tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 6, 2008 19:56:26 GMT -5
I was trying to do my Father's day batch of emeralds and sapphires but I understand they are very hard and difficult for a first timer so I have put them on stand by for now... I have some mixed rocks I am going to try to complete now. There appears to be some sodalite, amethyst, smokey quartz, rose quartz, and several rocks I couldn't possibly identify yet (newb). I purchased the Lortone 3 barrel model with 1.5# barrels. I figured I would use the first barrel for the rough grit and the medium grit. Then the next barrel for prepolish and the final barrel for polishing. Does that sound about right? How long should I leave the rough grit run before I check it? I filled the barrel 3/4 full, put 1 Tbl of rough grit, added water just below the top of the rocks, and let her spin... Does that sound right?
Thanks!
Tom
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Post by deb193redux on Aug 6, 2008 23:19:21 GMT -5
You can check after several days, but generally 5 to 7 days for grit to break down. Early check can let you know if slurry is forming. You should see a light batter with grit you can feel suspended in it.
1 TB sounds light, but I am more familiar with ounces - and eyeball method. I think about 2oz of course for a 1.5lb. Is that about what 1 TB weighs?
Fill is 5/8 to 3/4 so you are on the high end. If you do not get slurry, there may not be enough room for rocks to slide. You coult take out biggest one and goa few more days if that happens.
Did you have a good range of rock sizes down to small little bits?
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lsmike
spending too much on rocks
Maxwell's demon lowers tumbling entropy
Member since January 2007
Posts: 468
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Post by lsmike on Aug 7, 2008 6:29:13 GMT -5
My one tip for rotary tumbling:add a little thickener.I used to use sawdust until it got scarce from the lumberyard-now I just put in some torn newspaper.-only in the rough cycle though.This makes the slurry form faster.I've never had gas buildup with cellulose.For your 3 pounder I would guess a half sheet.I have acyually weighed batches before and after and found a greater reduction with paper.Mike.
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fanatic
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2007
Posts: 233
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Post by fanatic on Aug 7, 2008 7:54:21 GMT -5
I agree that 1 tbls sounds light for a 1.5 lb. I have 5 - 3 lb Lortones running. I use 4 tbls of 46/70 in coarse grind and even after 14 days it isn't broken down. 2 tbls sounds like a better level for your 1.5 lb barrels.
Didn't you get a guide with your tumbler that recommends grit amounts? If not I'll look through mine and let you know what it says. For the 3 lb'res its 4 tbls in steps 1 & 2 and 6 in steps 3 & 4. I expect the 1.5's would take half that
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 7, 2008 9:46:56 GMT -5
Here is a handy guide to grit amounts: geology.com/rock-tumbler/rock-tumbler-grit.shtmlI've found this site to be quite helpful. I notice that it suggests using as much grit in a 1.5 lb. tumbler as you would in a 3 lb: 4TB in rough and medium and 5TB in the pre- and polish. Good luck! |
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chassroc
Cave Dweller 
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Aug 8, 2008 8:31:29 GMT -5
If you have enough barrels(say 5 or more), you can use seperate barrels for each course, but that is not necessary if you clean the barrels as you go. Remember that grit tends to break down as you tumble so coarse grit becomes medium grit after a time.
I think 1 tbl is light, I'd use two, figuring you need half of the recommended amount for the 3 pound tumbler.
3/4 full is toward the high end, most recommendations are 5/8 to 2/3 full. Be careful about putting too much water. Most recommend water up to the top layer of rock but I think you should back off a 1/2 inch or so.
Quartz, amethyst, and sodalite have a tendency to get cloudy and scratchy on the surface. If you do not have any, buy some plastic pellets to cushion the stone from the medium stage on. Pellets are reuseable but only in the original stage (medium to medium, fine to fine, polish to polish) .
Since you are new and do not have experience listening to what the tumble is telling you, I would check every two or three days in coarse tumble. ( Check for gas buildup, bubbles, no action, etc.) The other stages should go for a week and you dont need to check before the week is up. You need to recharge the coarse grit after a week or so, you will know because there will be no more coarse grit.
The coarse stage takes longer than the others, so I would start as many barrels with coarse grit at the same time and remove the stones as they are done so in the first week, 3 corse grit, 2nd week, 2/1 coarse and 1/2 medium, 3rd week 0/1 coarse, 1 medium, 1 fine...)
