ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Feb 9, 2024 18:50:24 GMT -5
I've had some problems with rocks cracking in the pre polish polish phase with my mini sonic lately. Someone suggested using sugar to thicken and slow tge roll. I started using it and am encouraged by what I see so far. I also saw in one of the older vibratory threads here that metamucil will do tge same thing. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with either one of these methods? Which one is superior? With the sugar the downside I see is it takes 4 tbs or more of sugar to thicken which seams like alot.
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zebra61
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2024
Posts: 161
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Post by zebra61 on Feb 9, 2024 20:10:03 GMT -5
I've had some problems with rocks cracking in the pre polish polish phase with my mini sonic lately. Someone suggested using sugar to thicken and slow tge roll. I started using it and am encouraged by what I see so far. I also saw in one of the older vibratory threads here that metamucil will do tge same thing. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with either one of these methods? Which one is superior? With the sugar the downside I see is it takes 4 tbs or more of sugar to thicken which seams like alot. I'm following this thread just to see what the Pro's have to say. Over the past few months I've played with different ways to thicken the slurry in my Lot-O from Borax to Sugar but I haven't tried Metamucil (my experience with Metamucil is usually an attempt to 'loosen' things, not 'bind' them!  ) So far the sugar has produced good results in the Lot-O for me. My first attempt (a full Tbsp) made things way too thick and required lots of moisture to get it to tumble. Lately I've been using a Tsp and adjusting from there. Wet rocks and media (no standing moisture) the Tsp of sugar and a 1/2 Tsp of #61 has produced some nice results. It seems like the batch requires less attention as well. |
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quartz
Cave Dweller 
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Feb 9, 2024 22:21:08 GMT -5
Not wishing to decide on either/or, I've not had good luck with either. For me the sugar turned into a sticky mess and Metamucil just disappeared; turned to water. I tried corn starch, with much better result, and a little goes a long ways. Just my 2cts.
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adam5
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2023
Posts: 153
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Post by adam5 on Feb 9, 2024 22:38:16 GMT -5
I use borax and a drizzle of Dawn in my UV mini bowl.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,626 
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Post by RWA3006 on Feb 9, 2024 23:28:39 GMT -5
Neither. I use bentonite. You can buy it in bulk or just dig it out of the hills like I do. If you're near Georgia you can use clay as jamesp has described. Here's a photo of the places I get mine.  |
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ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 937 
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Post by ashley on Feb 10, 2024 0:21:14 GMT -5
I have always used borax in the 500 and polish stages. Works great for me.
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 10, 2024 2:42:19 GMT -5
I use Borax. Considering the bug population here on the Gulf Coast with the fact that I save and re-use polish, sugar would be a disaster.
We have those big tree roaches, you know the ones you try and step on and they look up at you and say, "don't do that again, or I will have to call the rest of my clan!!!"
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Feb 10, 2024 13:19:04 GMT -5
Not wishing to decide on either/or, I've not had good luck with either. For me the sugar turned into a sticky mess and Metamucil just disappeared; turned to water. I tried corn starch, with much better result, and a little goes a long ways. Just my 2cts. I was surprised by how easy it was to clean out sugar. I pour a half cup of boiling water into my mini sonic 10 to 20 minutes before clean out and it washes right out clean. This is my first time trying this because yeah I was afraid it would be a horrible sticky hard to clean up thing. But lately I've been finding more cracking during pre polish polish phase so I thought it was worth a try |
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Post by chris1956 on Feb 10, 2024 13:43:15 GMT -5
For those who use sugar, do you use granulated or powered?
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ts
starting to shine!
Member since March 2023
Posts: 36
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Post by ts on Feb 10, 2024 15:15:45 GMT -5
For those who use sugar, do you use granulated or powered? Granulated. Also I am using sugar substitute elithritol since we learned it can cause strokes and we quit using it...seems to work the same as sugar |
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zebra61
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2024
Posts: 161
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Post by zebra61 on Feb 10, 2024 15:53:54 GMT -5
For those who use sugar, do you use granulated or powered? Granulated 'American Crystal Sugar' and I haven't experienced the sticky mess. I'm only using a Tsp per load sooo...... I've only got about 40 gallons of honey stored away but I've resisted using any of that... talk about a sticky mess... |
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nantucketdink
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2022
Posts: 21
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Post by nantucketdink on Feb 11, 2024 15:26:36 GMT -5
I buy the 10 pound bag of granulated sugar from the grocery store. I use a lot, but money wise it’s relatively cheap. I tried Metamucil several times (which is very powerful-a little goes a long way). I found it hard to control if too much used. I couldn’t fix a load if I used too much and it is hard to get the exact right amount. Sugar is really easy to adjust and as noted hot water easily cleans it and polish/pre-polish right off. Borax seems much harder to clean off for me. Sugar works for me and I am using what works for me. Not overfilling is another key thing to prevent new damage in the biggest Minisonic. If rocks are hitting above the neck and skating around it is too full. Probably the same on the 4 and 10 too. Just sharing my experience. I still feel like a newbie after 2 plus years with multiple machines running at all times, but my rocks still get better every batch as I make minor adjustments.
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waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
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Post by waterboysh on Feb 12, 2024 10:49:52 GMT -5
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