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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 20, 2015 7:30:58 GMT -5
Wait, polyurethane isn't allowed?
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 20, 2015 9:06:43 GMT -5
Intheswamp, it's fossilized coral, Michigan's state stone. Aw man, I can *see* the coral now!!!! I should've researched it before I asked...I got lazy this time, I guess. That is a cool design, things in nature never cease to amaze me. Nice job.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 20, 2015 9:09:48 GMT -5
Wait, polyurethane isn't allowed? Between you, James, and some (all?) of the others, I'm not sure when I'm seeing a poker face...
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 20, 2015 9:51:27 GMT -5
Wait, polyurethane isn't allowed? Between you, James, and some (all?) of the others, I'm not sure when I'm seeing a poker face... Again, captbob king of poker face. The rest, you will see thru. The last person to use polyurethane would be Rob. By the way, just purchased corn cob and 'green abalone shells' on Ebay to try Rob's technique. Hoping Rob will give the abalone a go with his Lotto and experience. Ebay listing www.ebay.com/itm/141195716594?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT5" - 5.5" Green abalone shells to cut up for tumbling. The true 'Mother of Pearl'. Coolest of ash trays.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 20, 2015 10:40:51 GMT -5
Sorry jamesp, I'm not interested in tumbling shells, just coral. That stuff is expensive too!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 20, 2015 12:57:57 GMT -5
Sorry jamesp, I'm not interested in tumbling shells, just coral. That stuff is expensive too! I'll give it a go.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 20, 2015 13:44:14 GMT -5
I am interested in seeing your results!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 20, 2015 15:33:20 GMT -5
I am interested in seeing your results! There are some wild sea shells with patterns. Abalone is the cadillac of rainbow colors and iridescence. Quahog clams have deep purple sections that native man made wampum beads out of, and has purple pearls(rare). Then I collected some calcium carbonate giant fossil oysters that go up to an inch thick. Nice layered effect. None of them match your hex a coral pattern, but abalone may knock your socks off w/color. My Vibrasonic does not do obsidian well with wet slurry. You motivated me to try the dry and thanks. However I am sure you are using that darn Lotto. Which has an unfair advantage over us mere mortal tumbling folks. Intend to file a complaint with the U.S. Tumbling Society if it existed. Be interesting to try a piece of fancy wood or some nuts. Nuts take a killer polish.
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boutoo
having dreams about rocks
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Post by boutoo on Sept 20, 2015 17:53:07 GMT -5
Wow!!! They came out really nicely! I love the shading differences in the top left one. Oysters? Runs off to the riverI'll save them up until I have a better idea of how to polish them well
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nccmd
off to a rocking start
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Post by nccmd on Sept 20, 2015 18:52:27 GMT -5
Thanks James. On the Rock Shed website they have a dry recipe for tumbling fluorite. It's just corn cob and polish. The corn cob can be reused for polishing bother batch.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2015 6:32:21 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 23, 2015 8:43:25 GMT -5
Corn cob is $2 per pound or five pounds for $8.50 at The Rock Shed. That's where I got mine.
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Post by captbob on Sept 23, 2015 9:29:04 GMT -5
I have been following this thread (nice job on the petoskey stones Rob!) and the skeptic in me has a question. Mainly to jamesp with his Vibrasonic, although my thinking has me wondering if this would apply to a Lot O as well. Dry "tumbling" in the polish stage with corn cob or shells - wouldn't the polish simply shake (vibrate) itself to the bottom of the barrel? What is to keep it mixed in with the cob or shells? Maybe a spritz of water now and then to keep the polish stuck to the media? James, I was wondering if your rice husks would work just as well. Seems to me that some water would be needed to keep the polish in play. Rob (et al) have you tried to do these petoskey stones from start to finish in a rotary? < sitting back to watch with interest >
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 23, 2015 9:47:07 GMT -5
The stones start to go bad for me in 500 grit in a rotary. They're not terrible, but the hexagons start to become three dimensional. If I remember correctly, the insides of the hexagons wear faster than the perimeters.
As for the polish going to the bottom, that doesn't happen. For one thing, the corncob is very soft so I think the grit or polish would get embedded pretty quickly. When doing polish, I have the opposite problem from settling. The polish tries to escape through the top. I put a tiny hole in the lid of my Lot-O to prevent pressure build up and there's a small amount outside the hole after a day or so. There's also polish piled up around the lip of the hole when I take the cap off. I usually brush it back in with my finger.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2015 9:52:12 GMT -5
I have been following this thread (nice job on the petoskey stones Rob!) and the skeptic in me has a question. Mainly to jamesp with his Vibrasonic, although my thinking has me wondering if this would apply to a Lot O as well. Dry "tumbling" in the polish stage with corn cob or shells - wouldn't the polish simply shake (vibrate) itself to the bottom of the barrel? What is to keep it mixed in with the cob or shells? Maybe a spritz of water now and then to keep the polish stuck to the media? James, I was wondering if your rice husks would work just as well. Seems to me that some water would be needed to keep the polish in play. Rob (et al) have you tried to do these petoskey stones from start to finish in a rotary? < sitting back to watch with interest > Exact same thoughts reeling thru my mind Bob. Polish and/or rocks. Especially with the log shaped Vibrasonic that larger rocks and media left to right. Bowl vibes much better about mixing, as is Lotto with it's vertical air compressed shaped hopper. Guessing the corn cob media will sweep the dry abrasive well and keep it mixed. Curious about the rice too(uh, 50 pound bag sitting over there). Will do a search on that one. Also curious about hyperactive vibration with such a lightweight load. However, Vibrasonic says good to go with dry tumble. Got a load of Lab with a crappy polish out of the rotary from a load mixed with rose quartz. Will do first dry run with it. It is ready to do AO 500 dry.
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Post by captbob on Sept 23, 2015 10:36:40 GMT -5
Interesting on the polish floating in the vibe. The stones start to go bad for me in 500 grit in a rotary. Why? (rhetorical) I'm a rotary guy. I bought a UV 10 and a couple extra bowls maybe 6 months ago and finished one batch out of the rotary in it. Haven't used it since. Pretty sure that there's a learning curve that I need to go through and results will get better. Maybe I'll dust it off someday. Doubt it... old dog and all that. Thinking that a vibe may work best with harder stones. A vibe speeds up the process over using a rotary tumbler. How? By more aggressive action? Detrimental to soft stones. In my experience, softer stones require cushioning. Just don't see that it is possible to cushion in a vibe as well as in a rotary. Just for fun, some time back, I "tumbled" four raw eggs for 24 hours in one of my 15 lb barrels. Can a vibe do that? Not saying that matters, just wanted to see how gentle a rotary could be. Bet I could do the same with a dozen. Consequence of gentle action is that more time is required for same results. Time I've got. Will continue to enjoy the dry experiments!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 24, 2015 5:19:18 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 24, 2015 5:28:41 GMT -5
He'll need a bigger tumbler.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 24, 2015 6:01:15 GMT -5
LOL
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Post by captbob on Sept 24, 2015 8:18:34 GMT -5
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