|
Post by RickB on Jan 27, 2022 10:47:24 GMT -5
jamesp Spotted this on sale this morning at Northern Tools. Will this work ok in a tumbler? Little was spilled out on the palet. It was dark grey/black and sparkled, looked and feels like grit to me.
|
|
|
Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 27, 2022 10:59:01 GMT -5
I tried it for a week and wasn't too impressed, maybe you'll have better luck than I did. I think the question is whether the hardness of the grit is enough for typical stones. Their sales rep told people used it, she recommended only the most coarse version. Maybe I gave up too early, dunno. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1194224/thread
|
|
|
Post by RickB on Jan 27, 2022 11:02:23 GMT -5
Thanks, I missed your earlier post about Black Diamond and the additional input from others.
|
|
|
Post by rmf on Jan 27, 2022 20:45:13 GMT -5
This should be coal slag from a power plant. What I found on line was it is safe for fish as fish tank gravel. But as crushed slag it is probably too soft to do a good job on rocks. so if you bought it please report back your results. Please.
|
|
|
Post by greig on Jan 27, 2022 21:36:44 GMT -5
I read somewhere that it isn't sharp like tumbling grit
|
|
rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 2,513
|
Post by rockbrain on Jan 28, 2022 11:35:54 GMT -5
I use it in my aquarium. Great looking substrate and it's dirt cheap compared to aquarium products. One of the main complaints I hear for aquarium use is that it's too sharp.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
|
Post by jamesp on Jan 28, 2022 12:19:15 GMT -5
I have tried a long list of abrasives RickB. As rmf mentioned slag is too soft. Might be good for soft rocks... You'll get the most bang for your buck with aluminum oxide for 220(in some cases)-500-1000-polish tumbling steps. There is cheap AO and expensive AO. Cheap AO will almost a good a job as the expensive. It all has a high Mohs(9+) rating. AO is a excellent abrasive for finish steps for agates and quartz. AO is like quartz, it has many different forms and is a subject for chemists to understand. Another interesting subject about AO(aluminum oxide): Manufacturers are allowed to sell aluminum oxide legally with a lot of size variation for a named size. Take AO 300 as an example. It may say AO 300 on the label but it has particles from AO 1800(10 microns) to AO 200 (100 microns) mixed in. This is a wide range. This is a grit size chart This is the allowable legal range of particle sizes sold by 'Comco brand' AO 300. 10 microns is AO 1800 and 100 microns is AO 200. In this chart Comco is 'bragging' that their product has less size variation than 'other brands'. Special order AO 300 or any size of AO that is carefully screened to be +/-5% within label size will cost much more. The finer the AO the more costly it is to screen it down to +/-5% in size range. +/-5% AO is needed for finishing jet turbines and helicopter rotors where a slight scratch can cause catastrophic failure. Tumbling rocks does not require such fine size tolerances because our tumblers break the particles down. Just saying, most of our AO 500 probably is a range of AO 250 to AO 2000, the average is AO 500. AO 14,000 polish is likely a mix of AO 5000 to AO 20,000. Probably even a wider range than that, such fine AO is difficult to screen to exact size. As the Rolling Stones say, you don't always get what you paid for.
|
|
AQuartzLow
starting to shine!
Member since November 2020
Posts: 44
|
Post by AQuartzLow on Jun 23, 2022 19:31:56 GMT -5
Did you ever try this media? I clicked the link Son Of Beach posted, but it was for a different product. I had independently found the one you, RickB , posted and came here to search for any comments on it. The product description says, “30-60 fine grit” and, although it’s not silicon carbide, it is made of, “Amorphous Fused Silicon Dioxide, Crystalline Silica (as Quartz) and Crystalline Silica (as Cristobalite), among other components.” ANYhoo…just wondered if you ever gave it a go. At that price, it would be amazing for rock tumbling! ETA: hmmm…maybe it is the same product Lumberlegs tried but different packaging. I searched in the reviews of the product for “slag” and apparently it is the coal slag. 😕 jamesp Spotted this on sale this morning at Northern Tools. Will this work ok in a tumbler? Little was spilled out on the palet. It was dark grey/black and sparkled, looked and feels like grit to me.
|
|
|
Post by RickB on Jun 23, 2022 20:38:50 GMT -5
Never got any as it was too soft to use.
|
|
|
Post by Son Of Beach on Jun 24, 2022 14:02:23 GMT -5
AQuartzLow I tried it a few times on my "normal" tumbles and came to the conclusion it is too soft for typical runs. I think it could be used for softer rocks however.
|
|