dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 7, 2008 18:35:19 GMT -5
My before pics! (please see my thread Got answers for me? Help!.) I'm trying to understand if I can do all of these rocks together, since I don't know what some of them are. Below are all of the rocks. 1 through 22, Left to right, top to bottom. The top two rows (1 through 10 ) are rocks I found around here, in yards and driveways, in Texas. The largest (1st) weighs 3.63oz. The smallest on the second row weighs .32oz. I don't know what numbers 1-9 are. #10 is, I believe, petrified wood (1.09oz). In the third row, the first three are quartz (at least the first two are). The last in the third row I think is chert. I found these four in Colorado. The bottom row: the first seven pieces (rose quartz, red agate, red aventurine, green aventurine, goldstone, unakite, and tiger eye) are from a kit for tumbling. The last piece is a small piece of gold ore I had. Total combined weight: 1 lb 7.7 oz. This is the piece of quartz (#11 above) I don't want to screw up. I think it would rock if it was polished! ;D  |
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rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on Mar 7, 2008 19:58:12 GMT -5
I'd set the gold ore aside, grinding that away at all will surely diminish its value as a specimen and could lose any value it has as gold too.
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Post by deb193redux on Mar 7, 2008 21:11:59 GMT -5
I would to expect the rocks in the top to polish. Possibly some on the 2nd row would polish - just judging by the slightly waxy look some have. Hard to tell. Rocks harder than 6 or 7 polish better, and more homogeneous composition (without visbile grain) works better too. You should look at pictures of polished quartz. Some fractures go all the way through your rock and at best you will get a smoth shape with a shine that has a visible internal flaw. At worst, this will break in two in the tumbler. Some do not like polished rocks with visible cracks. If you don't mind then no problem. To get this rounded and smooth (http://www.healingcrystals.com/images/rose_quartz_tumbled.jpg) you will have to go for a while and lose a good bit of the rock. If you accept a more irregular shape and don't mind internal cracks, you might get something like this: www.innerlightworkers.co.uk/images/salesitems07/07043aa.JPGWould not do the gold. |
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Post by cpdad on Mar 7, 2008 22:43:56 GMT -5
dude....heres what i say... ;D
get you a bunch of row 1....small bits...{under dime size}....medium bits....{nickel size}....10 or 12 { quarter size}...and 2 or 3 peices....bigger than a quarter.
fill your tumbler with a mix of above mentioned....all the same rock as row 1.....using the CE barrel....leave 1 3/4 inch from top...add 2 tablespoons of coarse grit.....they are almost shaped already ;D.
i myself would not put the quartz in this load....or the others.
if you do....then you are into a diff deal......running coarse....then culling the load....running coarse then culling the load...and so on.
others will be along to explain if i dont make sense ;D.
keep your quartz....untill you have a nuff....to run a load of the same simaliar material{shape wise}.....that rose will probably require 14 days minimum in coarse grit...to shape...as needed.....sometimes longer.
since row 1 is pretty much shaped already....i suggest you just roll with a load like row 1,,,,as i suggested above.....kev.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 0:29:30 GMT -5
Deb, the internal flaw are what I think will make it look cool and unique. And I don't mind an irregular shape. Thanks! (but I couldn't see the second link.  ) |
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 0:31:26 GMT -5
Thanks Kev! I think I get it, but I'll be doing more research. I'll probably leave the quartz out.
But I think I have to make the load a certain weight or something for the CE tumbler. At least that's what I read.
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Post by cpdad on Mar 8, 2008 16:58:34 GMT -5
dewman....disregard weight...its not an issue at all ;D
just fill it 2/3 full....with diff sized rocks....about 1 3/4 inches from the very top of the barrel...add your grit....add your water just above the tops of the rocks{slightly} ...and let her roll.
i meant to say this last night but forgot......you can run everything together in first stage....quartz and all.....but you will have to remove everything not shaped well enough after the coarse stage run.....and use the filler material to make up for the difference in lost mass for finer stages to bring your barrel back to 2/3 full.
you will just end up with a smaller load of finished rock in the end....if you used all of the somewhat shaped rock....you will lose less mass....and end up with a larger load of finished stones....totally up to you.....hope this makes sense ;D...kev.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 17:31:35 GMT -5
Thanks Kev. I'll put all of the rocks on one barrel (I have a dual barrel unit) and use the coarse grits for a few days. I'll remove the partially shaped stones when they look good, replace the missing mass with airsoft bbs or stuffed animals innards (I think the wife has some I can...put to rest) to replace the missing mass until the quarts is nicely shaped. Then I'll put them all back together, fill the missing mass with the new bbs, and continue with the finer grits. Sound like a plan??? |
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 17:45:18 GMT -5
Is there a certain percentage of small rocks to large rocks?? Or can I throw a bunch of small rocks in to a barrel as long as it's 2/3 of the way full? (And how much grit in that...like about 2 tbsp?)
I might fill the second barrel up with stones I saw at the store last night. Small bits of the same thing on my bottom row up there. Thought it would me neat to do two barrels at the same time, but I'm not sure yet.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 9, 2008 12:36:30 GMT -5
Hope someone sees my previous message! ;D
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oriongal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2007
Posts: 96
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Post by oriongal on Mar 9, 2008 15:05:46 GMT -5
By all means, fill up the second barrel as well. From those you'll probably be able to combine the results when you get to medium or fine, and then can start out something else in coarse in the second barrel (just be sure to wash them *very well* when going to a finer grit).
On a CE/HF tumbler, especially a dual, I found that charged weight does matter a little more when you're running with the original motor/pulley. You want to keep the charged weight (rocks, water, filler and grit) somewhere close to 3lb each, because those motors are just not strong enough to push an 8lb total load (two barrels that are weighing in at 4lbs each when charged) for a long time. On a Lortone or Thumlers, the weight doesn't matter nearly so much, they'll take a lot more abuse and just keep right on going.
Another thing that seems to have been an issue with CE/HF tumblers lately is being careful when you oil them, that you don't let excess oil get where it can go under the clear plastic sleeving on the roller rods. Another member here had that happen, it caused the rod to spin inside the plastic roller sleeve which meant that the barrels sitting on top would not turn.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 9, 2008 22:33:05 GMT -5
Is it OK for the barrels to be under-weight? Say 1 - 2 lbs instead of the 3lbs?
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