RockyBeach
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2023
Posts: 206
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Post by RockyBeach on Nov 1, 2023 22:09:49 GMT -5
Now that I have a "gritty water" settling station set up in the basement and the weather outdoors is no longer a factor in getting rock batches finished, I have been wondering what stage in 2 - 4 is most benefitted by running more than the recommended number of days .
I have been doing the Stage One Coarse tumble in the Harbor Freight double 3 pound rotary for 7-8 days and then move "ready" rocks on to The VibeTeck-10 and re-run some in stage one.
I have been running stages 2 and 3 for 2 or 3 days each with soap and borax rinses of at least 1/2 hour between stages.
followed by Polish (3-4 days) and Burnish with Borax for an hour or so.
Other than the undercutting in some stones that seems to appear in the final polishing stage, results have been satisfactory, imo.
So ..... the question is .... is there any benefit to running any of the vibratory steps for longer times when dealing with beach / landscaping type rocks once one is pretty satisfied with the shaping etc in stage one ?
If so ... which stage(s) and for how long?
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dshanpnw
has rocks in the head
Member since December 2020
Posts: 668
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Post by dshanpnw on Nov 2, 2023 7:12:02 GMT -5
Stage two, run stage two, 220 grit twice with a cleanout in between. Stage two for a total of 4 days to get rid of the coarse 60/90 scratches. Other than adding one more day to your stage 2 I think you're right on the money for the rest. I'm assuming the grit you use for stage one and two is SiC, Silicon Carbide, and the rest Aluminum Oxide.
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RockyBeach
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2023
Posts: 206
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Post by RockyBeach on Nov 2, 2023 10:31:55 GMT -5
Stage two, run stage two, 220 grit twice with a cleanout in between. Stage two for a total of 4 days to get rid of the coarse 60/90 scratches. Other than adding one more day to your stage 2 I think you're right on the money for the rest. I'm assuming the grit you use for stage one and two is SiC, Silicon Carbide, and the rest Aluminum Oxide. Thanks .... logically, I figured that stage two would be the one to add some time to but, being a newbie, I needed to ask since my "logic" is not always reliable.  Am using SiC for stage 1-3 (60/90, 120/220, 500/600) and Al Ox 1200) for polish .... Borax for burnishing and with all of the stages in the vibratory. Bought the 2-4 grit from MJR Tumbler. Grit #1 is now from The Rock Shed. |
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iamchris
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 423
Member is Online
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Post by iamchris on Nov 2, 2023 13:46:11 GMT -5
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 13,990
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Post by stefan on Nov 2, 2023 16:14:39 GMT -5
Love this! I run all my vibe stages for a full week. I rotary tumble the 120/220 stage, then go to 500 AO in the vibe. I also use a pre-polish (tripoli) and then AO for polish. Those all run a week. I have been so pleased with the results that I see no reason to change it at all. Best advise is to go ahead and try it out on a batch or 2 and see what you think. That is what makes this hobby (obsession) so much fun, is the experimenting.
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jone
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since February 2023
Posts: 82
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Post by jone on Nov 2, 2023 16:22:20 GMT -5
I just tuned in to this thread (recent topics) - ironically right below this thread was one for how to shorten tumbling time - goes to show we are all in this for different reasons!
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RockyBeach
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2023
Posts: 206
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Post by RockyBeach on Nov 2, 2023 17:40:03 GMT -5
Love this! I run all my vibe stages for a full week. I rotary tumble the 120/220 stage, then go to 500 AO in the vibe. I also use a pre-polish (tripoli) and then AO for polish. Those all run a week. I have been so pleased with the results that I see no reason to change it at all. Best advise is to go ahead and try it out on a batch or 2 and see what you think. That is what makes this hobby (obsession) so much fun, is the experimenting. Thanks for the suggestions .... I fear I am not much of an experimenter even in situations where nothing bad can happen if the experiment goes "wrong". When I ran the polish stage for several days longer than I usually do, I found that there was a lot of "undercutting" that had not been in the same type of stones when run for the "usual" two or three days. Apparently this is not unusual for granite type beach stones. |
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,164
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Post by dillonf on Nov 2, 2023 19:08:27 GMT -5
I too often run the 220 stage twice - not always, and it depends on the material. I do recommend a pre-polish followed by polish. I have seen improvements with the addition of a pre-polish stage (some really hard agates don't seem to need it).
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RockyBeach
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2023
Posts: 206
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Post by RockyBeach on Nov 10, 2023 13:09:03 GMT -5
Now that I have a "gritty water" settling station set up in the basement and the weather outdoors is no longer a factor in getting rock batches finished... Here is a link to the post about my settling system... with pictures ! forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1298984 |
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