Eric
starting to shine!
if you build it and they dont come, your screwed
Member since January 2005
Posts: 31
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Post by Eric on Jan 4, 2005 23:22:20 GMT -5
hey everyone!! first, i want to thank all of you for all the knowledge that you have disseminated by this msg board... second of all...... HELP!!!! i think i added WAY too much 60/90 grit to my first tumble....what should i do??...should i dump the load and start from scratch?? or should i let it keep rolling? it has been going for a week now and i have seen very little erosion of the stones. that brings me to my other queston... how much erosion can i expect from the 60/90 tumble? i hear that approx. 30% of the stone will be lost in tumbling. is this correct? can i put a square piece of granite in the 60/90 tumble and have it come out with rounded corners?? or do i have to trim it up with my dremel? oh questions questions!!  |
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Jan 5, 2005 0:24:42 GMT -5
Hi Eric, What size barrel are you running and how much grit did you use? I can't think that you would need to dump and start over. You need to consider all the facts before doing anything drastic!  I've read that approximately 30% of the stone is lost during the tumbling process, and of course, the majority is ground away during the coarse phase. YES, you can put a square piece of granite in your tumbler and it will come out with rounded corners and edges. But it would round out alot faster if you dremel it first! |
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jan 5, 2005 5:02:41 GMT -5
Eric, do you have grit on the bottom of the barrel left? If so, you either added too much or you have filled your barrel too full. I have had that happen on a number of occasions. If there is alot of good grit in the barrel there is no reason to dump it. Just let it keep rolling til it's all used up. If you think you might have overfilled the barrel, just take some of the rocks out. I fill my barrels to just a bit over half full. I also started using less grit than called for in the instructions. For a 3# barrel I use 3 tablespoons of grit and also less water than called for and I get a nice thick slurry. Most rocks, unless you are working with really soft rocks, you won't see alot of change in just a week. Agates, quartz, jasper, etc. usually take a few weeks or more in 60/90 - this is where that patience stuff comes in handy! llana |
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jan 5, 2005 8:39:03 GMT -5
eric if it's been tumbling for a week it is time to completely dump, rinse, and recharge with new 60/90 grit anyway. after a week the 60/90 you had in there has broken down to a finer grit and is no longer as course as you need it to be for shaping and grinding in this step. so recharge and keep going at stage 1.
kim
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jan 5, 2005 9:12:24 GMT -5
Kim, you must not be a much of a tightwad as I am! I always try to salvage any grit that's left in the bottom of the barrel. I figure as long as it's sparkley. it's good. LOL! I have a bucket with the bottom covered in 220 that's still sparkley that I'm just waiting for a load to use it on. I usually don't have a problem with the 220 and can't remember how I ended up with this stuff, but I'm gonna use it. llana |
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jan 5, 2005 9:47:54 GMT -5
hard enough to get those little pellets out - no way i'm trying to get any little specks of grit out lol - but i don't remember seeing anything that reminded me of grit by the end of a week anyway.
kim
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Eric
starting to shine!
if you build it and they dont come, your screwed
Member since January 2005
Posts: 31
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Post by Eric on Jan 5, 2005 21:03:36 GMT -5
to be totally honest...i am a tight wad as well how much grit did i put in?...well i have a three pound tumbler and i put one full pound of grit in....so i think i put 4 times as much as i need....there is plenty of good grit in there!! i just dont want to waste my time and electricity on something that is just chock full of grit. the barrel is still about 5/8 full of good rock, alot of fossils... i think i will just wait and see. |
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jan 5, 2005 21:57:46 GMT -5
WHOA! I think you did in just a tad too much grit! I think that what I would do is try to pour off as much water as you can, then dump the grit and rocks into a bucket. You won't be able to get all the grit out of the barrel, but don't worry about it, just kinda estimate how much is still in the barrel. Then put your rocks back in the barrel and add a couple tablespoons of grit and some water. You can either use the grit in the bucket or use new grit. Leave whatever grit is in the bucket in there and put it someplace where it can dry out. Whatever water is still in it will evaporate and the grit will dry out completely after a few days. If it doesn't dry out before you need to recharge, you can just scoop out what you need to recharge.
It's kind of a hassel to do this, but you will be able to salvage the grit and, as I said before, if it's still sparkley, then it's still good grit! I have had to do this a number of times because I have overloaded the barrel.
For a 3 lb. tumbler, 3 tablespoons of grit is all you really need even though the Lortone instructions says 4 tablespoons, I think. I uss 4 tablespoons of pre-polish although the Lortone instructions call for 6. I ran a comparison a while back - 1 3# barrel with 4 tablespoons of pre-polish and 1 3# barrel with 6 tablespoons. At the end of the cycle, I couldn't see a bit of difference in the two. It's been so long since I polished in the rotary tumbler, I can't remember how much I used for that cycle.
llana
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Eric
starting to shine!
if you build it and they dont come, your screwed
Member since January 2005
Posts: 31
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Post by Eric on Jan 8, 2005 11:03:42 GMT -5
a quick little update....
i took the rocks out of the tumbler, poured off the water....and then rinsed the grit off...kinda like paning for gold. there is alot of grit left that is still sparkly so i will keep it to reuse. i have'nt noticed a difference in the rocks though. it isnt as much as i was expecting...but after my recharge later today and with the correct amount grit i hope to see correct results.
thnx for the help on this one!!...
another question....
does anyone know of a good instruction book or something like that??...
anyway...thnx again!!...now i'm off to shovel the snow!!!
eric
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Post by sandsman1 on Jan 10, 2005 4:11:10 GMT -5
hi eric and welcome --if you check on the home page andy has put down some quick instructions that may answer alot of your questions--when you get here -- www.rocktumblinghobby.com/scroll down and you will see-------------- A complete 4 Phase Cycle or Project. |
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69beeper
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 377
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Post by 69beeper on Jan 10, 2005 14:29:54 GMT -5
Hi Eric,
Welcome to the board!
Jimmy
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Jan 15, 2005 20:45:44 GMT -5
Hello from Southwestern Kansas,
I am really behind on greeting the new people to the board.
Welcome,
John
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duke
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 77
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Post by duke on Jan 18, 2005 16:11:31 GMT -5
Hi Eric
Looks like you already have your question answered, so I'll just say "Welcome". As you probably already noticed, lots of friendly people here and they can answer just about all of your questions.
duke
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