Post by ctxtumblebug on Sept 29, 2023 1:39:30 GMT -5
I am very new to this rock tumbling ballgame but I do believe that I cracked the code on the process at least for agates, jaspers, quartz, chalcedony, chert and petrified wood. I'm now able to get a very decent polish on my rocks in about 7 to 14 days give or take a little using a very simple five step process. For my "Step One" the biggest and most important thing that I do before getting the rocks rolling in a tumbler is to cut, shape and smooth out rough rocks using an angle grinder with a diamond blade and a Dremel tool with diamond tips. After this I will then use an angle grinder with a 40 or 80 grit hard resin wheel to smooth the rocks out even more. This first step takes just a few hours for me get several three pound drums worth of rocks ready to roll in the tumblers. Doing what I do sure beats the pants off of having to wait for those rough rocks doing Step One tumbling in 46/70 or 60/90 grit for weeks on end to get smooth enough for the next stage. A full three pound drum recipe for me consists of rocks 2/3 to 3/4 of a drum, water up to the top of rocks and three tablespoons of grit. My tumblers are Chicago Electrics with two drums and National Geographics with one drum. The tumbling schedule for me breaks down like this:
Step Two: 60/90 SI-CA grit tumble for two or three days
Step Three: 120/220 SI-CA grit tumble for for two or three days
Step Four: 500 Pre-Polish tumble for two or three days
Step Five: 500 AO Polish tumble for three days and maybe a couple days more if I'm not satisfied
I will usually check on my rocks two days after starting each of the remaining steps except for step five where they will tumble for at least three days before I check them. I can usually get two batches a week for each step of my tumbling process before I have to replace the grit. I brought my first batch of tumbled rocks using this method to the Williamson County Gem & Mineral Society meeting and those folks were thoroughly impressed with how those rocks looked. When I taught those people my process they were completely shocked that rocks could be highly polished this way so quickly. Same thing went for the fellows at the Enchanted Rocks rock shop in Llano TX when I showed them my first batch and taught them this process as well. I will have pictures of a batch going from start to finish through this entire process on here pretty soon.
Step Two: 60/90 SI-CA grit tumble for two or three days
Step Three: 120/220 SI-CA grit tumble for for two or three days
Step Four: 500 Pre-Polish tumble for two or three days
Step Five: 500 AO Polish tumble for three days and maybe a couple days more if I'm not satisfied
I will usually check on my rocks two days after starting each of the remaining steps except for step five where they will tumble for at least three days before I check them. I can usually get two batches a week for each step of my tumbling process before I have to replace the grit. I brought my first batch of tumbled rocks using this method to the Williamson County Gem & Mineral Society meeting and those folks were thoroughly impressed with how those rocks looked. When I taught those people my process they were completely shocked that rocks could be highly polished this way so quickly. Same thing went for the fellows at the Enchanted Rocks rock shop in Llano TX when I showed them my first batch and taught them this process as well. I will have pictures of a batch going from start to finish through this entire process on here pretty soon.