brenth
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by brenth on May 18, 2023 17:27:56 GMT -5
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Post by vegasjames on May 18, 2023 19:01:36 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum.
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Post by Pat on May 18, 2023 19:29:02 GMT -5
Welcome from California. I’m not a tumbler, but there are many tumblers here, including tumbling experts.
Have you checked the tumbling section?
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Post by jasoninsd on May 18, 2023 21:33:29 GMT -5
Hey brenth! Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! Hang in there...there will be some experienced tumblers who will be along and they'll be able to give some sage advice. A few questions might get asked: - What type of tumbler? - What grit were you using (from where)? *Congrats on figuring out the pic upload!
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,507
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Post by dillonf on May 18, 2023 21:55:25 GMT -5
I would do a 220 SiC run for a week, 500 AlOx for a week,1000 AlOx for a week, rock shed polish for 1-2 weeks. 3 tablespoons of grit in your barrel size. When you start using AlOx grit add a tablespoon of borax to the barrel. You want a lot of cushion mixed in with your rocks (ceramic media). In my rotary tumblers I sometimes have a 50/50 ratio of stone to ceramics when I tumble quartz, because it bruises easily. You want the barrel approximately 2/3's full with material (stones and ceramic). Fill with water just below the level the rocks are at. I sometimes have the barrel 3/4 full during the polish stage if I think the tumble is too rough.
Hope this helps.
Watch the youtube videos by michiganrocks - He has great tutorials. That's what I watched when learning.
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brenth
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by brenth on May 19, 2023 8:35:58 GMT -5
Tumbler I’m using is a 3lb Lefree. Here’s the grit I’m using and I was also using the plastic pellets. I’ll pick up some ceramic and try that.
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brenth
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by brenth on May 19, 2023 8:37:23 GMT -5
I would do a 220 SiC run for a week, 500 AlOx for a week,1000 AlOx for a week, rock shed polish for 1-2 weeks. 3 tablespoons of grit in your barrel size. Q When you start using AlOx grit add a tablespoon of borax to the barrel. You want a lot of cushion mixed in with your rocks (ceramic media). In my rotary tumblers I sometimes have a 50/50 ratio of stone to ceramics when I tumble quartz, because it bruises easily. You want the barrel approximately 2/3's full with material (stones and ceramic). Fill with water just below the level the rocks are at. I sometimes have the barrel 3/4 full during the polish stage if I think the tumble is too rough. Hope this helps. Watch the youtube videos by michiganrocks - He has great tutorials. That's what I watched when learning. Huge 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 May 19, 2023 8:46:23 GMT -5
Often times these grit kits have something like 1200 AO as a polish instead of an actual polish which is a much smaller mesh. 1200 AO can impart a shine but takes much longer and often you get a matte finish.
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Just getting into this....
Member since August 2022
Posts: 374
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Post by hplcman on May 19, 2023 11:03:22 GMT -5
Tumbler I’m using is a 3lb Lefree. Here’s the grit I’m using and I was also using the plastic pellets. I’ll pick up some ceramic and try that. The rock shed grits are your friend. I have been using them for over a year, with multiple batches through and they always have performed well. I strongly recommend you try them out. They have a bundle where they will sell you all you need to shape and polish rocks in a rotary tumbler. As was already stated, you may have to go back to stage 2 to fix this issue, but the end result will be well worth it!
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jotto32
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 6
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Post by jotto32 on May 19, 2023 15:27:56 GMT -5
Just started tumbling about 3 months ago. My first batch looked a lot like yours. My second batch is shaping up a lot better. First, I bought better grit from the Rock Shed. Secondly, I am better at making sure the amount of rocks and water are correct in the barrels. I think the biggest thing was the better grit.
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Post by rmf on May 19, 2023 20:06:00 GMT -5
brenth because you did not say how you did it just that it was done. So, I have questions. I know the rough is tigereye and amythest. FYI both of these stones are fragile compared to agates and jaspers. Not a hardness issue but a toughness issue. The 3# tumbler helps since they can't fall as far as in larger tumblers. How full was the tumbler barrel? Should be 75-80% full. Anything less (like 50%) will cause fragile stones to pit. which can cause haze. What is the rough size distribution? These stones like cushioning. I like smaller stones like -1/2" to use as cushioning. Others here like ceramic pellets. These should go into the tumbler after the coarse grit grinds away the initial rough edges. Assuming you started with 80% full it will probable have lost about 25% of the starting volume so make up the diff with smalls or ceramics. I reuse my smalls and I don't spend $$ on ceramics. Just some guesses your mileage may vary.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,507
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Post by dillonf on May 19, 2023 20:51:40 GMT -5
Tumbler I’m using is a 3lb Lefree. Here’s the grit I’m using and I was also using the plastic pellets. I’ll pick up some ceramic and try that. Yeah, I'd get some better grit from the rock shed or kingsley north. I only use rock shed polish - it's the best in my opinion.
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Post by Mel on May 24, 2023 15:02:52 GMT -5
Just from a quick look, your top stone looks like it's gotten frosted on the edges from banging into other rocks; solution there would be more cushioning. Burnishing between stages is also worthwhile in my opinion. No one ever got mad because things were "too clean". Amethyst can be a real butt to polish but when it does, it looks amazing. I do loads of pure amethyst about 80% full and this seems to cut down on the breakage a lot. With my current batch I had enough rough around to start it all in a large barrel then split it into a couple smaller ones as stages went on but ceramic media works if you need filler. Regarding speed, I use whatever speed goes around 1700 rpm and just stick with that forever. Lortone has made single speed tumblers for decades and they work great so I don't see any benefit to changing it up. I know jamesp plays with speed when doing large loads or with large grit (30-50) but I don't think you need to worry about that. I tagged him to weigh in though. He's probably forgotten more about grits & speeds and their results than most of us will ever know. Adding more polish is up to you; I can't say I've seen any major difference by varying the amount I use between batches.
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