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Post by southernlakehuronguy on Jan 20, 2024 16:31:49 GMT -5
I have hit or miss results when I tumble Granite with other rocks. My understanding is that it is the Mica that is being undercut, being a Mohs hardness of 2.5-4. Both Silicone Carbide and Aluminum Oxide are @ 9. So what makes the A.O. a better choice? I would think they both would undercut. I use S.C. up to 800, then A.O. for polish stages, sometimes a step further and run them (stones in general) in Tin Oxide if I have something special I like.
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dbotte
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2022
Posts: 18
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Post by dbotte on Jan 25, 2024 0:47:35 GMT -5
I'll have to take some pictures of my previous tumbles in a little bit but I don't really know how to post pics here. I don't really think I need three more Stages. I have tried using Rockshed's AO before the Raybrite and I've had terrible results. You also shouldn't mix two different Polishes as far as going from like Tin or Cerium to AO. Why would you suggest using 120/220 Sic and then the 120 AO? It's better to use the same type of material as much as possible across Stages. At someone on Reddits behest, I started using the 120 AO after the 80 Sic and it has increased luster in the end. I have a batch of Pet Wood and Mozarkite in the final Polish Stage right now and will post pics of those as well. Hi! I suggested using 120 Alumina after the 120/220 Silicon carbide because of the chemical makeup. Silicon carbide was made as an abrasive. It's chemical structure breaks down into sharp pieces. However, Aluminum oxide's chemical structure breaks down into round pieces. This makes it better for polishing. I'm sorry I criticized your method. I have never tried it before and you have never tried my method. I would love to see some of your rocks! Sorry I meant to make it a one or the other choice with the polishes. I don't know much about the process at a microscopic scale (Probally cuz I'm not even in high school). So I can not really make any assumptions. The reason I run them for so long is so the particles can break down more and more. From a wood working perspective you are not supposed to have a grit size gap greater than 1.5 - 2 times. You would have to run many different batches to find out the best method for polishing. In my personal experience, the first stages of tumbling are very important. My method is a modified version of what Jugglerguy uses. Looking forward to see the pictures! - Ryder Smith Here's my most recent batch following my recipe. imgur.com/a/dCxrdJA |
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rydersrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Likes rocks of all kinds
Member since January 2024
Posts: 109
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Post by rydersrocks on Jan 25, 2024 1:44:42 GMT -5
Hi! I suggested using 120 Alumina after the 120/220 Silicon carbide because of the chemical makeup. Silicon carbide was made as an abrasive. It's chemical structure breaks down into sharp pieces. However, Aluminum oxide's chemical structure breaks down into round pieces. This makes it better for polishing. I'm sorry I criticized your method. I have never tried it before and you have never tried my method. I would love to see some of your rocks! Sorry I meant to make it a one or the other choice with the polishes. I don't know much about the process at a microscopic scale (Probally cuz I'm not even in high school). So I can not really make any assumptions. The reason I run them for so long is so the particles can break down more and more. From a wood working perspective you are not supposed to have a grit size gap greater than 1.5 - 2 times. You would have to run many different batches to find out the best method for polishing. In my personal experience, the first stages of tumbling are very important. My method is a modified version of what Jugglerguy uses. Looking forward to see the pictures! - Ryder Smith Here's my most recent batch following my recipe. imgur.com/a/dCxrdJANot bad! Wow that looks really good! Ill show you my batch following my steps here in a couple of weeks. Those look really nice. You got a really good polish on there. I see you like the more natural look of stones(pits, and fractures). You did a good job!  |
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rydersrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Likes rocks of all kinds
Member since January 2024
Posts: 109
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Post by rydersrocks on Jan 25, 2024 1:47:44 GMT -5
I have hit or miss results when I tumble Granite with other rocks. My understanding is that it is the Mica that is being undercut, being a Mohs hardness of 2.5-4. Both Silicone Carbide and Aluminum Oxide are @ 9. So what makes the A.O. a better choice? I would think they both would undercut. I use S.C. up to 800, then A.O. for polish stages, sometimes a step further and run them (stones in general) in Tin Oxide if I have something special I like. What makes AO a better choice is how it breaks down. It breaks down into smooth particles, while SC still keeps abraiding. I would suggest talk to someone in the Abrasives department or something like that at a college or consult an expert. I'm not entirely sure of which is actually better but to what I understand, AO is better for polishing. |
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rydersrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Likes rocks of all kinds
Member since January 2024
Posts: 109
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Post by rydersrocks on Jan 25, 2024 1:56:31 GMT -5
Both would make it undercut. Anything below a 3 on the more scale can be almost impossible to polish, especially stuff that has different minerals making up the composition of one rock.
I was wondering what would happen if you rolled steps like this: 500 SC, then 500 AO. 1000 SC then 1000 AO. I wonder what results that would yield. I know that your supposed to spend the least amount of money possible for the best shine possible but I'm willing to do that since I got the supplies.
I'm always willing to go the extra mile to make the stone have a high polish. What is the moms hardness of Tin oxide? Here is a hint on how to get the best polish possible. Use a polishing compound with the same or very close to being the same MoHs hardness.
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dbotte
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2022
Posts: 18
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Post by dbotte on Jan 25, 2024 12:17:47 GMT -5
Not bad! Wow that looks really good! Ill show you my batch following my steps here in a couple of weeks. Those look really nice. You got a really good polish on there. I see you like the more natural look of stones(pits, and fractures). You did a good job! Thanks! And yes, I like the natural look of some kinds of rocks. If it's Pet Wood in this case, I'll try to pits and cracks because it's atheistically appealing. One issue with it though is that sometimes the wood grain is made up of different material as you can see in some of the pieces and they don't polish well. Any other rock that has fractures or pits I try to keep in Stage One longer in hopes to get those out. Even if they don't disappear completely and there's really no way of Tumbling them away, I'll move them into the next Stages anyways. It just takes a bit more time cleaning out them out but that's what soap and a toothbrush are for 😁 A lot of the Agates I find have significant fractures or pits and there's just no virtual way to Tumble them away. If I want to take an extra step, I'll try grinding them down with my Flap Lap and then Tumble them. |
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