jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 20, 2015 18:17:22 GMT -5
Vibrasonic vibe is designed for SiC 80. So I tried it. Amazed at how fast the grit broke down. after 1 hour: after 12 hours:
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 20, 2015 18:19:19 GMT -5
surprised at the rate of breakdown with that soft material. interesting observation.
Chuck
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 20, 2015 18:27:38 GMT -5
surprised at the rate of breakdown with that soft material. interesting observation. Chuck I think it is related to grit size. Big grit is more fragile than small grit. I think that is the reason why polish used in a rotary can be used more than once. Freaked me out Chuck.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2015 10:59:12 GMT -5
ingawh- check this out, Mohs 5.5 obsidian and glass filler broke this grit down fast. I think your smooth quartz pebbles may have a lot to do with polishing the obsidian. Maybe they do not break the grit down much faster than the obsidian judging from the grit breakdown this softer material did . Food for thought.
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Post by snowmom on Mar 21, 2015 11:56:40 GMT -5
interesting
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ingawh
starting to spend too much on rocks
The rock wants to shine, I just help it get there
Member since February 2011
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Post by ingawh on Mar 21, 2015 12:24:46 GMT -5
ingawh- check this out, Mohs 5.5 obsidian and glass filler broke this grit down fast. I think your smooth quartz pebbles may have a lot to do with polishing the obsidian. Maybe they do not break the grit down much faster than the obsidian judging from the grit breakdown this softer material did . Food for thought. Interesting stuff! I have never used a sonic tumbler but I'm curious to learn whatever you find out. My experience has been that obsidian can't break down grit well, but that's in my rotary and vibe. I've been thinking about why I prefer my highly polished gravel to the traditional ceramic media. Ceramic may be hard, but it never takes a polish. To me, that means it's not as perfectly smooth. My beautifully smooth little rounds really seem to burnish the final product. Thanks for thinking of me!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2015 13:56:00 GMT -5
ingawh- check this out, Mohs 5.5 obsidian and glass filler broke this grit down fast. I think your smooth quartz pebbles may have a lot to do with polishing the obsidian. Maybe they do not break the grit down much faster than the obsidian judging from the grit breakdown this softer material did . Food for thought. Interesting stuff! I have never used a sonic tumbler but I'm curious to learn whatever you find out. My experience has been that obsidian can't break down grit well, but that's in my rotary and vibe. I've been thinking about why I prefer my highly polished gravel to the traditional ceramic media. Ceramic may be hard, but it never takes a polish. To me, that means it's not as perfectly smooth. My beautifully smooth little rounds really seem to burnish the final product. Thanks for thinking of me! Always wondered if smooth or polished filler makes a difference. Besides the grit, there is the filler contacting the rocks, that's it. I did not realize ceramics do not take a polish. Your idea of using quartz pebbles are an eye opener for sure.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 15:49:59 GMT -5
Greetings Ladies & Gents, Ceramic media does indeed take a polish, but it must be through the same stages of grit and polish as the rocks to date I have used Lortone Aluminum Oxide polish and Tin Oxide, it also polishes with 1.0 micron (equivalent to 25000 grit) Borax too. I used the grey cutting ceramic media, but still polished to reasonable shine. Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2015 16:35:14 GMT -5
Greetings Ladies & Gents, Ceramic media does indeed take a polish, but it must be through the same stages of grit and polish as the rocks to date I have used Lortone Aluminum Oxide polish and Tin Oxide, it also polishes with 1.0 micron (equivalent to 25000 grit) Borax too. I used the grey cutting ceramic media, but still polished to reasonable shine. Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide! Andrew-do you ever have problems with filler building up on one side of your 14 pound Vibrasonic vibes.
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ingawh
starting to spend too much on rocks
The rock wants to shine, I just help it get there
Member since February 2011
Posts: 194
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Post by ingawh on Mar 21, 2015 17:09:53 GMT -5
Greetings Ladies & Gents, Ceramic media does indeed take a polish, but it must be through the same stages of grit and polish as the rocks to date I have used Lortone Aluminum Oxide polish and Tin Oxide, it also polishes with 1.0 micron (equivalent to 25000 grit) Borax too. I used the grey cutting ceramic media, but still polished to reasonable shine. Polished ceramic media by ingawh, on Flickr So I went back and looked at my old ceramic media, and, as you say, it has a reasonable shine. It doesn't look as polished to me as the quartz and agate I use, however. Perhaps that has to do with its opacity. I also just like the shine I get on obsidian better when I use the quartz and agate. But as an experiment, I may try the ceramic again and see what happens. Thanks for keeping us all thinking. :-)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 17:16:19 GMT -5
Greetings James No I have not seen media bunch-up at one side of the unit, probally because my media is rock of some type that i have at hand, Quartz, Tigers eye, Amethyst or blue Marble. Queston: What filler are you using? Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2015 17:22:28 GMT -5
ingawh , white and light colored stones look less polished. Ex. waxed black car vs waxed white car. Add what you mentioned about the opacity. Probably should stick to the quartz, looks like it works too well.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2015 17:28:55 GMT -5
Greetings James No I have not seen media bunch-up at one side of the unit, probally because my media is rock of some type that i have at hand, Quartz, Tigers eye, Amethyst or blue Marble. Queston: What filler are you using? Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide! With mixed smalls like you mentioned it does pretty good. I had to add some and all I had available was glass about 1/4-5/8. That small constant size wants to segregate. I corrected it some by adjusting the counterbalancers off from each other. As mentioned earlier, the springs are probably off a bit.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 18:37:01 GMT -5
Greetings [ingawh] the shine on your ceramic media reminds me of the same shine I got with brick-red Rhyolite, being a matt red it did not appear to have a good polish, however it did get better the longer it was in the polish cycle. [jamesp] James a few things to check: 1: Make sure the tumbler is on a level surface. 2: Check the belts to make sure one belt is not stretched, swap the belts to see if that the case. 3: Make sure all four of the set-screws are tight, outer and inner wheels are set to the same setting. 4: Glass is lighter than rock try replacing the glass with some cheap drive-way-gravel that's how i got my brick-red Rhyolite. Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 21, 2015 19:20:27 GMT -5
Wow! Fast breakdown....
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 22, 2015 7:41:37 GMT -5
Will you get a vibe Fossilman ?
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