richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jul 27, 2016 9:58:07 GMT -5
I have been thinking about investing in a vibratory tumbler and as part of the process I am thinking that when I get one I will need some additional ceramic media. Is it necessary to use small ceramic media in a vibratory tumbler like the Lot-O? For example, if I have enough rocks to fill the bowl is it a reasonable idea to just fill it with all rocks and no media?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 27, 2016 11:17:51 GMT -5
I could swear this question was just asked recently, but I can't seem to find the thread.
Anyhow, I think that the answer is a big "Yes!". I use a mix of about half large and half small ceramics. They last a long time unless you use them in a rotary tumbler with coarse grit. The idea is to get into all the little nooks and crannies with the ceramics. The ceramics can be used with any type of rock and can be moved along with the rock, unlike plastic pellets that are used in rotary tumblers. If you were using all rocks, you would have to make sure that you had some really small ones in there and that those small rocks didn't have any grit-carrying holes in them. It would also be a good idea to be sure that they were the same hardness as the other rocks that you were tumbling,
Sometimes it's nice to have a load of mostly ceramics with just a few rocks. This is good when tumbling rocks with flat sides, such as cabs. The ceramics will keep the flats from sticking together and will separate them from each other to avoid them damaging themselves.
When you realize how long ceramics last, it won't seem very expensive at all. If you bout five pounds of each size, you'd be all set for years.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jul 27, 2016 11:28:40 GMT -5
Jugglerguy, thanks very much for your answer. I was mostly thinking about the loss in capacity from all the media rather than the cost of the media though for me cost is always a factor. It sounds like the media's purpose is mostly to insure that all of the surfaces get good contact and not so much for cushioning to protect the rocks. Am I on the right track here?
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 27, 2016 11:47:43 GMT -5
Don't want to speak for anyone, but I'll say that it serves three purposes. It does insure good contact and grinding action. It does cushion and protect rocks from damaging each other. And it also acts as filler. I want to run my Lot O more often than I have enough rocks ready to move to that stage and fill the barrel. The ceramics will let you run a smaller load of rocks than if you were using rocks alone. Maybe you've got a large tumbling capacity and will keep the thing fed, which is good for you.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 27, 2016 12:24:07 GMT -5
I have a parallel but slightly deviant perspective on ceramic media. If you have trimmings, fragments, and small rejects of the same type of material as you are tumbling, you can use them just as you would the ceramic media. A friend gave me about 1 gallon of crumbled quartz that he had tumbled specifically for use as additional surface media in vibratory processing of equally hard material (agates etc.). I save all the fragments from my trim saw and sort them roughly (hard or not so hard) so that they are available for addition to loads as they are started out. The reason why you don't want to always just go out and scoop up sand or rough rock is that you don't want to consume your grit grinding away the edges of virgin fragments (cermics are smooth and don't carry grit forward from load to load if rinsed adequately) and hence my friend having pretumbled the smashed up quartz, it too is smooth enough to avoid carrying grit or further consuming the grits. If you can find harvester ant mound where they are bringing small rocks up out of the nest that are relatively uniform in size and texture, they too work. I have some epidote granules scooped from ant nests that go in to the vibe. However, point of caution, if you use unformly small material, it too often ends up on the bottom of the vibe and doesn't circulate as needed so . . . try to use a variety of sizes and don't overdue the water which might keep the smaller stuff on the bottom. I use dawn liquid in every stage to cushion and carry grit, but you need small edges to carry it into contact with the stones that are being processed. I hope this helps.
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riverrock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2010
Posts: 1,395
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Post by riverrock on Jul 31, 2016 19:20:48 GMT -5
I guess you got your answer, I am still using just fish gravel the aquarium stuff. This was talked about a long time ago by a few here. I think it's the best thing I have ever used before on both my 15 lb vib. And my tumblers. It wares out fast but the shine is crazy to me. I only use 60/90 and my 4 or 5 year old bucket of polish and lots of fish gravel. I got through a lot but again I have 9 15 lbs running 24 /7. And you get a few Gems from the fish gravel as well.
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,983
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Post by victor1941 on Jul 31, 2016 21:25:40 GMT -5
Richard, one other by product of ceramic media(AlO) is that it also breaks down and adds to the final polish. I do mostly cabs and a few flats and would never start the uv-18 without the proper amount of filler.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Jul 31, 2016 23:07:55 GMT -5
Richard, one other by product of ceramic media(AlO) is that it also breaks down and adds to the final polish. I do mostly cabs and a few flats and would never start the uv-18 without the proper amount of filler. How do you determine the proper amount?
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,983
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 1, 2016 9:49:44 GMT -5
Richard, I do about 50/50 based on both weight and volume. I have both weighed and checked volume and find it is about equal. I tumble only shaped cabs or shaped but not domed preforms. I would think that if you are doing rough rock there is more tolerance but that is not my bag and I have very little experience in that area. It is important when doing cabs to check and sometimes add media. My uv-18 vibe definitely requires a periodic check on the slurry for an easy sliding motion. One can also tell by the sound once you know what you should be hearing during each cycle. Hope this helps.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Aug 1, 2016 10:32:09 GMT -5
Richard, I do about 50/50 based on both weight and volume. I have both weighed and checked volume and find it is about equal. I tumble only shaped cabs or shaped but not domed preforms. I would think that if you are doing rough rock there is more tolerance but that is not my bag and I have very little experience in that area. It is important when doing cabs to check and sometimes add media. My uv-18 vibe definitely requires a periodic check on the slurry for an easy sliding motion. One can also tell by the sound once you know what you should be hearing during each cycle. Hope this helps. Thanks very much, that sounds like a good starting point for me. I am seeing the importance of keeping the hardness uniform and hope generous use of media will also help keep my rocks from damaging one another. I also hope to explore shaping of the rocks more so I have greater control over what comes out as a finished product. I rarely find that rough hammered rocks have a shape that I find appealing. So far my skill with the saw isn't great but that should improve with practice.
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