gemfreak95
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2020
Posts: 127 
|
Post by gemfreak95 on Sept 6, 2024 13:13:29 GMT -5
I've been following Steve Hart's recipe for final polish in a rotary tumbler for a few years now, which is 2 weeks continuous in cerium oxide followed by 2 weeks continuous in tin oxide. It does make for a fine finish, but good Lord, does it take forever! Especially when I go from grinding 8-10lb batches in the Model B to polishing it 3lbs at a time in my Lortone. I got an Ultratech TV-5 off here a while ago (thanks again QuailRiver ), thinking it would speed things up, but I've never really had the time to test it out. Now that I have the time I realize I have no real idea how to use it. I know the rules & recipes for vibratory tumbling are radically different from those for rotary, but that's about it. Any advice and recipes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
|
|
|
Post by pebblesky on Sept 6, 2024 17:01:06 GMT -5
Since you already have a TV-5, it is definitely worth giving it a try. The recipe I use for my TV-5 base and UV-10 mini bowl is two days and two teaspoons of grit for each stage (120/200 SiC, 500 SiC and polish). The norm of the amount of water used is not too much to form a puddle at the bottom the bowl, but also should be enough so that the slurry shouldn't dry up and you shall see the stones run smoothly. For the stage 2 you might want to babysit the tumbler every 4 hours one the first day, adding water gradually and slowly as you see fit. Also use a lot of mixed sized fillers, preferably small stones of similar hardness as your tumbling subjects. This recipe works for me, but I don't have a super high standard, not as high as many of you more experienced tumblers. Here is an old discussion of TV-5 plus UV-10 mini bowl: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/100421/ray-tech-vib-tumbler |
|
mirkee
starting to spend too much on rocks
Started tumbling a couple of months ago but now have four tumblers. Very interested in the hobby.
Member since March 2024
Posts: 125
|
Post by mirkee on Sept 6, 2024 17:42:32 GMT -5
I use the vibe 5 successfully and yes, I think it's worth using. I used too much stage 2 grit at one time and things didn't work out. I suggest you experient by using too little at the start and go from there. Many recipes call for 1/2 tsp polish and I just can/t relate. I use 1/2 tsp and then follow up with another 1/2 tsp (no cleanout) 24 hrs later for a total of two days of polish. I like the results. Since you already have it, give it a go. I'm sure it will speed things up for you.
|
|
adam5
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2023
Posts: 153
|
Post by adam5 on Sept 6, 2024 20:47:11 GMT -5
Another vote here for the TV-5. But it does need to be tended to every few hours if used for stage 2 grinding. I can't do that, so I only use the vibe tumbler for pre-polish and polish. And I second pebblesky that it is well worth pairing a UV minibowl with the TV-5 base. |
|
mirkee
starting to spend too much on rocks
Started tumbling a couple of months ago but now have four tumblers. Very interested in the hobby.
Member since March 2024
Posts: 125
|
Post by mirkee on Sept 6, 2024 21:08:50 GMT -5
I do check it often but then again, I check my rotaries also even to see that they are still running. I get the TV5 over-wet before I go to bed and it works well for me. Water evaporates and gets to the right level while I sleep.
|
|
|
|
Post by pebblesky on Sept 7, 2024 0:21:55 GMT -5
I could only check more often over the weekends so I usually start stage two at Saturdays. Otherwise I will need to overfill the water before I go to bed because the next time I could check would be next day at 6PM. In my experience, if you have no other choice, to begin with a little bit of too much water splashing a bit is better than the slurry drying up and the rocks barely moving during the day.
|
|
gemfreak95
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2020
Posts: 127
|
Post by gemfreak95 on Sept 7, 2024 12:00:35 GMT -5
I use the vibe 5 successfully and yes, I think it's worth using. I used too much stage 2 grit at one time and things didn't work out. I suggest you experient by using too little at the start and go from there. Many recipes call for 1/2 tsp polish and I just can/t relate. I use 1/2 tsp and then follow up with another 1/2 tsp (no cleanout) 24 hrs later for a total of two days of polish. I like the results. Since you already have it, give it a go. I'm sure it will speed things up for you. Thanks for the tips. Is that 1/2 tsp per pound or total? |
|
