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Post by aliengreensoul on Feb 19, 2019 18:51:40 GMT -5
Hi I'm new to rock tumbling and am currently on a mid-week check up on medium grit stage of stones, when I opened barrel the water level is now above stones from the wear of the grit my question is should I dump some water out and add more grit? When I started the water level was about 1/4 inch below stones after midweek it is now about 1/2 inch over stones are MOHS 7 using 3 lb Thumler thanks for any opinions its appreciated thank-you
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jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 461
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Post by jimaz on Feb 19, 2019 20:49:38 GMT -5
I’m still new to this, but I just let ‘em roll for a week to 10 days without opening the tumbler. I did a couple of short term checks when I first started, but found it was too big a hassle to clean the barrel top and lid to get an adequate seal when I started the tumble back up. Sometimes I would end up with a little extra water in the barrel just from the barrel/lid cleaning. Didn’t worry about it. When I open the barrel now I do see a reduction in rock volume with slurry above the top of the rocks. I pull and wash the rocks at that time. I sort the rocks and pull out the ones ready for the next stage placing them in a container with water until such time that I have a sufficient volume to fill my barrel. Rocks that need more tumbling go into the cleaned barrel and add more rocks to have a sufficient fill, recharge grit and water, seal the lid a go some more.
I currently only have a single tumbler, so I have to build enough material to go to each stage. This is my biggest issue at this time. I may gat another, larger, tumbler sometime in the future.
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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 Feb 19, 2019 20:54:41 GMT -5
What Stage tumbling are you talking about ? Just add less water next time you load the barrel.
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Post by aliengreensoul on Feb 19, 2019 21:21:08 GMT -5
What Stage tumbling are you talking about ? Just add less water next time you load the barrel. Stage 2 so adding a little less water will be ok then
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Post by aliengreensoul on Feb 19, 2019 21:26:25 GMT -5
I’m still new to this, but I just let ‘em roll for a week to 10 days without opening the tumbler. I did a couple of short term checks when I first started, but found it was too big a hassle to clean the barrel top and lid to get an adequate seal when I started the tumble back up. Sometimes I would end up with a little extra water in the barrel just from the barrel/lid cleaning. Didn’t worry about it. When I open the barrel now I do see a reduction in rock volume with slurry above the top of the rocks. I pull and wash the rocks at that time. I sort the rocks and pull out the ones ready for the next stage placing them in a container with water until such time that I have a sufficient volume to fill my barrel. Rocks that need more tumbling go into the cleaned barrel and add more rocks to have a sufficient fill, recharge grit and water, seal the lid a go some more. I currently only have a single tumbler, so I have to build enough material to go to each stage. This is my biggest issue at this time. I may gat another, larger, tumbler sometime in the future. that's very similar to the situation I have been having, and the same method I've been using, sort through and store in container full of water as I have still not finished a complete finished stone tumble completely, I figure I'll do all one grit, and continue to do cleanouts and recharges before I go to next grit also I have one tumbler
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Post by aDave on Feb 19, 2019 21:30:09 GMT -5
Interesting question.
FWIW, I've never poured off water during a particular stage. I can understand the rationale for trying to do so, but I've never gone there. With that, I won't tell you your thought process is wrong, but it's just never been an issue for me.
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Post by aliengreensoul on Feb 19, 2019 21:55:10 GMT -5
Interesting question. FWIW, I've never poured off water during a particular stage. I can understand the rationale for trying to do so, but I've never gone there. With that, I won't tell you your thought process is wrong, but it's just never been an issue for me. I'm probably just overthinking it I guess LOL.
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Post by gmitch067 on Feb 19, 2019 23:01:01 GMT -5
I remember seeing a video showing the inner-action of a tumbler that has a Plexiglas window for the purpose ( jamesp ??). It was however for a larger 6 lb. tumbler, not a 3 lb. one... If there was too much water the tumbling action failed to go up and over... it just sloshed around. Not enough water resulted in the rocks stuck to the side by the slurry (I have actually experienced this... looks cool! ...but no polish). Somewhere in one of those, you could see larger rocks making it only part way up to come cascading down and striking rocks on the bottom (causing bruising and chips). As jimaz mentioned, if you see the level of rocks sink below the water line, just add more rocks. Then after a time pick out those stones that look like good candidates for the next stage and put them in a jar of water. Continue this process until you have enough good stones to fill your 3 lb. tumbler… then begin your next stage. I would get a couple pounds of mixed ceramics or aquarium gravel for this purpose if I did not have enough rough rocks available (it is easier to tell which rocks were the original if you keep topping off with the ceramics). I you don't mind the hassle of opening the drum up every few days to inspect their progress... I say go for it (to me it is fun)... As the time goes by, your curiosity will probably shift to something else (this hobby only gets better!).
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Post by aliengreensoul on Feb 20, 2019 0:39:44 GMT -5
I remember seeing a video showing the inner-action of a tumbler that has a Plexiglas window for the purpose ( jamesp ??). It was however for a larger 6 lb. tumbler, not a 3 lb. one... If there was too much water the tumbling action failed to go up and over... it just sloshed around. Not enough water resulted in the rocks stuck to the side by the slurry (I have actually experienced this... looks cool! ...but no polish). Somewhere in one of those, you could see larger rocks making it only part way up to come cascading down and striking rocks on the bottom (causing bruising and chips). As jimaz mentioned, if you see the level of rocks sink below the water line, just add more rocks. Then after a time pick out those stones that look like good candidates for the next stage and put them in a jar of water. Continue this process until you have enough good stones to fill your 3 lb. tumbler… then begin your next stage. I would get a couple pounds of mixed ceramics or aquarium gravel for this purpose if I did not have enough rough rocks available (it is easier to tell which rocks were the original if you keep topping off with the ceramics). I you don't mind the hassle of opening the drum up every few days to inspect their progress... I say go for it (to me it is fun)... As the time goes by, your curiosity will probably shift to something else (this hobby only gets better!). Thanks for the very the helpful video, and at this point, I am using quartz aquarium gravel as a fill between to protect the rocks from to much damage, and I totally agree this hobby is great and it's amazing to see what becomes of such plain looking rough stone and thank-you again.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 20, 2019 7:52:54 GMT -5
Ouch, no water or slurry making the dreaded rattling sound that invites chipping and frosting. Pour a vanilla milkshake in to the top of the rocks and that action will change drastically.
The biggest effect would be the stickiness lifting and grinding a higher percentage of the rocks instead of just the top layer. For this reason the motor will have to work harder. BUT your grind will finish sooner because the middle rocks will roll too, which increases grind force due to the added weight.
This increase in grind force is perhaps the best reason to have a healthy fresh 'sticky' (clay or other) slurry if you want an efficient fast grind.
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