ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 10, 2023 16:22:22 GMT -5
I just got my first vibratory tumbler. I have finished 2 batches so far and love the results. Just struggling with process a little. Getting the correct mix of water to Grit has been tricky and I was resistant to adding Borax with Grit thinking it might make the Grit less effective. But in my second batch I had a tricky shaped piece of pet wood that was about 3 inches long and narrow it kept slowing or stopping action of mix. I finally added a tbls of Borax to 1 heaping top polish and action improved immediately. So with this batch thinking of adding 1 tbls of Borax to 1 heaping top 120/200 in first step. Then going with same formula in 500 pre polish. Wondering what recipes work for you with borax and Grit in vibratory mode. Also any recommendations for burnish clean between cycles. Thank you for your time
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 12, 2023 14:47:53 GMT -5
Does anyone have experience with this? Started my third load yesterday. Had 2 or 3 difficult long pieces in there and filled it too full, first tried adding Borax then more water them removed some rocks. It tumbled for awhile but slower and with some difficulty. After struggling with keeping it turning for a day, emptied the hopper cleaned well and started with heaping top 129/220 grit and several sprays from spray bottle and everything works better. It's a great example of less is more with this machine.
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Post by chris1956 on Jun 12, 2023 15:35:54 GMT -5
I have had a Mini Sonic since about the beginning of the year. Also have a Lot-O. I have typically been adding 1/2 tablespoon of Borax to 500 and polish stages along with the two teaspoons of polish as indicated in the Mini manual. It seems to have worked well. I add water to the extent that I can just barely see it start to show on the end where the rocks are going down. The Mini manual says that if you can see the water you have added too much. My experience to this point is that the bigger rocks like you mention don't work well in the sonic. Larger and long and narrow ones seen to get wedged together sooner or later and stop the rolling action. If you add larger rocks, only add one to each batch and see if that helps. They will still get wedged if they are too big.
I haven't tried cutting back on the polish yet. I think you should be able to as it looks like a lot more polish in the mini compared to the Lot-O and looks like the same or better action with the rocks. The Mini action is similar to the Lot-O and if you follow the information from Michigan Rocks video (see link below) you would use 1/2 teaspoon of polish with 1 tablespoon of Borax. Actually, you would those amounts down as the mini sonic is smaller rock capacity than the Lot-O.
I don't add Borax to the 220 silicon carbide stage. Just use the grit and water as with the polish.
Hope this helps.
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 14, 2023 18:41:37 GMT -5
Thanks Chris. Yes loading smaller rocks makes alot of sense. Unfortunately my favorite beach with super colorful jaspers keeps producing fist sized rocks I pick up lol. Running some through my rotary now trying to get them to reduce so I can load more in next vibratory load. The batch I just moved from 120/220 to 500 that was giving me so much trouble is spinning much more freely now. Just used 1 heaping top 500 and a half dozen squirts of water from spray bottle. Trying to Keep it Simple Stupid
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jone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2023
Posts: 111
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Post by jone on Jun 14, 2023 20:16:58 GMT -5
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,033
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Post by rockbrain on Jun 14, 2023 21:10:29 GMT -5
I do more polishing than anything else in mine. 1/2 tsp of polish is usually plenty to get the job done.
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 15, 2023 17:16:06 GMT -5
I do more polishing than anything else in mine. 1/2 tsp of polish is usually plenty to get the job done. That explains alot. I just put my 3rd batch into polish using a heaping top of polish and 1tsp borax and the slurry is over the top thick! I will cut back on polish next time...
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rockbrain
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Member since January 2022
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Post by rockbrain on Jun 15, 2023 17:59:20 GMT -5
You should just see a thin film on the rocks once it's mixed in. I find my is not that touchy for the amount of water. Maybe to much polish makes it more critical.
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Post by chris1956 on Jun 15, 2023 19:05:43 GMT -5
You should just see a thin film on the rocks once it's mixed in. I find my is not that touchy for the amount of water. Maybe to much polish makes it more critical. I agree that my mini sonic, compared to my Lot-O, doesn't seem to be "touchy" when it comes to the amount of water.
