jdubs
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 54
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Post by jdubs on Jul 2, 2016 19:01:53 GMT -5
Hello, my family just received our first tumbler the lortone 33B. As soon as my wife and daughter saw the bags of mini amthyst crystals and banded amethyst they wanted to start with them. Before i begin i just wanted to get some tips on tumbling them. Is it ok to mix the two since they have similar mohs hardness? I was intending to use the two 33b barrels strictly for stage one and two since it comes with two barrels and then getting a 4.5 loto tumbler for the remaining stages. I got everything from the rock shed and I have 5lbs 60/90, 2lb 120/220, 2lb 500 alum ox, and 2 lb alum ox polish. I also picked up a few pounds of plastic pellets as i have read they are some times used. Any tips on getting this right would be greatly appreciated, i dont want to disappoint my girls haha.
I have searched but could not find much on Amethyst and mixing with other Amethyst, but i will continue to work on my searching skills as well.
Thanks!
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Post by orrum on Jul 2, 2016 20:25:06 GMT -5
When rotary with amethyst you need to use ceramic pellets about half small and half large. I use a 50 percent mix of quartz and ceramics. Put borax in to make a slurry faster, it cushions the load. Welcome also!!! Look in the tumbling section for recipes. Check out Loto recipes also. It will work out great for you!!!
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jdubs
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 54
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Post by jdubs on Jul 2, 2016 20:30:33 GMT -5
Thanks so much for the tips orrum! We have the borax, but no ceramic just yet. Sounds like the fam is going to have to wait on these until i get that ceramic then!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 2, 2016 22:53:05 GMT -5
You can get them started in the rubber pellets in the rotary stage, don't use them in a Lot O. The rubber will cushion the rocks and carry grit. If you use ceramic pellets in the course grind stage, they will grind down quickly and have to be replaced soon. That said, I prefer ceramic to rubber when needed, because I have a hard time getting a good slurry and the grit doesn't break down as well with rubber. I use a lot of ceramic in the Lot O and mostly small agate pieces in the rotary.
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jdubs
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 54
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Post by jdubs on Jul 3, 2016 8:43:38 GMT -5
Ok great, i apreciate the input GR!!! The fam is dying to get these started! Any thoughts on mixing the two stones? I have banded amethyst and small amethyst crystals from rock shed. Being so new we just ordered 1 lb bags of a few different types. Seems like 1lb might be too little to fill my 3lb barrel. Mixing the two would help getting it 3/4 full.
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Post by petrifiedwoodaddict on Jul 11, 2016 14:55:45 GMT -5
So that's why my banded amethyst keeps fracturing. Thanks for the tips!
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jul 12, 2016 12:26:04 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, banded amethyst will be ok but the crystals will probably wear away to nothing in the 60/90. I would recommend starting with the that if you do use the 60/90 to start with both amethyst that you check them frequently... every day for the first 3 days to see how they progress, especially the amethyst crystals as they will wear down faster due to the sharper edges, first thing to go is the edges. If they are wearing down faster than the rest you can switch to 120 to run the whole thing or pull the crystals out and when the banded stuff is ready move the whole thing to 120 and again, check on it daily for the first couple days to see progress and if all's good let it go for a week between checks. there are lots of good tips & tricks posted in the top of this forum on tumbling so make sure to read them all and it helps to have a notebook to write down some of the steps and more important ... to keep track of what you do so if it works you can easily repeat it... and if there is a problem you can post your steps here so we can see what you did and try to help!!!
good luck with it!!!
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Post by Toad on Jul 12, 2016 13:01:24 GMT -5
Pea gravel should work okay with amethyst - any agate in it should be the same hardness as amethyst - plus it is much cheaper than ceramic.
