Post by ejs on Aug 5, 2008 22:30:36 GMT -5
Greetings! I'm here with another newbie question! 
I'm sure it's been discussed before, but I thought I'd ask for the latest opinions...
I'm using a Lortone 3 lb. tumbler. I am trying to be very adamant about quality control, only letting through the best rocks to the next round (if it has any cracks or pits, I run it through again or set it aside for splitting) and being very picky about cleanliness. I've noticed that some people here recommend rinsing with Borax between rounds. I assume you mean "40 Mule Team Borax" all purpose laundry and cleaning powder, which comes in a green box in my supermarket. Is that right? After thoroughly rinsing my rocks and barrel and top, I put in a healthy shake of Borax, and then add water to just about cover, then run the tumbler for a few hours. Then rinse again. Is that the correct process?
I've also taken to using a toothbrush to scrub the edges of the barrel and the top, since those seem like obvious places that grit might stick.
Any other tips to recommend for between tumbles? Do you do the rinsing process after every batch, or only when moving on to the next step (i.e. are you as thorough if you did one batch with rough grit that is to be followed by another batch with rough grit)?
Thanks again to everyone! I've been blown away by the wealth of helpful and friendly advice I've received here. And in case you are wondering if it's working, I'm about to upgrade my 3 lb. Lortone with a second dual 3 lb. model. My plan is to have barrels dedicated to each stage to avoid cross-contaminating grit.
ejs
I'm sure it's been discussed before, but I thought I'd ask for the latest opinions...I'm using a Lortone 3 lb. tumbler. I am trying to be very adamant about quality control, only letting through the best rocks to the next round (if it has any cracks or pits, I run it through again or set it aside for splitting) and being very picky about cleanliness. I've noticed that some people here recommend rinsing with Borax between rounds. I assume you mean "40 Mule Team Borax" all purpose laundry and cleaning powder, which comes in a green box in my supermarket. Is that right? After thoroughly rinsing my rocks and barrel and top, I put in a healthy shake of Borax, and then add water to just about cover, then run the tumbler for a few hours. Then rinse again. Is that the correct process?
I've also taken to using a toothbrush to scrub the edges of the barrel and the top, since those seem like obvious places that grit might stick.
Any other tips to recommend for between tumbles? Do you do the rinsing process after every batch, or only when moving on to the next step (i.e. are you as thorough if you did one batch with rough grit that is to be followed by another batch with rough grit)?
Thanks again to everyone! I've been blown away by the wealth of helpful and friendly advice I've received here. And in case you are wondering if it's working, I'm about to upgrade my 3 lb. Lortone with a second dual 3 lb. model. My plan is to have barrels dedicated to each stage to avoid cross-contaminating grit.
ejs
