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Post by aDave on Mar 7, 2017 23:57:44 GMT -5
Hi folks,
I am considering purchasing ceramic media to use as "smalls" in my 4lb rotary tumbler. What size should I get? Should I get the large or small as provided by a site like rocktumbler.com? Large is listed as being 3/8" (9mm) diameter x 5/8" (16mm), and small is 3/16" (5mm) diameter x 3/8" (10mm). Or, should I buy both and use them in combination?
I am only asking about them specifically, as I might be ordering rocks from them. Shipping could be consolidated at that point. Thanks and regards.
Dave
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Post by captbob on Mar 8, 2017 0:02:18 GMT -5
Ceramic media wears down. Unless you have a specific need for the smaller size, I would go with the larger. A mixture may be optimum, but then you are still dealing with the small size which won't last as long.
Make sure you check The Rock Shed site, rocktumbler.com is a very cool site, but not always the best prices.
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Post by aDave on Mar 8, 2017 0:05:14 GMT -5
Ceramic media wears down. Unless you have a specific need for the smaller size, I would go with the larger. A mixture may be optimum, but then you are still dealing with the small size which won't last as long. Make sure you check The Rock Shed site, rocktumbler.com is a very cool site, but not always the best prices. Thanks captbob. I'll be checking the rock shed as well, but since I was looking to possibly order some rocks from rocktumbler, I thought I would ask to save on some shipping. Best regards. Dave
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Mar 8, 2017 0:06:38 GMT -5
Go large: they'll get small quickly in a rotorary.
I like using smalls from previous tumbles as filler. It takes awhile to build a stockpile though.
Keep on keepin on, Colin
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Mar 8, 2017 0:09:59 GMT -5
Ceramic media wears down. Unless you have a specific need for the smaller size, I would go with the larger. A mixture may be optimum, but then you are still dealing with the small size which won't last as long. Make sure you check The Rock Shed site, rocktumbler.com is a very cool site, but not always the best prices. Thanks captbob. Â I'll be checking the rock shed as well, but since I was looking to possibly order some rocks from rocktumbler, I thought I would ask to save on some shipping. Â Best regards. Dave Just order another 5lbs of Bots. I think that's the best deal on that site.
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Post by aDave on Mar 8, 2017 0:40:19 GMT -5
Just order another 5lbs of Bots. I think that's the best deal on that site. That's actually what I was going there for. Thought I would kill two birds with one stone. No pun intended. Best regards. Dave
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Post by aDave on Mar 8, 2017 1:58:10 GMT -5
Hmmm. Just looked at the bots prices at rocktumbler to confirm what I saw earlier, and I think that's the route I'll go for that material. Ceramics are far cheaper at rockshed. Considering I'm looking at buying another tumbler, and rockshed further discounts the media upon a tumbler purchase, this is a no brainer.
I'm hijacking my own thread...I need to buy more grit. The stage where I have two options is at the fine stage. Should I buy 500 in aluminum oxide or Sic? I'm tending to tumble harder stuff in a rotary. Thanks and regards.
Dave
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Post by orrum on Mar 8, 2017 7:28:56 GMT -5
Ceramics wear fast in a rotary because a rotary runs a very long time on one batch. A vibe runsb7-8;days on one batch. That being said you should purchase half large ceramic pellets and half small. This mix gets in between and into nooks and crannies better. The smalls will get tiny and the large will approach the original small size. Then you put in new large and the mix still has a variety of sizes. In a rotary sometimes the pellets get flat sided, get the pellets with a 45 cut end so the point can dig into creases etc. I use ceramic flakes and Chips now from flint knapping toilet tanks. Merry tumbling!!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 8, 2017 10:02:21 GMT -5
I use a mix of sizes. I'd buy some of each right now and then you may decide to only buy large in the future as your original ceramic wears down. I have rotaries for the first stage, where I do not use my ceramic because it wears out too quickly. I have some small gravel that I use if I don't have enough smalls. I use ceramic in all stages after the first in my vibe.
I think you should get 500 aluminum oxide. By the 500 stage, you're not grinding much any more, you're removing scratches left behind by the larger sized grit. I use silicon carbide for 46/70 and 120/220 and aluminum oxide for everything after that.