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jdubs
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 54
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Post by jdubs on Jul 12, 2016 15:06:44 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, banded amethyst will be ok but the crystals will probably wear away to nothing in the 60/90. I would recommend starting with the that if you do use the 60/90 to start with both amethyst that you check them frequently... every day for the first 3 days to see how they progress, especially the amethyst crystals as they will wear down faster due to the sharper edges, first thing to go is the edges. If they are wearing down faster than the rest you can switch to 120 to run the whole thing or pull the crystals out and when the banded stuff is ready move the whole thing to 120 and again, check on it daily for the first couple days to see progress and if all's good let it go for a week between checks. there are lots of good tips & tricks posted in the top of this forum on tumbling so make sure to read them all and it helps to have a notebook to write down some of the steps and more important ... to keep track of what you do so if it works you can easily repeat it... and if there is a problem you can post your steps here so we can see what you did and try to help!!! good luck with it!!! Thanks so much for the heads up TheDadohs! And thanks for the pea gravel tip Toad! Will look into that! I ran them together and just figured id just check it in 3-4 days. Im sure glad I checked i when i got your post Dadohs! Its been about 4 days and i believe they are rounded down enough to advance them to th lot-0 for the 120 cycle. I have not set up my loto yet, but im making a collection of stone that has completed the course stage so i have enough to fill the first barrel! Some indeed quickly grounded right down to very small pieces. Here are the before and after photos ( after photo wet). Not the greatest as i was using my ipad, but they seem to be rounded off enough to progress.
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Post by Toad on Jul 12, 2016 15:37:00 GMT -5
FYI - I only use the pea gravel in the rough stage. If I need filler after that, I use ceramic media or plastic pellets. But my favorite filler of all is more rocks!
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jdubs
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 54
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Post by jdubs on Jul 12, 2016 15:44:36 GMT -5
Hey thanks or the clarification Toad! That helps a lot because I have read that ceramics in stage one could be wasteful as it just gets ground down fast. I understand it gets ground down slightly in later stages, but the real heavy grit chews through it, at least thats my understanding from what I have read. Do you have a brand you grab at home depot or lowes or do you go to masonry suppliers? I have heard some people using aquarium stone as well but I think the woman Who was using it was using it in all stages. I am thinking the pea stone will be the least expensive tho. All these neat cash saving tips are exactly what i need!
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Jul 12, 2016 16:07:18 GMT -5
FYI - I only use the pea gravel in the rough stage. If I need filler after that, I use ceramic media or plastic pellets. But my favorite filler of all is more rocks! I like pea gravel, too, because you find some REALLY neat little diamonds in the rough when you use it. Some of my favorites that have come out of stage 1 and 2 were really happy accidents that came out of the area that used to house our playset. I have like 5 cubic yards of it out there, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when I actually look at it. They are REALLY small, especially if they've been in stage 1 for three weeks, but there are some beauties that come out of that pile of pea gravel.
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Jul 13, 2016 8:21:41 GMT -5
I have tumbled many pounds of amethyst.
Your mini ame and banded ame are the same mineral, quartz, so no worries tumbling them together.
The main purpose of using small media like ceramic pellets is to get into the concavities. I don't worry too much about it in the coarse grind, just make sure that there's a nice variety of sizes, and lots of smalls.
Your second photo doesn't really look ready for 220 to me; I think you might want to grind it for a bit longer. I typically run amethyst for 3-4 weeks in coarse; but that's in 12 lb barrels, so YMMV. Get the concavities out or they won't polish and won't look that great when done.
Watch for pieces with bad cracks or weak planes, and when you see them, break them. I spend a LOT of time hammering amethyst to get all the flaws out. If you don't, they like to break in the polish stage, or trap and carry grit. The amethyst points grow as druses, with all the crystals joined to each other. Where they join is typically a weak plane and needs to be split. Your material looks very good, so you won't have to do too much, but do give it a good inspection. Tile nippers are great for nipping down amethyst. Protect eyes, hands, and lungs when nipping amethyst.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
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jdubs
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 54
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Post by jdubs on Jul 15, 2016 9:27:05 GMT -5
Thanks for all the input Sirroxalot! I actually put them back in because what you were saying made a lot of sense. Looking closely at the stones there were a lot of concavities and a few druses. I will continue to keep an eye on them frequently and pull out what is ready each day!
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