herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 15, 2014 23:49:59 GMT -5
you almost had it, you just left the [ / img ] at the end
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 17, 2014 8:52:04 GMT -5
Here is one of the pretty pieces of Pet wood that did not respond well to tumbling... after just 3 days rolling.... And here is a piece I pull for fear it would lose some of the detail... not sure if it would or not, but the thing is smooth and rounded enough for me! It has an interesting feature... not easily interpreted in the photo, but there is a pocket of golden colored little dots... I'll try some macro of it someday soon... and they are rough to the touch, aren't smooth like the rest of the rock. Could they be beatle eggs that were preserved in the rock?? And here is an agatized piece that I think is going to come out BEAUTIFUL... the thing almost looks like opal in a way, as you turn it in the light it shimmers and such...
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Post by pghram on Oct 17, 2014 12:54:01 GMT -5
Progressing well, I would continue the black one, nothing wrong w/ a shiny jet black tumble.
Rich
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bcrockhound
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 418
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Post by bcrockhound on Oct 17, 2014 12:58:02 GMT -5
Thanks for showing the process, great pics, love the fish too. Educational for me as I recently had a couple river rocks come out the tumbler almost solid black and I swore they weren't when I put them in, maybe that's what it was.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 17, 2014 15:36:14 GMT -5
This rough/coarse tumble... its to smooth the rocks, and round them off. I was browsing the forum a bit ago and saw a batch of wood that the poster "skipped" the coarse grind on, to maintain the natural shapes he found them in. I didn't really think of that. As I've stated a few times, these are all river rocks and all of them are pretty dang smooth. If a guy skips the course grind, then you just start with the 120-220? I think i have a lot of material that could go that way...
THanks
and I'll plop the black one back in... nothing to lose I guess!
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Post by snowmom on Oct 17, 2014 17:09:36 GMT -5
Re your favorite rock - we have those here too, and I like them as well. I have found the few I did tend to wear unevenly, the black areas going well before the white stars/flowers. You can see how that has sort of happened with your rock just from natural wear in the first photos. How is that one coming along?
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 17, 2014 17:19:42 GMT -5
I have not dug that guy out yet. I think I will let these guys go until Sunday... then I'm gonna clean her out and evaluate the situation! At that time... I will post some more pics and decide if I want to move onto 120 or grind some more!
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Post by connrock on Oct 18, 2014 9:36:15 GMT -5
I've been following your post here and keep forgetting to mention that may help you with your new Lortone tumbler.
One of the 1st things to wear out is the cover "gasket". The head of the bolt that is on the inside of the aluminum cover is fairly rough and when the rocks rub against the cover gasket,they wear a hole in the gasket. A couple of actual Bandaids or electrical tape put like a cross + over the head of that bolt will act as a cushion and the gasket won't wear out on you. You're doing great and I hope your pet wood comes out fantastic for you! connrock
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 19, 2014 17:08:42 GMT -5
Well, I cleaned her out an hr ago. Tumbled a full 7 days. I was struggling with whether to go ahead and do some more coarse grinding or take it up to 120/220. After much thought I decided to continue with another week of coarse grind.
I removed about five bigger pieces of pet wood because it was just gonna be black. Decided to not waste space on it.
I did plop another 5-6 pieces of wood and a big green rock that I'm not sure what it is... In the barrel. I also collected about three cups of driveway pebbles to add for smalls.
I then put in 1 1/4 cups of 40/60 grit and 3 cups of water. Much less water than I had in the first go round.
I can see if my goal is to get all the rocks "smooth" without divots and gaps tht won't polish, I would have several more weeks of grinding to go. But, that isn't my goal for this batch... So I will surely move to the 120 next weekend.
I am going to be gone Sunday-Friday next week... Will it be ok to charge this batch with 120/220 and leave for a week??? That seem wrong.. But, I'm askin you guys.
Thanks! Pics to come soon.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 19, 2014 18:00:31 GMT -5
I am going to be gone Sunday-Friday next week... Will it be ok to charge this batch with 120/220 and leave for a week??? That seem wrong.. But, I'm askin you guys. It will be fine to run 220 for a week. I always went ten days in the rotary with 220 and 600. Thought the extra time got the grit broken down finer.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 19, 2014 20:17:56 GMT -5
Good to know! Thank you! I was mostly worried about the safety issue of it being unattended for 7 days... Electrical issue/fire??
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Oct 19, 2014 20:26:11 GMT -5
Good to know! Thank you! I was mostly worried about the safety issue of it being unattended for 7 days... Electrical issue/fire?? Sometimes when the power went off,I'd have to spin mine by hand to get them turning again,but older tumblers,belts. Shouldn't be an issue with a newer one I'd guess. snuffy
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 20, 2014 15:54:52 GMT -5
Finally got my pics uploaded... they aren't anything special, but will take you along for the ride nonetheless... This is what I found after 7 full days of tumbling in 40/60 grit. So I poured them into my fyer basket (haha... I sent a pic to my amazing girlfriend of me and hte rocks... and she couldn't wait to give me crap... we just bought the fryer a couple days before!!)... I then poured little garbage can of warm water over the whole mess to see what would turn up! Things looked pretty good. Some of the wood looks nice, the one piece is going to be awesome... the agates are ho-hum... maybe 1 or 2 smaller ones will look cool with some moss in them... overall, I was not ecstatic... but I am still very excited to take these to the next stage! Good Looking Piece of Wood this piece of wood will be beautiful... camera did not capture the character of this rock. And this little piece of wood will be purty pretty soon! Im not real sure what this is, but I have maybe 5 pieces like this that I've picked up over hte last couple years... Im thinking pet stromatolite... but... definitely not sure. So when it was all said and done, I removed a few of the bigger pieces of pet wood that were turning black... and a couple agates that were just going to be milky clear with no character... and I put in a couple handfuls of driveway gravel and a big green cobble I found last year ( My girl LOVES green rocks, so Im hoping this one comes out cool!)... And we are off and tumbling again... oh yeah, another 1 1/4 cups of 40/60 and about 3c. up water... it sounds good, but who am I joking... I have only heard one tumble previous to this one! Wish me Luck!
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 20, 2014 16:02:38 GMT -5
Looking good. That unknown looks like flint (google image search "Polish Flint")
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azgnoinc
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 484
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Post by azgnoinc on Oct 20, 2014 19:41:53 GMT -5
Those pet wood hold great promise & look good so far, keep the pics coming!
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Post by pghram on Oct 20, 2014 20:08:44 GMT -5
You have a good slurry going, they are shaping up nicely. That pet wood is looking good.
Rich
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 20, 2014 23:24:04 GMT -5
Was just reading on the forum and thought I'd better comment on something... As I lie here in bed... With my alarm set for 5 (to see a meteor shower tht is supposed to be visible around Orion) I am listen to the rumble of my tumble. My current bedroom shares a wall with my garage... Kind of like sleeping in a tent near a River!! Love it!
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Post by connrock on Oct 21, 2014 7:06:16 GMT -5
Looking good so far and the photos help a lot. I don't know about your processed stone(driveway gravel) but here in CT it's pretty soft rock and grinds down fast. Good luck and keep us posted,,, connrock Ps:NEVER show evidence of a "pantry raid" to your woman! LOL The dog ate it,,,,It fell and broke,,,,even we were robbed are much better then photos of it! LOL
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 21, 2014 11:00:21 GMT -5
hehehe.... I know... I'll have to be more careful next time!
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Post by captbob on Oct 21, 2014 11:03:45 GMT -5
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