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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 6, 2016 22:36:52 GMT -5
I just took out a batch of Petoskeys. I've been experimenting with tumbling these, so I've just been grabbing random stones from my bucket. Now that I've kind of got this down, I chose some nicer specimens. Here are the results. Before: After: Progression of one rock: Before: After four days in 80 grit After 3 days in 220 grit After 2 days in 500 AO with dry corn cob in Lot-O After 2 days in AO polish and dry corn cob in Lot-O Another one:
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 6, 2016 22:45:43 GMT -5
Those are great Rob. Probably can't improve much on the process from what I see in those photos.
I know you were only putting 5 or 6 at a time in the loto last time so did you do all of these in one load this time?
Chuck
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 6, 2016 23:07:37 GMT -5
Yep, they all went in together. The rock in the solo pictures showing every stage was the one you asked me to send you. It's very concave on the bottom. It would have been impossible to polish on a flat lap without losing most of the rock.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Jan 7, 2016 1:21:56 GMT -5
Impressive finish Rob. How much do they weigh ? I think a Lotto holds 4 pounds ? Am curious how much weight you can dry tumble in a 4 pound vibe. The ratio.
Did you use the rotary for 80 and 220 and did you use filler in the rotary ?
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
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Post by tkvancil on Jan 7, 2016 10:19:01 GMT -5
Dang man, I really like those. Nice job. And to think ... I read somewhere on the web that petoskeys could ONLY be polished by hand. Guess you showed them. HA!
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indiana
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Post by indiana on Jan 7, 2016 11:03:07 GMT -5
Nice stones!
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 7, 2016 11:26:06 GMT -5
Beautiful tumbles!!!
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Jan 7, 2016 12:41:59 GMT -5
Rob, those are fantastic! Now that you have it dialed in, can you write up a short tutorial for us? I am gonna try your method on some pretty solid chrysocolla. Thanks for posting. Really great job. - Mark
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 7, 2016 16:57:16 GMT -5
jamesp, the Lot-O is listed as a 4.5 lb. tumbler. I've never weighed any rocks that I've tumbled (until just now). The finished rocks weigh 18 oz. I stuck them back in the barrel, and I'd say that's a bit less than 1/4 the volume. I think the goal with dry tumbling is to not let the rocks come into contact with each other, but to only touch the corn cob media. When I place the rocks in, I put one on the bottom, then pour in a little corn cob, then a couple more rocks, then more corn cob, etc. tkvancil, I read and heard the same thing. I told people the same thing. Then mibeachrocks and I started experimenting. I feel like they start to go bad by undercutting in the 500 stage in the rotary. mibeachrocks runs the 500 stage in a rotary, I don't. panamark, here's what I did: Stage one Fill 3lb. rotary barrel 3/4 with rocks. Add one cup (or a little more) of water. That's twice what I usually use and it still comes out almost like pudding. 1 tablespoon of 80 grit SC. When I've done this in a 6 lb. barrel, I also used 1 tablespoon of grit. It doesn't take much. Run for four days. Clean out and run anything that's not done for another 4 days. I added some small beach pebbles to a batch once and it wasn't good. They undercut (not sure that's the right word here) and the rocks didn't get rounded, but were oddly shaped. The only danger of running to long is that the rocks get too small. They're really soft. Stage two Rotary barrel, 1/2 cup water, plastic pellets (I haven't tried without, they might not be necessary), 1 tablespoon 220 SC. Run three days. Stage three Lot-O vibe, no water, <1/4 barrel full of rocks, fill the rest with corn cob (Rock Shed), 1 tablespoon 500 AO. Two days. Corn cob can be reused without adding more grit. Stage four Same as stage three but use AO polish.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jan 7, 2016 18:29:39 GMT -5
Thank you @ Jugglerguy. And the note about reusing of the mix. Did dust sneak out or do you have a good seal on the cap ? I did this once and had about 1/3 fill of rocks. But they were Mohs 5. Did not get a wet shine, but they were shinier than at start.
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droseraguy
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Post by droseraguy on Jan 7, 2016 18:58:18 GMT -5
Interesting experiment. In curious about your corn cob media. Is that bought somewhere ? Assume so. Now days with all the corn genetics those stalks and likely cobs are much denser than they used to be. Likely to hold up a lot better than 10 years ago even. Just a random thought. You've given me some good info and even better ideas ! Well done, they look great.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 7, 2016 21:01:09 GMT -5
droseraguy, I bought the corn cob media from The Rock Shed. It's ground quite small, maybe a little more than 1/16 of an inch. I bought some corn cob small animal bedding from Walmart for a lot cheaper, but it's much bigger. I haven't tried it yet. I suspect it may be softer too, but I haven't even opened the bag. jamesp, there isn't much of a dust issue. It does collect around the top of the cap, but the cap covers it and it doesn't come out. It's sort of dusty when pouring it out though. I added grit the first couple of times using it, but then I've done a couple loads without refreshing it. I'll probably add some 500 next time.
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meviva
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Post by meviva on Jan 7, 2016 22:46:14 GMT -5
They look great!
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aimeesrockworks
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I really do look like my avatar... it kinda freaks me out.
Member since December 2010
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Post by aimeesrockworks on Jan 8, 2016 13:07:38 GMT -5
I have a sad little bucket of those stones staring at me from the corner... maybe it's time to give them a try! Thanks for the great tutorial.
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Post by orrum on Jan 8, 2016 21:53:12 GMT -5
By jobe u have got it!!!!
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Post by Starguy on Jan 12, 2016 20:52:58 GMT -5
JugglerguyRob, those turned out amazing. Best I've seen. Thanks for the photos.
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Post by beefjello on Jan 15, 2016 16:57:59 GMT -5
A terrific job with a difficult stone!
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