markb
Cave Dweller 
Member since May 2022
Posts: 472 
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Post by markb on Oct 1, 2022 1:10:03 GMT -5
markb Those boomerang looking ones are crazy, never seen them before. I haven't seen that shape before either, Ashley. Not sure how they will do. On a side note, I checked my rotary running Stage 1 tonight to see how things were going and am glad I did. Had a HUGE buildup of gas inside, so much so that it was bulging the bottoms of the barrels out and when I opened them it came bubbling out. I've never seen that before! I've read about it, but never experienced it. I can't for sure say it was due to the glass gems, but that was the only different thing I did this time around. The glass gems I added to that run had worn down quite a bit and I wonder if there was some sort of reaction from them in the tumble to make the gas. It was an aggressive run for me with 2.5 TBS of 10/70 Sic and water down 1.5" below tops of rocks. I was tumbling jasper and other hard rocks and ran them for 5 days. So from now on I won't add the glass gems to a Stage 1 rotary again. No need anyway, since it's the run to breakdown and shape the rocks. This time was only for a test. You may want to keep that in mind before you run out and buy a large quantity of glass gems, if that was your plan. A bit more testing seems in order. markb |
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 1, 2022 7:22:36 GMT -5
Good to know, markb ! I’ve never experienced that gas buildup, either, but I see people chatting about it as if it is a regular occurrence for them. |
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markb
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Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Oct 1, 2022 11:04:34 GMT -5
Good to know, markb ! I’ve never experienced that gas buildup, either, but I see people chatting about it as if it is a regular occurrence for them. Yes, whatever happened was some sort of chemical reaction because the slurry was bubbling and hissing when I opened the barrels up. Since there are so many low-end knock off products coming out of China, I'm leaning towards the glass gems being treated with some sort of chemical somewhere in their manufacturing process. But I have no proof. Perhaps a true marble wouldn't do the same thing, if you can find any affordable options that don't originate from China. I have an unrelated question for you. Why do you tumble your ceramics for a whole week before you use them? I tumble mine too to dull up the sharp edges, but only for a few hours. |
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markb
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Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Oct 1, 2022 11:40:49 GMT -5
ashley ericabelle I did some google searches on using glass media in tumbling and came up with the following comments from RTH: Jan 29, 2011, by carloscinco, says "Glass makes my barrels puff up and leak. I switched to ceramic balls I collect after catalyst reloads on hydrotreating reactors." *the puffing up and leaking is familiar! Sep 08, 2010, by chassroc, says "Quartz can be very challenging because it tends to frost rather than shine... Plastic pellets are a good idea, often essential, with quartz. *I haven't tumbled quartz, but @ashely you do don't you? *Not sure about this, but someone is making their own tumbling media (short YouTube vid below) How to make ceramic media for tumbling
*Below is an interesting marble shape-like product, but don't know how effective it is.
Ceramic Beads
*It could be that the ceramic media most of us are currently using is the best, and we are just running in circles to find something cheaper. markb 
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 1, 2022 16:49:07 GMT -5
markb I tumble the ceramics for a week because I check my tumblers once a week. I just put in a handful every week until all the ceramics are smoothed.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 1, 2022 16:52:39 GMT -5
On your quartz question—
I’ve tumbled a lot of quartz because we go to the Arkansas quartz mines every year and I always tumble the chunks that aren’t points. The main problem with quartz is, even though it’s really hard, it tends to fracture easily and it’s sharp when it does! Otherwise, the pieces that don’t fracture In stage 1 look really shiny when I take them out.
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markb
Cave Dweller
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Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Oct 1, 2022 21:01:05 GMT -5
Okay, we went to a gem and mineral event today and I talked to a lady about using glass pieces in the rotary tumble for Stage 1, and she immediately responded by saying it "wasn't a good idea because it would create gas", which is exactly what I found out. She learned the hard way when her barrels blew out and cause a horrific mess. I was lucky and checked the run before that happened. Thus, my takeaway for this experiment is I won't be using glass pieces for any tumbles. She didn't know if it would be the same for using in a vibe, but I've decided I'm not going to push the envelope to find out. markb |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2022 21:31:47 GMT -5
markbThat’s good to know! I do run a bit of quartz mostly that I’ve found at Lake Michigan and Superior. I did the batch of quartz crystals last month. They were easier then the rounded quartz. The rounded quartz tends to bruise easy, sometimes even with lots of ceramic. Quartz does frost but thats normal after 120/220. Its a good sign that it’s coming along well.
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nursetumbler
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Member since February 2022
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Post by nursetumbler on Oct 11, 2022 7:38:48 GMT -5
[quote author=" markb" Nice shineys (is that a word?) ! [/quote] It is for us LOL |
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Oct 11, 2022 10:09:02 GMT -5
Gorgeous!!! The 5th from the bottom made me gasp. Is that the Gambiri? Lovely!
