electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 16, 2022 10:02:37 GMT -5
Good morning all, I have a question about what might have gone wrong with my most recent batch. I have a batch of lemon quartz rough that I put in stage 1 60/90 SiC in my Lortone rotary, and after 2 weeks, it came out weird. I had checked it after a week and it was already a bit odd but decided to let it go an extra week since the grit was still very gritty After the second week, the slurry was very thick and sticky, and the grit was still very gritty. There was only minimal grinding/shaping of the stones and the grit stuck to them a lot. The only thing I can think I did wrong is maybe I put too much SiC in the barrel or not enough water, but it doesn't seem likely. I did not overfill the barrel so the rocks had room to move around. I had started a separate batch of sodalite at the same time with the same grit, and in less than a week the sodalite pieces were nicely shrunk to a nice shape. I know sodalite is softer than quartz, but at least it tells me there is nothing wrong with my grit. Even though the grit was still gritty, I decided to wash the batch and reload with fresh 60/90 to hopefully get better resuts, but I would like to know what I might have done wrong :-) P.S. It's the first time I try tumbling lemon quartz... its colour feels more like a lemon/lime hybrid :-) :-) Thanks!
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Post by Starguy on Sept 16, 2022 10:55:37 GMT -5
It looks foamy electrocutus. Foam will suspend grit so it’s not between the rocks where you want it. Could there have been some soap in the barrel when you started it?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2022 11:02:40 GMT -5
For reference how much grit did you use and whats the size of your barrel? Looks like 3lb?
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Sept 16, 2022 12:19:42 GMT -5
I’ve had thick slurry after a week, but the grit was gone. Looks like toooo much grit, not enough water.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 16, 2022 21:12:12 GMT -5
It looks foamy electrocutus . Foam will suspend grit so it’s not between the rocks where you want it. Could there have been some soap in the barrel when you started it? There should not have been any soap. I had thoroughly washed and dried the barrel previously.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 16, 2022 21:15:34 GMT -5
For reference how much grit did you use and whats the size of your barrel? Looks like 3lb It's actually a 1.5lb barrel. If fit 3 of them on a Lortone 33 base so I can do small batches. I had put 2 full tablespoons of 60/90, which is pretty much what I always put... I hope I didn't get distracted and put double the amount!! :-)
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 16, 2022 21:17:29 GMT -5
I’ve had thick slurry after a week, but the grit was gone. Looks like toooo much grit, not enough water. Thanks, that's the only thing I can think of, but it's so odd because it's never happened before.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2022 21:44:07 GMT -5
It looks like too much grit to me, and probably not enough water.
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Post by Starguy on Sept 16, 2022 21:51:20 GMT -5
Photos 1 and 3 look like foam. When you fix that, your grinds will work better.
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,074
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Post by dshanpnw on Sept 17, 2022 7:08:42 GMT -5
I will say maybe not enough water. I just tumbled some lemon quartz and it's very nice. Just out of curiosity where did you get yours? Mine were quartz crystals, yours look more like quartzite?. not translucent but more opaque. It kind of looks like serpentine. Anyway, thinking maybe the type of quartz is causing the foaminess. That's my very non-expert observation.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Sept 17, 2022 7:40:40 GMT -5
electrocutus I've only had this happen a couple times and for me at least, I had put too many rocks in the barrel, not allowing for the proper grinding. Keep playing and trust your instincts, no doubt you'll dial it in.
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 17, 2022 13:47:02 GMT -5
Softer materials can foam. Def make sure your water is at or just below the top rock line.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 17, 2022 16:33:53 GMT -5
I will say maybe not enough water. I just tumbled some lemon quartz and it's very nice. Just out of curiosity where did you get yours? Mine were quartz crystals, yours look more like quartzite?. not translucent but more opaque. It kind of looks like serpentine. Anyway, thinking maybe the type of quartz is causing the foaminess. That's my very non-expert observation. Mine is definitely opaque, sort of milky. I got it at a local shop near Toronto, ON. I am looking forward to see how it comes out.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 21, 2022 16:01:39 GMT -5
Well, well... the plot (and slurry) thickens :-) I cleaned out everything and re-loaded fresh 60/90, and after a week I once again have a full foamy barrel with grit that has not ground down. I am starting to think one of those stones was actually a chunk of yellow soap :-) However, after now 3 weeks of foamy 60/90 the rocks have shrunk by a lot, so I'll just move on to stage 2.
