Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2017 11:45:39 GMT -5
I am resisting opening that barrel so hard, there is so much temptation. I put a batch in for step one on Wednesday, and I am itching to open it. I so afraid that they will wear down to nothing...despite the fact that I know that the Jasper will not ear down that quickly!
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 2, 2017 11:50:39 GMT -5
Huge grin.. Go ahead and open it.. Resistance is futile !! You can reclose it and 5 minutes isn't going to hurt you. You need to check the thickness of your clay kitty litter slurry. Also get a better idea of how much it is rounding the rocks. We all open ours.. more at first and even now I will open one to make sure the slurry is the right thickness. Might add a bit of water or a bit of clay kitty litter. OPEN IT ..
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 2, 2017 12:15:02 GMT -5
Speak for yourself, Cliff! I really don't open mine more than once a week, unless I'm doing something like Petoskey stones that need to be checked more often. That's not to say that I was never in Pandagem's situation of having a new tumbler and checking before a week. I agree with Cliff though, that it's not going to hurt anything to take a peek. The biggest problem is trying to clean around the rim of the barrel so that the lid seals well when you put it back on. I use a squirt bottle and a paper towel, but it's a pain. That's why I don't take it off any more. I'm not nearly as worried about slurry thickness as a lot of people here are. Maybe I should be, but I figure if the grit is used up when do a clean out, it must have done its job.
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 2, 2017 12:24:33 GMT -5
Good points Rob, JugglerguyWhen doing something for the first time its always good to look and learn. jamesp really has got his stuff down because of constant looking and studying. Recipes etc. New stuff is always fun. I am concerned with the thickness of slurry when I tumble "tender" or soft rocks that bruise easily. How you doing your Petoskey stones Rob? Most people do that by hand don't they? You are in that area and you should be the man for those. Just do a quick grind with a finer grit? Thank you.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Jul 2, 2017 12:56:01 GMT -5
you need to open it to see if the grit has broken down. if it has you should add some more to keep the grinding going. get a big bowl of water so you can rinse them off and imagine what they will look like when finished. I start my tumbles on Sundays and recharge the grits on Wednesdays.
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Jul 2, 2017 13:14:25 GMT -5
Open it! The fun part at first is watching the stones get rounded. Open it, wash off a two or three stones to check them out, then reseal and tumble some more. As jugglerguy points out, it is a pain to clean the rim again, but a stream of water from a spray bottle and a paper towel will do the trick. After a few tumbles you won't be so curious and you won't feel the need to open a barrel early to check it out. Also, I wouldn't fuss with slurry at this point (it will be very thin). You don't know exactly what it should look like after a day, so don't second-guess it. It will thicken up as day 7 approaches.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2017 14:51:03 GMT -5
All right, I went ahead and opened it. I added a little more grit to recharge, and checked the stoned. They need more time.
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Post by orrum on Jul 2, 2017 14:57:26 GMT -5
I never open mine anymore. Plus I let them run at least a month and usually two months before clean out and recharge. A lot will be ready to move on with only one charge of grit. Of coarse that's only the coarse in rotarys, then onnyo b the Loto vibe. I have about 50 pounds rolling in various rotary barrested at any given time. I got plenty of time to wait on them but not a lot of money for coarse grit.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 2, 2017 15:31:27 GMT -5
Good points Rob, JugglerguyWhen doing something for the first time its always good to look and learn. jamesp really has got his stuff down because of constant looking and studying. Recipes etc. New stuff is always fun. I am concerned with the thickness of slurry when I tumble "tender" or soft rocks that bruise easily. How you doing your Petoskey stones Rob? Most people do that by hand don't they? You are in that area and you should be the man for those. Just do a quick grind with a finer grit? Thank you. Yes, most people do them on a grinder. Another member who isn't very active and I figured out how to tumble them. They don't turn out as well as doing them by hand, but they're not bad and take way less work. I start them out in a rotary with 80 grit and check on them twice a week. I use twice as much water as usual because the slurry gets really, really thick otherwise. Next, they do 3-4 days in 120 grit in the rotary. I add plastic pellets, but I'm not sure I have to. I have just always do it that way. The rest is done dry in the Lot-O. I do a 500 stage for a couple days and then polish for a couple days. This is done in dry corn cob with about 2 tablespoons of either 500 or AO polish. I reuse the corncob and add a little more 500 or polish every couple uses.
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 2, 2017 15:40:10 GMT -5
Thank you Rob.. Been putting off the Petoskeys for a while now and I'll sure run your process and thank you kindly for your help. JugglerguyDo you put any other treatment on them for additional shine after the polish step?
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 2, 2017 15:44:39 GMT -5
you need to open it to see if the grit has broken down. if it has you should add some more to keep the grinding going. get a big bowl of water so you can rinse them off and imagine what they will look like when finished. I start my tumbles on Sundays and recharge the grits on Wednesdays. Recharge the gravy on the grits ? grin..
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 2, 2017 16:08:05 GMT -5
Thank you Rob.. Been putting off the Petoskeys for a while now and I'll sure run your process and thank you kindly for your help. JugglerguyDo you put any other treatment on them for additional shine after the polish step? Nope, that's all I do. However, you could also just run the two rotary steps and then finish them by hand with automotive sandpaper and finish with AO polish on denim. They don't take long to do by hand that way.
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2017 16:20:59 GMT -5
No need to waste your time. It ain't ready yet.....
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 2, 2017 17:23:18 GMT -5
Thank you Rob.. Been putting off the Petoskeys for a while now and I'll sure run your process and thank you kindly for your help. Jugglerguy Do you put any other treatment on them for additional shine after the polish step? Nope, that's all I do. However, you could also just run the two rotary steps and then finish them by hand with automotive sandpaper and finish with AO polish on denim. They don't take long to do by hand that way. Great Rob, Hand finished look and in a lot less time without the hard work. Hope people take note of this method. . Will pass it along in your name. This wasn't your first rodeo was it? Now if you have a foolproof way to find those nice lakers and the native copper.. grin You're up on the Kennesaw Penisula aren't you? Thanks a lot Have a great evening. Cliff
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 2, 2017 21:01:27 GMT -5
Nope, that's all I do. However, you could also just run the two rotary steps and then finish them by hand with automotive sandpaper and finish with AO polish on denim. They don't take long to do by hand that way. Great Rob, Hand finished look and in a lot less time without the hard work. Hope people take note of this method. . Will pass it along in your name. This wasn't your first rodeo was it? Now if you have a foolproof way to find those nice lakers and the native copper.. grin You're up on the Kennesaw Penisula aren't you? Thanks a lot Have a great evening. Cliff
Nope, I'm a troll. Its about a seven hour drive to the Keweenaw. My sister lives up there though.
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 2, 2017 22:00:04 GMT -5
Take your rock hunting rig when you go visit sis? grin
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2017 18:30:29 GMT -5
How do you go about hand polishing? I've been curious about this.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 8, 2017 21:41:07 GMT -5
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,676
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 9, 2017 8:52:54 GMT -5
I never open mine,sometimes they roll for two weeks at a time!! As long as they aren't leaking or rattling noises,I leave them be...LOL
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zekester55
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2017
Posts: 111
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Post by zekester55 on Jul 9, 2017 9:51:44 GMT -5
Go get a winning lottery ticket and pick upon of these: Covington 250 Deluxe Tumbler
Holds about a 6lb. load, and you can take to cover off and just watch 'em go! Hypnotizing.
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