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Post by nowyo on Aug 30, 2014 0:18:40 GMT -5
Finding the "right" recipe for tumbling is the same as finding the "right" recipe for apple pie. Tons and tons of recipes but finding the one that suits you is the key to success. One thing that's important is consistency.If you use different types of apples to bake pies you'll never got it down to what you really want and like. Same holds true for rock tumbling.You'll never get "your" recipe if you tumble different types of rocks all the time. connrock I especially like this comment by connrock, who has probably forgotten more about tumbling rocks than I'll ever know. Finding the "recipe" that suits you, your equipment, your schedule. We'd been running a couple of Lortone barrels with decent success (45C and QT6). Built a homemade that is considerably bigger solely for coarse and all was well. Received a Thumler B for Christmas and it all went out the window. For some reason the same ratios weren't really working. Still playing with amounts of grit/water/time but think I've got it narrowed down now, getting better results and feeling better about the whole thing. It takes some time and messing with things. About the patience thing-I have none. Major hurdle. Much easier in the summer when there are so many other things to do. I'm mostly letting things run 10-14 days now. Some batches it seems to make a difference, others I'm not so sure. Russ
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1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
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Post by 1nickthegreek on Aug 30, 2014 6:43:40 GMT -5
I had ordered a 10lb box of lake Superior agates from ebay. ( If the seller (74impers) is a member here - props to you. Nice bag o'rocks ) Enjoy your day - The HP Yes, Roy has the best lakers that I have found thus far and at surprisingly good prices!!!!! Glad that you are finding the hobby so enjoyable and involving your sons in it, it is probably one of the greatest hobbies there are for family togetherness and fairly low expenses!!!!
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Post by connrock on Aug 30, 2014 8:39:45 GMT -5
Russ the older I get the more I forget so you're not too far off with me forgetting about how to tumble rocks! LOL
Different types and sizes of tumblers may take a little experimenting to get the right recipe for each one but a good starting point for the amount of grit to use in roughing is 1 lb of rough grit for every 10 lbs of rocks. Some measure their grit by volume but I like to measure it by weight on a deli scale I have. connrock
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Post by snowmom on Aug 30, 2014 8:47:30 GMT -5
those are getting a good shine on them... still watching with interest!
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Post by nowyo on Aug 30, 2014 22:55:38 GMT -5
Russ the older I get the more I forget so you're not too far off with me forgetting about how to tumble rocks! LOL Different types and sizes of tumblers may take a little experimenting to get the right recipe for each one but a good starting point for the amount of grit to use in roughing is 1 lb of rough grit for every 10 lbs of rocks. Some measure their grit by volume but I like to measure it by weight on a deli scale I have. connrock I've been going by weight rather than volume, and the 1/10 ratio works really well nearly all the time, and getting the amount of water right plays a big part as well. It's all fun or we wouldn't be doing it, right? Russ
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