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 22, 2023 19:58:57 GMT -5
You should just see a thin film on the rocks once it's mixed in. I find my is not that touchy for the amount of water. Maybe to much polish makes it more critical. I agree that my mini sonic, compared to my Lot-O, doesn't seem to be "touchy" when it comes to the amount of water. Thank You Chris, this has been the most helpful advice. I was following lotto directions for water. And not adding near enough water. When I went to 500 grit instead of the 5 or 6 sprays of water I added 30 sprays and it's working perfectly! I am no longer so worried about adding too much water lol
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
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Post by stefan on Jun 23, 2023 8:20:25 GMT -5
Less is more with the Mini Sonic. I have settled on my recipe for it. These are pretty much all I use now: 120/220 I don't do a lot of course grinding but once in a while I run some. 1 teaspoon grit, 1 tablespoon borax. 500 A.O. 1 teaspoon grit, 1 tablespoon borax. Pre polish (I use Tripoli from the Rock Shed). 1/2 teaspoon PP, 1/2 tablespoon borax. Polish (AO from either Kingsley North or Rock Shed) 1/2 teaspoon Polish, 1/2 tablespoon. Micro polish (Kingsley North raybright A I believe) 1/2 teaspoon polish, 1/2 tablespoon borax. I burnish with 1/2 tablespoon borax and a drop or 2 of dishsoap and extra water. I have a polish only barrel, for the polish and micro polish stages. I use 3 sizes of ceramic media (large cylinders, small cylinders and 4 to 5 mm spheres) all combined, and I have a set of ceramic for polish only. I run my cycles 5 to 7 days (sometimes I run the 120/220 stage for 2 full weeks) I rarely run the machine on full power, but around 75%. And yes those are the actual measured amounts of grit.
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 23, 2023 15:39:56 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. I think I've been using way too much grit. The manual says 5 teaspoons of 220 so that's 5x more than you're using. I've gotten such bad undercutting the couple times I've tried 2 tbsp of 220, maybe it's from too much grit. I'm scratching my head though how you get 1 teaspoon to last 2 weeks? I don't know anything but wouldn't it be broken down way faster than rotary, like in just a few days? What lessons or observations have led you to run it for 5-7 days per stage? I use 1 heaping tsp of grit and that is plenty. I only run for 1 to 3 days max. I don't think the grit would last much more than 2 or 3 days without re charge.
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
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Post by stefan on Jun 25, 2023 4:17:14 GMT -5
Yeah that's what I thought too but the results don't lie,. I was shocked when I was still having grit left after a week
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Jun 25, 2023 12:01:45 GMT -5
Less is more with the Mini Sonic. I have settled on my recipe for it. These are pretty much all I use now: 120/220 I don't do a lot of course grinding but once in a while I run some. 1 teaspoon grit, 1 tablespoon borax. 500 A.O. 1 teaspoon grit, 1 tablespoon borax. Pre polish (I use Tripoli from the Rock Shed). 1/2 teaspoon PP, 1/2 tablespoon borax. Polish (AO from either Kingsley North or Rock Shed) 1/2 teaspoon Polish, 1/2 tablespoon. Micro polish (Kingsley North raybright A I believe) 1/2 teaspoon polish, 1/2 tablespoon borax. I burnish with 1/2 tablespoon borax and a drop or 2 of dishsoap and extra water. I have a polish only barrel, for the polish and micro polish stages. I use 3 sizes of ceramic media (large cylinders, small cylinders and 4 to 5 mm spheres) all combined, and I have a set of ceramic for polish only. I run my cycles 5 to 7 days (sometimes I run the 120/220 stage for 2 full weeks) I rarely run the machine on full power, but around 75%. And yes those are the actual measured amounts of grit. I am curious about a couple things you do that I hadn't seen before. Why run at 75% do you do softer stones? Also why so many intermediary steps between med grind and polish? Isn't just one 500 pre polish adequate? Why do another pre polish? Thank you for your help
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stefan
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Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jun 25, 2023 12:40:59 GMT -5
I run at 75% to keep the rocks from chipping. Too fast and I worry about chipping and spals. I tumble mostly agates and jaspers and cherts. I work so many intermediary steps to get a better depth on my shine. I have had people ask me how many coats of lacquer I put on my rocks to get them that shiny. That my goal is to have an ultra deep shine. Sure you can polish in fewer steps, but I'm looking for that super deep shine.
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