rocklobstah
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2008
Posts: 2
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Post by rocklobstah on Feb 14, 2008 21:35:24 GMT -5
Hello! I am brand new here. I've got a vibrator and tumbler (1qt?) and 200 grams 15ct average of facet grade rose almandine garnet (I facet). I'd like to tumble this rough but I understand that 200g is too little? is there something cheap that I can use to fill it up? thanks, rock lobstah
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 15, 2008 1:18:58 GMT -5
Don't tumble this. It is pretty hard and will take a while. And, you did say it was facet grade.
If you want to push ahead, yes, ceramic pellets will help you get the barrel up to weight.
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Feb 15, 2008 5:12:19 GMT -5
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rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on Feb 15, 2008 12:57:40 GMT -5
Dom shows a great argument for tumbling Garnet, but Daniel also makes a good point- Facet Grade might be wasted in this process, while lesser grade or ungraded "mine run" garnet would be my call.
Can't argue with Don's results though- that is one of the nicest big tumbled stones I've ever seen.
And after tumble polishing the garnets, it should be really easy to pick any good faceting candidates from a mine run batch, as they will be as clear as they can get.
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rocklobstah
off to a rocking start
Member since February 2008
Posts: 2
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Post by rocklobstah on Feb 15, 2008 20:00:27 GMT -5
Ahh! Fair points on both sides! My idea was to clearly ID flaws (if any) in the stones, maybe to help them sell better on ebay. My neighbor is away for the winter so I may be able to put the setup in his basement, but am I looking at 2 months? Also, what kind of carat loss would I be looking at per stone, 15ct start weight average? I have a feeling most of what would be worn off would be cut away in the normal faceting process...but could be wrong. Thanks for the fast feedback, great forum! I'm a regular on gemlogyonline.com, another excellent forum site.
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