tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 4, 2018 9:19:12 GMT -5
Wow those things rock!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 3, 2018 9:08:51 GMT -5
Nice tears. I have given almost all of mine away. Sent them to their destiny.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 3, 2018 9:05:43 GMT -5
#6 looks like wind blown trees shrouded in fog. Nice stuff!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 3, 2018 9:01:05 GMT -5
Some very cool rocks you got there. Group shot sure shows the shine.
Damage in the polish stage happens more than I think it should. Lack of slurry is my guess as to the cause. The borax will thicken things up and should help.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 16, 2018 17:52:57 GMT -5
Been a while since I rotary polished but I never had any luck with cerium, pink or white. The AO from the rockshed never let me down. Plastic pellets were not a favorite either. I used ceramic or had a full barrel of rock, plenty of smalls and barrel about 85% full. The overfill provides "cushion". Less head room equals less action so I would go at least three weeks.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 7, 2018 8:24:41 GMT -5
It was the sugar that caused the blowout. Anything organic can make this happen. With all due respect to the OP who brought this up ... DO NOT use baking soda in a Lortone barrel, it is one of the things they specifically say not to do with their barrels. Good to know tkvancil ... Thank you for pointing this out! I will stop using baking soda. If there is something happening that causes gas buildup, is there something else I can add? Glenn Gas build up is not as common as some tumbler instructions imply. I have only experienced gas build up on three occasions in nearly ten years of tumbling. Once when tumbling some river rock that had algae dried on it. One burp and the issue was solved. Next when tumbling man made glass. I tried borax with the glass but all it did was thicken the slurry (too much) and still gas off persisted. Ended up burping that barrel once a day, luckily glass shapes fast, so only had to do that for a couple weeks. The other occasion was when I put some baking soda in at the start of a batch. Barrel swelled on the end and the sides also bulged. Took only twelve hours to do so. Thinking my tumbling mix was on the acidic side. Baking soda mixed with acid produces CO2 gas. Guess I'm saying IF it happens burp it.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 5, 2018 9:30:46 GMT -5
It was the sugar that caused the blowout. Anything organic can make this happen.
With all due respect to the OP who brought this up ... DO NOT use baking soda in a Lortone barrel, it is one of the things they specifically say not to do with their barrels.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 25, 2018 9:20:29 GMT -5
Nice! all stuff I haven't seen before, glad you put them up.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 25, 2018 9:16:36 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your tumbles and equipment.
First time seeing Star Script, cool rock.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 25, 2018 9:10:16 GMT -5
Always enjoy your individual rock pics. No exception here.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 21, 2018 9:35:17 GMT -5
Can't say I have any specific tips on tumbling Bubblegum. I treat them much the same as any agate/jasper.
They can have softer material which of course will undercut. It is also not uncommon to find hollow areas, or in some cases an entire nodule can be hollow.
First time I tumbled these I tried to tumble out every single flaw and ended up with a lot of small rocks. The batch mentioned in this post I took a more relaxed approach. If it looked good but had some inherent natural "flaws I kept it. Just made sure any cracks, voids or hollows were clean and they turned out fine.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 15, 2018 8:54:01 GMT -5
If you like that one as is you can pass it along. Just be sure to clean out the voids. Especially important to have clean before going into polish.
I run stuff like this all the time it's a matter of taste. If it's something that I consider part of the rock and I like the look it's a keeper.
So if the rock in question were mine I'd be keeping it in less than "perfect" condition. Nice colors and patterns on that one, well worth extra attention to keep clean in my opinion.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 13, 2018 8:51:52 GMT -5
Nice variety and shine. Nice job!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 9, 2018 9:32:51 GMT -5
Nice batch !!! Love mosses and these are fine.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 9, 2018 9:10:57 GMT -5
tkvancil Ken, the way i have it set up is direct, so there are no pulleys at all. it would hook directly to the barrel. is 3500 rpm definitely a problem? can it be used to break apart larger rocks? i am not sure how i would rig a pulley system for it but i think an automatic clutch like from harbor frieght would work. 3500 is too fast. I agree with what TheRock (Duke) has said.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 8, 2018 8:59:11 GMT -5
That stuff is made in a vacuum chamber. The metal coating starts as a vapor which is deposited on the crystal. Highly likely you are correct that the coating would simply tumble off.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 8, 2018 8:54:05 GMT -5
Motor RPM can be reduced of course. Smaller pulley on motor shaft to larger pulley on drive shaft.
The RPM of the barrel is what matters. Never did a home build but can tell you about Lortones. The small smooth 3# barrels about 50 rpm and larger 6 & 12# barrels about 30 rpm.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 6, 2018 9:44:12 GMT -5
I have been using 30 grit for about 2 years now in my rotaries. I do believe it is the most aggressive grit I've tried. I have had some trouble getting the 30 to completely break down in my QT12/66. I do tend to overfill my barrels slightly which may be the cause. To offset this I keep the slurry from week to week adjusting volume and thickness. Seems to help.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 6, 2018 9:14:49 GMT -5
TheRock I saw your Lakers post and those rocks were well rounded, guessing they started that way for the most part? I noticed you did your rough grind on a schedule of 4 weeks 30 then 2 weeks 80 grit. Very nice batch by the way. I don't run a whole batch for any given length of time but rather pull out what I find good from week to week adding more rough rock along the way. My best guess would be that starting with 220 doubles the time the rocks spend in the first course. You can start with something coarser than 220 if you like and see how it goes. I put it out there as an option.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Aug 4, 2018 11:57:51 GMT -5
TheRock I have rolled all of these except the septarian. All the others I've had in the tumbler at the same time with no unexpected issues. The Salmon feldspar will have issues with fractures. It's basically due to the layers and their orientation. Bonds are weaker between layers. Sodalite may have a little of this also but is generally a "clean" tumble. Moonstone can fracture too and may have some pitting. Obsidian does well as long as the volume doesn't get too low inside the tumbler. It chips easily if the action gets too rough. Some FYI's according to my experience ... All these stones will be shaped by 220 grit as the first course. It is slower than coarser grits but seems to lessen undercutting. The salmon and sodalite will hold up in coarse grind if mixed with harder stones like agate. All will generally mix well in a vibe with harder stones. Doing this may benefit by helping to break down grit. I try not to "over tumble" feldspars and mixed hardness stones as getting the perfect one is near impossible. Have literally tumbled some to near nothing without getting rid of flaws. Nature of the beast as they say. So if it's got one or two small flaws but the rest looks great I call it good.
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