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Post by pebblesky on Sept 21, 2022 16:33:49 GMT -5
For reference how much grit did you use and whats the size of your barrel? Looks like 3lb It's actually a 1.5lb barrel. If fit 3 of them on a Lortone 33 base so I can do small batches. I had put 2 full tablespoons of 60/90, which is pretty much what I always put... I hope I didn't get distracted and put double the amount!! :-) For 3lb Lortone barrel I put 4 full tablespoons of 60/90 as per the instruction. It also happened to me two weeks ago that the grits didn't fully break down, and during that week my tumbler was quieter than usual. Then I reduced the volume of rocks per barrel and removed all the ceramic pellets, and after a week while the slurry was still foamy, I can no longer see the grits.
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2022 18:28:37 GMT -5
Glad your rock was worked! Weather with a foamy slurry or a thicker slurry as long as they turned out!
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 24, 2022 11:54:59 GMT -5
Well, well... the plot (and slurry) thickens :-) I cleaned out everything and re-loaded fresh 60/90, and after a week I once again have a full foamy barrel with grit that has not ground down. I am starting to think one of those stones was actually a chunk of yellow soap :-) However, after now 3 weeks of foamy 60/90 the rocks have shrunk by a lot, so I'll just move on to stage 2. Honestly it sounds like your rocks are really soft. Use less grit. When I've run a 12lb barrel of glass I used 1cup of 40/70. I came back to it after a month of rolling and had so much grit left over. Next time I'll use less than 1/4c. Remember the grit is there to aid the stones to shape up. If you're seeing grit like that let them keep rolling.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 335
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Post by electrocutus on Sept 28, 2022 9:28:19 GMT -5
OK, so... after 6 days of stage 2 in 280 SiC in my Lortone rotary, I am still seeing weird results. When I opened it, the top of the barrel was quite foamy, but the sides and bottom had very thick sludge, almost as if I had left the barrel sitting not tumbling for a long time and all the grit had started solidifying. But I had not. Just to compare, I had a separate batch of Sodalite that I started at stage 2 at the same time, with the same grit from the same container, and tumbling side by side on the same tumbler. The sodalite came out beautifully. Here's what the barrel looked like after 6 days of 280 SiC with the thick sludge stuck in it and on the rocks. After cleaning up, the rocks look pretty good so something has worked. I am wondering if what I have is something else then lemon quartz, but I still do not understand what kind of rocks would give me those results. They seem to have shrunk more than hat I would have expected from quartz, but I don't have too much experience with different types of quartz. The sodalite I got from the same store looks very nice, so I have no reason to believe I got "bad stuff". For reference, here's what the rough looked like before this whole adventure started. I just started stage 3 with 500 SiC so we'll see what that brings in about a week :-) Thanks all!
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 28, 2022 9:36:54 GMT -5
I think your opening it too soon or too much grit. Let it roll
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 983
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Post by nursetumbler on Sept 28, 2022 13:05:45 GMT -5
electrocutusThat reminds me of the calcite (mohs 3) I tumbled. It shrank fast and caused the foam and thick sludge. I'm not saying that's what it is (lord knows I'm not a Geologist just a tumbling nurse) but that's the exact results I seen with Orchid calcite. To get pink quartz to look as good as that it tumbled for months and I don'tthinkbyou have been tumbling it that long. If it is calcite you'll get a matte at best finish and not mirror shine although you can coax a pretty good shine with the dry polish method, Crystal something or another talks on YouTube about dry polish method.To eliminate the rapid breakdown and foam i added a Tablespoon of Baking soda because I read, don't know if on here or somewhere else, that calcite breaks down slower in higher ph solution and it didn't foam up as bad. Just a thought. Take a piece and see what scratches it. That will give you some idea wherebto start.
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