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Oct 11, 2022 11:12:40 GMT -5
ashley ericabelle I was running a 220 Sic batch in the vibe with a mix of 6.5-7 mohs rocks, plus a couple raggedy agates. They looked like beach agates that were full of pits and had a bit of host material left on them in the pits. I stopped the run 6 hours short of 48 hours and all the rocks seemed to shape up pretty well. Several of them were redos that I had previously taken to polish, but didn’t like their end condition they were in because I had left some rough areas and scratches. So I put them back into the 220 run to shape them up better another time around. Some of the agates were also redos, but a couple of the medium sized ones had just run through the rotary and we’re due for a 220 run. They came out shaped a bit better than I’ve seen in the past, and although they still had their pits several seemed to be lessened, or perhaps widened out a bit. There is still a slight trace of what I assume is host material in the pits, but not as bad as before and I will most likely pass them on to the next stage. In the run I also mixed in about 1/3 of 3/8 x 5/8” sized ceramic pieces ( previously used several times before) and some mini ceramics. The minis were getting too small to use and we’re floating around on the top of the rocks in the vibe bowl, so I mixed in the marbles because I didn’t have any more larger ceramics. These marbles are the kind you get from Michael’s that are flat on the bottom, not traditional round marbles. I bought three batches of them at a garage sale this summer for $1 apiece. The marbles came out about the same size, but were scuffed up to a matte finish as would be expected. However, they all held up and no chipping was observed. I have some in a rotary tumble that I’m doing too, but won’t see the results of those until Sunday. I don’t have proof that a marble will provide a “softer” tumble than the small gravel rocks I typically use, but that was my theory.. The 220 run in the vibe may not cause such damage, but I didn’t want to take a chance. Usually when I get a batch to the pre-polish and polish stages, I’m relying on the smaller rocks in the run to fill between the medium sized and larger ones, rather than using small gravel rocks. I also add in about 1/3 ceramics to these two last stages. If you decide to try marbles, the good news is they are pretty cheap if you shop around. I looked on the web and found you could get 50 marbles at Hobby Lobby for $2.99, or 160 at Amazon for $11.90 and other places for good prices, including Etsy, Amazon, and other retail outlets. Another kind of glass piece that I bought at the summer garage sales was one shaped like a boomerang. I haven’t thrown them into a tumble yet, but would think they would do just fine. Another test for the future Perhaps. markb. 😎 12oz for 0.98 at wal mart. Just looked at them 2 days ago lol |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2022 12:33:36 GMT -5
Gorgeous!!! The 5th from the bottom made me gasp. Is that the Gambiri? Lovely! To be honest I couldn’t tell you with certainty. I would guess it is a coyamito but not sure. Brent might know. He’s one the agate guys! Starguy you know? |
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Post by Starguy on Oct 11, 2022 15:38:24 GMT -5
I’m not 100% sure ashley. The colors are right for Gambiri or other Malawi agates. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2022 15:56:42 GMT -5
rocknewb101 I would go with Brent then with gambiri, he’s smarter then me!  thanks Brent! Starguy
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Oct 12, 2022 7:04:39 GMT -5
rocknewb101 I would go with Brent then with gambiri, he’s smarter then me! thanks Brent! Starguy Thanks!! No matter what it is it's stunning But a good place to start my research on it!! |
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Oct 13, 2022 6:58:42 GMT -5
ashley ericabelle I did some google searches on using glass media in tumbling and came up with the following comments from RTH: Jan 29, 2011, by carloscinco, says "Glass makes my barrels puff up and leak. I switched to ceramic balls I collect after catalyst reloads on hydrotreating reactors." *the puffing up and leaking is familiar! Sep 08, 2010, by chassroc, says "Quartz can be very challenging because it tends to frost rather than shine... Plastic pellets are a good idea, often essential, with quartz. *I haven't tumbled quartz, but @ashely you do don't you? *Not sure about this, but someone is making their own tumbling media (short YouTube vid below) How to make ceramic media for tumbling
*Below is an interesting marble shape-like product, but don't know how effective it is.
Ceramic Beads
*It could be that the ceramic media most of us are currently using is the best, and we are just running in circles to find something cheaper. markb It is the nature of natural glass(obsidian) and man made glass to create gas pressure in the rotary during step 1 when removing a lot of material from glass. About all glass except optical quality glass has tiny high pressure bubbles in it. As the tumbling wear 'opens' those trapped high pressure gas pockets they release and expand greatly each time. Common soda-lime gas is also very alkaline causing gaseous ph reactions if acidic water/rocks are present(like mixing vinegar and baking soda). Concrete is even worse, tumbling it makes serious gas and it doesn't have bubbles in it but is highly alkaline. To solve the glass gas problem you either have to 'burp'(open) your barrels daily or every two days or as needed. Having tumbled lots of glass I made my own 'expandable' barrels. The 6" rubber caps can bulge out about 3 inches and give fair warning of expansions. Check them out, rubber cap to left:  A note against using soft glass as media - being that glass is soft it does not assist in breaking down finishing abrasives to smaller grit sizes like Mohs 9 ceramic media or Mohs 7 quartz pea gravel media does so well. This slows the finish steps of the tumble down in steps 2-3-4-5. Abrasive breakdown is helpful in those finishing steps. Especially when tumbling a batch of soft glass, hard media is better for abrasive breakdown. And there is no need to use media in step 1, just use smaller rocks you desire to tumble as media with the other bigger rocks(or glass). Or fill the barrel fuller(75 to 80%) to cushion the batch. Using media in step 1 just wastes coarse grit and makes media smaller and adds to excessive slurry build up. Small tumbles are cool and they assist the tumbling process during steps 1-2-3-4-5. If I could tumble 100% media free I would. It just takes up space and wastes abrasive. Granted, sometimes it is necessary to use though. I have to use hard media when doing steps 2-3-4-5 on a batch of glass in the vibe. Without the hard media it takes 2 to 3 times longer(slows abrasive breakdown) to finish glass which makes more opportunity to frost the glass or obsidian(add crystalline quartz to that category). Some tumbled glass: www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157689895637020 |
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thanks Brent! 