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Post by aDave on Mar 8, 2017 10:56:32 GMT -5
Great info, folks, thank you. With mixed rocks, I haven't had too much of an issue with smalls. But, I have a few pounds of tiger eye where the sizes are a bit larger and more uniform, and I'm considering getting some bots which also appear to be more consistent in size. So, the constant use of ceramics wouldn't be a common occurrence...just something for those special runs. In the past, I'd seen the references to gravel being used, but honestly forgot about it. Jugglerguy, comparatively speaking, since you have used both, how does the gravel hold up compared to ceramics, and is there a cost benefit? Also, is it just garden variety gravel, or does it consist of certain rocks to withstand wear in the first stage? As I'm typing this, I'm wondering if I'm overthinking this. Since the agates and tiger eye are both pretty hard, maybe I should just buy some similar hardness rock (jaspers and such) and use those to fill the gaps. That way, I'll have some product to show for it. Hmmm. Regards. Dave
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 8, 2017 11:41:15 GMT -5
Great info, folks, thank you. With mixed rocks, I haven't had too much of an issue with smalls. But, I have a few pounds of tiger eye where the sizes are a bit larger and more uniform, and I'm considering getting some bots which also appear to be more consistent in size. So, the constant use of ceramics wouldn't be a common occurrence...just something for those special runs. In the past, I'd seen the references to gravel being used, but honestly forgot about it. Jugglerguy, comparatively speaking, since you have used both, how does the gravel hold up compared to ceramics, and is there a cost benefit? Also, is it just garden variety gravel, or does it consist of certain rocks to withstand wear in the first stage? As I'm typing this, I'm wondering if I'm overthinking this. Since the agates and tiger eye are both pretty hard, maybe I should just buy some similar hardness rock (jaspers and such) and use those to fill the gaps. That way, I'll have some product to show for it. Hmmm. Regards. Dave I picked up a bucket of small pebbles from a Lake Superior beach. You just want something that's not too soft. Limestone gravel would be a bad choice, for example. I can't compare because they are not used the same way ceramics are. I just use the gravel in the first stage of rotary tumbling to fill in the gaps to make more surfaces contact and therefore speed up the grinding. I never move them on to another stage because they could carry grit in holes and cracks. Ceramics are essential for a vibratory tumbler. They don't have holes to carry grit and get moved on with the rocks.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 8, 2017 11:47:15 GMT -5
As I'm typing this, I'm wondering if I'm overthinking this. Since the agates and tiger eye are both pretty hard, maybe I should just buy some similar hardness rock (jaspers and such) and use those to fill the gaps. That way, I'll have some product to show for it. Hmmm. Regards. Dave Dave, that's the way to go about it. Don't wear down ceramics in that grind stage if you don't have to. If you are breaking down rough with a tile saw or a hammer, just keep all the little pieces for use as smalls. If running low, I will put a fractured Montana agate or a plain Brazilian agate, something hard, in the bottom of my rock breaking box and smash it just to make more smalls. They stay in there a looong time and, eventually, you get some nice miniature tumbles.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 8, 2017 11:59:51 GMT -5
I do move the smalls out of the grind before they waste away to nothing. One of every few batches to hit the Lot O will have a handful of smalls that need to move on before they disappear. They displace an equal amount of ceramics in the Lot O, since they are serving the same purpose. I keep all the tiny tumbles for myself, it's like a running history of all the materials I've tumbled, in one little drawer.
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Post by aDave on Mar 8, 2017 12:01:22 GMT -5
Thanks Jugglerguy and Garage Rocker. I knew I was getting too wrapped up in detail. This entire discussion prompted me to go searching in my garage, and I found a few pounds that were hiding in cabinets. No need to spend $$. I can make my own smalls as needed. Sometimes I miss the obvious. I appreciate the help. Dave
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Mar 17, 2017 13:49:15 GMT -5
Sometimes, my ceramics are the shiniest-looking items in my polish cycle. I use them so I can brag about being able to polish SOMETHING to a wet shine, even if it's not a rock. =)
I use both small and large, but that's just because that's what I bought. I ruin batches equally with either/both.
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