, one dedicated to 120/220 and I was going to use the extra bowl for both the prepolish and polish stages, but haven't gotten there yet.
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plumberinaz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2013
Posts: 186
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Post by plumberinaz on May 24, 2014 12:15:43 GMT -5
I don't see the big deal about the extra barrel... If you spend literally 1-2 min if that you can clean your barrel out for the next stage. None of my rocks come out scratched or anything when polished, You just gotta make sure you clean them out good!!
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SJPatrick
starting to spend too much on rocks
2 1/2 years into rock hounding and I'm still a newbie!
Member since September 2013
Posts: 124
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Post by SJPatrick on May 25, 2014 0:08:01 GMT -5
I use a rotary tumbler for the coarse grind, and a Lot-O-Tumbler for the rest. I bought into the "you should have a separate bowl for polishing" idea when I bought the Lot-O. I still use it. But I consider it a waste of money. At the end of each phase I squirt a little liquid dishwashing soap in the bowl along with a cap full of water and run it for 15 minutes. Then I rinse the rocks and the tumbler. The soapy water washes the rocks and tumbler quite well. I just need to rinse, and clean the pesky little dimple on the bottom of the Lot-O bowl with a thin wooden dowel and rinse again. The separate bowl really isn't needed, at least for the way I tumble.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on May 25, 2014 7:22:21 GMT -5
Like Patrick, I use a rotary for my coarse grind and a vibe for the other stages. Use separate bowls for fine grind and Prepolish/polish on the vibe. When I used to use the rotaries for everything, I had a separate barrel for each stage....Mel
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2014 7:45:35 GMT -5
I have a dual lotto,and in the past i have forgotten to do the final polish in the dedicated barrels and noticed a definite difference.they didnt seem as silky when complete.sorry,that's what my daughter says there like lol. If you look at your results under magnification you will easily see the difference. Dave
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Post by connrock on May 26, 2014 7:37:17 GMT -5
There are polished rocks and then there are POLISHED rocks.Many people have really never seen rocks polished to their max and think they have accomplished the best possible polished rocks that can be done. I've tumbled my share of rocks and I don't see how it's possible to get a perfectly polished rock without using a barrel dedicated to the polishing stage. If you think you're washing out your barrels to a point where there's no grit left in them,,,pour your last rinse into a clear jar or glass and set it on a shelf for a day or two.Pick it up VERY carefully so as to not disturb the grit that will be left at the bottom of the container. If you see grit,,,,you haven't archived a truly polished rock yet! connrock
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Post by orrum on May 26, 2014 9:34:44 GMT -5
Fill the hole in the loto with 6000 glue. Walmart has it in the craft section.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on May 27, 2014 11:29:32 GMT -5
If you use separate bowls, do you use the same bowl for prepolish and polish, or just keep the extra bowl for polish only? I have two vibe bowls, one dedicated to 120/220 and I was going to use the extra bowl for both the prepolish and polish stages, but haven't gotten there yet. Polish bowl for polish only. Do all other stages in the 220 bowl. A good cleaning between 220 and 500 or 600 will be enough to avoid any cross contamination.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on May 31, 2014 14:48:15 GMT -5
I vibe everything after coarse and have a dedicated bowl for polish but have always done that so I can't say one way or the other.
I've been happy with my results though so I'm not going to change the way I'm doing it.
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SJPatrick
starting to spend too much on rocks
2 1/2 years into rock hounding and I'm still a newbie!
Member since September 2013
Posts: 124
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Post by SJPatrick on Jun 2, 2014 21:23:04 GMT -5
Okay, I just finished a tumbling run. As I mentioned previously in this thread I use a rotary tumbler for the coarse stage then move to the Lot-O using one bowl for the next two stages and a separate bowl for the polish stage. But contrary to that, my thought was that the separate bowl was not needed. I took connrock's advice and poured the rinse water from the 120/220 stage into a wine glass. Then moved to the pre-polish stage. Completed that and waited two more days to check the water in the wine glass. It was crystal clear with nothing in the bottom. I tossed the water, filled the wine glass with some cheap wine (I don't drink the good stuff and celebrated (cheers)the knowledge that I do a good job of washing the bowls. Inspired by the results of the rinse water test, or maybe it was the cheap wine , I used the same bowl for the polish stage. The rocks came out looking as beautiful as ever. I'm not trying to change anybody's mind about having a separate bowl, I mean, after all I do have a separate bowl. In the end there are many ways to skin a cat so to speak. Both ways, one or two bowls, work well for me. What's best is what works for you.
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Post by connrock on Jun 3, 2014 8:17:06 GMT -5
Patric I'm very surprised you didn't have any sign of grit in the bottom of the wine glass,,,,I've always used a beer mug but I'll have to try a wine glass next time! LOL Kidding aside,,,you must do a bang up job of washing your barrels! connrock
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plumberinaz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2013
Posts: 186
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Post by plumberinaz on Jun 3, 2014 9:18:13 GMT -5
Okay, I just finished a tumbling run. As I mentioned previously in this thread I use a rotary tumbler for the coarse stage then move to the Lot-O using one bowl for the next two stages and a separate bowl for the polish stage. But contrary to that, my thought was that the separate bowl was not needed. I took connrock's advice and poured the rinse water from the 120/220 stage into a wine glass. Then moved to the pre-polish stage. Completed that and waited two more days to check the water in the wine glass. It was crystal clear with nothing in the bottom. I tossed the water, filled the wine glass with some cheap wine (I don't drink the good stuff and celebrated (cheers)the knowledge that I do a good job of washing the bowls. Inspired by the results of the rinse water test, or maybe it was the cheap wine , I used the same bowl for the polish stage. The rocks came out looking as beautiful as ever. I'm not trying to change anybody's mind about having a separate bowl, I mean, after all I do have a separate bowl. In the end there are many ways to skin a cat so to speak. Both ways, one or two bowls, work well for me. What's best is what works for you. I rest my case...
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moogie
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2013
Posts: 77
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Post by moogie on Jun 3, 2014 13:14:00 GMT -5
I think I'd just like one less thing to stress over, so I guess ultimately I paid for convenience by getting the extra bowl, more than anything else.
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