faodail
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2018
Posts: 24
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Post by faodail on Mar 16, 2018 23:21:39 GMT -5
I am a patient person so in no rush between stages. I have been running agates and some gifted odds 'n bods (thanks so very much). They are all similar hardness. I have them now mostly how a I want them - nice and rounded. But, they still have little pits and grooves.. My question is; should I keep running them on course grit til the pits/grooves are gone or does the medium stage grit do this after washing? Merci buckets
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notjustone
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 426
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Post by notjustone on Mar 17, 2018 0:21:17 GMT -5
keep in coarse. finer grits basically remove scratches left by previous grits replacing them with smaller and smaller scratches until the scratches are so small they cant be seen with the naked eye. pits often catch larger grit in them that end up being released later on in the finer grits.
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faodail
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2018
Posts: 24
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Post by faodail on Mar 17, 2018 0:31:01 GMT -5
Great, will keep at it. One day I hope that I get to the stage where it is intuitive.
Thanks for the advice
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Post by gmitch067 on Mar 17, 2018 1:58:50 GMT -5
Some rocks will have pits no matter what... the nature of the beast... Stage-1 80-grit tumble is where mostly all the reduction and shaping happen... after that, each Stage just finishes the surface finer and finer. First ask yourself if you can live with the pits... will you end up happy. If not... Recharge Stage-1 with fresh grit each week and keep tumbling. I have had some Stage-1s run for 2 months before I was pleased with their appearance. Other times I decided to continue to a polish only to be displeased... and return the same rocks back to Stage-1 all over again. Looking at your results so far I see great promise that a few more weeks will do the trick. I also think that a few of those pits give the rock a bit of character... Your call (because... "Beauty in in the eye of who???") Glenn
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faodail
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2018
Posts: 24
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Post by faodail on Mar 17, 2018 6:45:31 GMT -5
Thanks Glen for the info, I will keep going on the #80. Having a lot of fun so far. :-)
Faodail.
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ohthatspretty
starting to shine!
Member since March 2018
Posts: 28
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Post by ohthatspretty on Mar 17, 2018 8:16:12 GMT -5
Out of curiosity.....how long have you run those to get them to this point?
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inbtb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2016
Posts: 351
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Post by inbtb on Mar 17, 2018 9:25:52 GMT -5
faodailIf you move rocks to the next stage and you are not happy with results, you can always go back to the last stage for more time.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 17, 2018 13:56:46 GMT -5
Any flaws that are seen after stage one will not be removed in the following stages. Keep putting them back in stage one grit until they look perfect wet after stage one clean out. That will tell you how they should look after the next steps if you do move them on. Tuledad canyon agate rough Tuledad canyon agates right after stage one was complete Pet wood rough Pet wood right after stage one was complete I do not work to a timeline. Rocks are not all going to be ready for stage two at the same time. Some of those pet wood rocks spent 4 weeks in stage one and some spent 10 weeks in stage one. Chuck
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faodail
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2018
Posts: 24
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Post by faodail on Apr 6, 2018 11:59:03 GMT -5
Ahhh, I see it now. Thank you so much for the visuals, they help a lot.
I will keep on tumbling......
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faodail
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2018
Posts: 24
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Post by faodail on Apr 6, 2018 12:07:16 GMT -5
Hiya Ohthatspretty. Not sure. I think that I have been running most of them for about 4 weeks so far.
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nchillbilly
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2018
Posts: 212
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Post by nchillbilly on Apr 6, 2018 23:07:12 GMT -5
If you have the patience, then you're ahead of the game. Check weekly and only move them on to the next stage when you're happy with their appearance. Each load will be different, and you'll be learning quite a bit quickly to begin with. This forum is incredible, in that there are many experienced tumblers that are more than happy to help you along. And remember, we all love pics, so don't be shy about showing what you're working on.
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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 Apr 7, 2018 7:18:04 GMT -5
Sometimes the rocks will have defects throughout the interior and not just on the surface. You can't completely tumble-away those problems.
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