onewomanarmy
has rocks in the head
Carpe Silicis!
Member since January 2007
Posts: 645
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Post by onewomanarmy on Jan 29, 2007 13:16:33 GMT -5
Is it possible to come out with decent shapes using a rotary tumbler vs a vibratory tumbler? I'm not sure that I'll ever try "cabs" per se, but I'd like to do some shaping. I've read some posts that comment on rotary tumblers being rougher (? I think that's what I've read anyway) - would that keep any pre-shaped pieces from maintaining their shapes well?
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Post by Tweetiepy on Jan 29, 2007 14:19:25 GMT -5
Randy rough cuts them on the workforce saw & puts them in the vibe - they turn out great - thing with a vibe is it pretty much keeps the shape that you have, but rounds it out a bit - the tumbler, really rounds off the corners.
I've seen crosses, dolphins, swords and fish out of stone that were tumbled or vibed and they all turned out great
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Post by deb193 on Jan 29, 2007 14:26:34 GMT -5
Rotary does round more, but you don't have to leave it in till the shape is ruined. If youhave pre-shaped only onthe say and need the edges smoothed, then maybe you should use a vibe, but if your pre-shaping included some time on a course grinding wheel (say 100 or 120) then you could just do the rotary for a little while in the course grit and likely no problem.
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jan 30, 2007 11:18:55 GMT -5
I Polish in my rotary all the time- I'll work a stone on the 100 grit and 220 grit belts- If I don't like the way it is going- I'll toss it into 500 and let the tumbler take care of it- If you want I'll try to take some pixs of Rotary FInished Cabs- tonight?
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onewomanarmy
has rocks in the head
Carpe Silicis!
Member since January 2007
Posts: 645
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Post by onewomanarmy on Jan 30, 2007 13:45:31 GMT -5
That would be great Stefan - if you get a chance - don't go to a lot of trouble though. I was afraid that using a rotary tumbler might either unevenly wear the actual shape or not finish nicely. Especially since I don't have a grinder - I'd be doing shaping on saw and then tumbling for all steps after. I just made my first cuts last night (whhooo-hooo!) though and can see that it will be awhile before I'm doing much shaping with with my tile saw - I'm breaking as much as I'm cutting.  |
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yogi
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2006
Posts: 175
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Post by yogi on Jan 30, 2007 14:44:43 GMT -5
If your not grinding in any way, you can get very good results in a rotary. The thing is, it will be hard to maintain a shape like a cross; the outer edges of your shape will round off. So shapes that are freeform will fare better as opposed to a square. the best thing to do is try some and see how you like them.
Bill
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Post by rockds on Jan 30, 2007 14:48:37 GMT -5
Yup me too, any cab I don't like or isn't turning out the way I want goes into the 120/220 or 500 stage depending on the roughness level. But before I got my grinder I use to do 'cabs' in the rotary all the time. You can't get the nice bezzels and your shapes will disfrom some but overall you will be pleased with some of your attempts or at least I was.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jan 30, 2007 15:18:49 GMT -5
I'll Snap a few this weekend and start a new post- Oh and crosses work a lot better than you would think- I do have to clean up the corners with a dremel- but I'm amazed that they survive at all
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blarneystone
spending too much on rocks
Rocks in my head
Member since March 2010
Posts: 307
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Post by blarneystone on Jan 30, 2007 17:05:22 GMT -5
I do all manner of shapes in tumblers with pretty good results. I usually start 'em in 60/90 and let roll for 2 weeks w/no recharge unless its a softer stone like Aventurine, then it's 120/200 for 2 weeks... no recharge. If the stone is very hard like opalized pet wood then I may go as long as 3 weeks in 60/90 recharging every week. You can achieve near cab-like quality but as Robert says, you can't get a nice bevel for mounting in a bezel.
If you click on my signature banner you can see some of the stuff I've done....
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