Ami
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 162
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Post by Ami on Aug 9, 2017 18:30:12 GMT -5
I have a dual drum Rotary tumbler ( 3 lb. capacity ) , I'm a beginner , not very happy with the shines but I wanted to share it with you! All stones are beach stones! Thank you for looking!
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Post by morerockspleaz on Aug 9, 2017 19:45:29 GMT -5
Awesome first batch Ami. The first one is the hardest for sure. But the good news is the ones you are not happy with can be re tumbled. You have some very nicely shaped rocks and I love the variety. Are you using a separate polish barrel? What polish are you using? Really nice tumble for your first one. Love the beach stones.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Aug 9, 2017 20:37:26 GMT -5
Congrats on getting that first batch through, and nice job at that! The early batches teach us so much, nothing wrong with wanting to get better results. We all should strive for that. Now, you could help us help you with a little information. Your rocks are shaped nicely, how long did you run them in the first stage? Beach rocks have been pre tumbled for shape, but can have faults in them. Those cracks can hold grit and release it in later stages, scratching your rocks. You can leave some faults in your rocks, you just need to make sure you clean them out well between stages. Some folks don't worry about imperfections, others want to get rid of them all. It's a preference thing, but you can get shiny rocks either way. Just have to be more careful if you have pockets for grit to hide in.
Also, did you use any smalls in your batch? All these rocks are approximately the same size. Maybe you used ceramics and didn't photograph them, but it's important to use different sized material to carry the grit around the barrel.
I'm sure you'll pick things up as you keep rolling rocks. If you have any questions, let 'em rip. We have all been new to it at one time and there is a lot of tumbling expertise on this forum, waiting to be shared.
Again, nice batch! Keep it up.
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Ami
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 162
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Post by Ami on Aug 9, 2017 21:22:17 GMT -5
Awesome first batch Ami . The first one is the hardest for sure. But the good news is the ones you are not happy with can be re tumbled. You have some very nicely shaped rocks and I love the variety. Are you using a separate polish barrel? What polish are you using? Really nice tumble for your first one. Love the beach stones. Thank you! I love the beach stones also! No, I'm not using separate polish barrel, yet, I'm thinking to buy a bigger tumbler, and the one I have now I will use it only for polishing stage. My husband bought me a starter for beginner grit from Harbor Freight Tools and for those stones I start with medium grit for 2 weeks, fine grit for 2 weeks, and polish for one week! I clean the stone and the barrel with a brush after every stage and wash them with ivory soap.
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Ami
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2016
Posts: 162
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Post by Ami on Aug 9, 2017 21:37:02 GMT -5
Congrats on getting that first batch through, and nice job at that! The early batches teach us so much, nothing wrong with wanting to get better results. We all should strive for that. Now, you could help us help you with a little information. Your rocks are shaped nicely, how long did you run them in the first stage? Beach rocks have been pre tumbled for shape, but can have faults in them. Those cracks can hold grit and release it in later stages, scratching your rocks. You can leave some faults in your rocks, you just need to make sure you clean them out well between stages. Some folks don't worry about imperfections, others want to get rid of them all. It's a preference thing, but you can get shiny rocks either way. Just have to be more careful if you have pockets for grit to hide in. Also, did you use any smalls in your batch? All these rocks are approximately the same size. Maybe you used ceramics and didn't photograph them, but it's important to use different sized material to carry the grit around the barrel. I'm sure you'll pick things up as you keep rolling rocks. If you have any questions, let 'em rip. We have all been new to it at one time and there is a lot of tumbling expertise on this forum, waiting to be shared. Again, nice batch! Keep it up. Thank you! I start with medium grit for 2 weeks, fine grit for 2 weeks, and polish for one week! I used small stones but I took them away in my picture, they look nice in my plant pots I am very demanding, I want to get to perfection with next batch because I intend to use them in my jewellery projects! I read and learn so much from all of you here, I really love this site, people are so friendly and ready to help!
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Walker
starting to shine!
Member since July 2017
Posts: 31
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Post by Walker on Aug 10, 2017 16:27:57 GMT -5
They look great!
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Aug 11, 2017 8:52:08 GMT -5
Ami, welcome to the hobby. The first batch is ALWAYS the toughest, because you have your expectations set so very high for yourself. On top of that, as they begin to shape and take on a bit of a polish, you begin to see the beauty within, and it is agonizing EVERY time you take them out with great anticipation and they don't meet your expectations.
You have a very nice start with these, and I can tell you that after literally months of trying on my first batch, I probably got one or two that I would be proud of now. Getting a shine like you see on these boards in a rotary is not impossible, but it is magnitudes of order more difficult than with a vibratory polisher. It is a big investment, especially if you just bought your tumbler, but I have run hundreds of batches in my Lot-O, and I don't know if I'll ever try to polish in a rotary again.
I do stage 1 in my rotary, and occasionally stage 2, but 500/1,000/polish are exclusively in my Lot-O. As hard as it is to get a good polish in a rotary, it is probably harder to NOT get a beautiful polish in a Lot-O.
I wish you the best of luck!
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