csroc
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 8, 2008 18:51:26 GMT -5
You can check after several days, but generally 5 to 7 days for grit to break down. Early check can let you know if slurry is forming. You should see a light batter with grit you can feel suspended in it. 1 TB sounds light, but I am more familiar with ounces - and eyeball method. I think about 2oz of course for a 1.5lb. Is that about what 1 TB weighs? Fill is 5/8 to 3/4 so you are on the high end. If you do not get slurry, there may not be enough room for rocks to slide. You coult take out biggest one and goa few more days if that happens. Did you have a good range of rock sizes down to small little bits? I didn't want to go overboard on the grit so I looked at a few books and kind of took an average of what they suggested for about 1# of rocks... I plan to check on it tomorrow (3 days) and see how it is doing. It has been REALLY hard not to peak already, lol. I don't have any "little bits" persay but the rocks vary from as big as 1.25" down to about .5". I hope that is adequate enough. I was thinking that if I ran it at 3/4 full to start with that it would lose some size as it goes along and that I would hopefully retain about 1/2 a barrel load in the end. Just guessing on my part. |
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 8, 2008 19:02:23 GMT -5
My one tip for rotary tumbling:add a little thickener.I used to use sawdust until it got scarce from the lumberyard-now I just put in some torn newspaper.-only in the rough cycle though.This makes the slurry form faster.I've never had gas buildup with cellulose.For your 3 pounder I would guess a half sheet.I have acyually weighed batches before and after and found a greater reduction with paper.Mike. Thanks Mike! After 2 days I have yet to notice any bulging at all so I am guessing the gas build-up is not happening. At least not yet... Maybe it is more an issue of what Deb was referring to in that I don't have enough grit or varying size in rocks for them rotate correctly... I will see tomorrow night... I have never heard of adding a thickener. I haven't completed any of the books that I have scimming through so I will have to work on that some more... Cheers, Tom |
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 8, 2008 19:04:28 GMT -5
I agree that 1 tbls sounds light for a 1.5 lb. I have 5 - 3 lb Lortones running. I use 4 tbls of 46/70 in coarse grind and even after 14 days it isn't broken down. 2 tbls sounds like a better level for your 1.5 lb barrels. Didn't you get a guide with your tumbler that recommends grit amounts? If not I'll look through mine and let you know what it says. For the 3 lb'res its 4 tbls in steps 1 & 2 and 6 in steps 3 & 4. I expect the 1.5's would take half that That was my guess as well as far as "half of the 3# barrels". I just went with an average of several references and knowing me I was probably conservative. If it looks weak tomorrow night I will make it 2  Thanks, Tom |
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 8, 2008 19:23:45 GMT -5
If you have enough barrels(say 5 or more), you can use seperate barrels for each course, but that is not necessary if you clean the barrels as you go. Remember that grit tends to break down as you tumble so coarse grit becomes medium grit after a time. I think 1 tbl is light, I'd use two, figuring you need half of the recommended amount for the 3 pound tumbler. 3/4 full is toward the high end, most recommendations are 5/8 to 2/3 full. Be careful about putting too much water. Most recommend water up to the top layer of rock but I think you should back off a 1/2 inch or so. Quartz, amethyst, and sodalite have a tendency to get cloudy and scratchy on the surface. If you do not have any, buy some plastic pellets to cushion the stone from the medium stage on. Pellets are reuseable but only in the original stage (medium to medium, fine to fine, polish to polish) . Since you are new and do not have experience listening to what the tumble is telling you, I would check every two or three days in coarse tumble. ( Check for gas buildup, bubbles, no action, etc.) The other stages should go for a week and you dont need to check before the week is up. You need to recharge the coarse grit after a week or so, you will know because there will be no more coarse grit. The coarse stage takes longer than the others, so I would start as many barrels with coarse grit at the same time and remove the stones as they are done so in the first week, 3 corse grit, 2nd week, 2/1 coarse and 1/2 medium, 3rd week 0/1 coarse, 1 medium, 1 fine...) csroc csroc, I have the 3-barrel 1.5# version for now. I have a tendancy to go overboard on new hobbies so I am trying to be cautious as I go. I was thinking of getting a single 3# barrel to do my course grit in for future tumbles. I also thought about getting a vibratory to speed up the course grit but that may be going too far. I have lots of rocks I want to try already so I just need to let them work their way through the process for now and see what happens. If I had to guess I would say that I put just under 1# in the barrel even though it looks near 3/4 full so I hope I didn't get too greedy with the fill. I will definitely use 2 tbls after this week is up. I will have to order more of the rough grit as I used a lot so far trying to work the sapphire, rubies, and emeralds. One thing that concerns me is how hot my tumbler motor area is getting. I actually took the top cover off today in hopes that it will run cooler. Besides wanting to get a bigger barrel for the rough grit, my "feature creep" has also extended to my camera, lol. I want to get a decent SLR with a macro feature so I can take better pics. |
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Aug 9, 2008 9:55:41 GMT -5
I still dont have a vibe but it sounds like the best way after the rocks are shaped.
The motors run hot but not to worry.
Get a digital with macro and super macro features built in; you cannot go wrong
csroc
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 10, 2008 17:13:54 GMT -5
I opened the 1.5# tumbler this morning and the slurry seemed a little thin and watery so I added another tbls of rough grit, cleaned the rim/lid and put it back in motion. I will check it again Wednesday night. The level of rocks seemed around 2/3 so I think I am ok there... They all seemed to have a little less of an edge on them so I get the impression that they are tumbling ok... I am still going to order some of the ceramic media to add to it for future tumbles. I can't say thanks enough for the input! The motor and the frame is much cooler since I took the lid off. I did notice that I have some rubber dust in that area. My large pulley is kind of flimsy and wobbles a bit so I think it is catching on the drive belt. I think I better order a spare belt... I tried to even the pulley out a little but it is like trying to straighten a bicycle wheel, everything you do effects something else. It is pretty close now so I will leave it alone and hope the belt lasts. I tried going to Lowes and Home Depot today to see if I can find anything that will work and they don't stock spare O-rings anymore... I guess folks were stealing them... I definitely want to get a new camera but I have to wait and pay some bills, plus I want to order the tree book so I can make my mom a tree for Xmas so that is highest on my list of expenses, lol. The camera will have to wait Cheers! Tom |
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tombodc
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by tombodc on Aug 14, 2008 20:23:15 GMT -5
Wednesday night update... Emeralds/Sapphires: They are really starting to come around. They are in my cheapy hobbie tumbler since I don't have enough to fill the Lortone 1.5# barrel with. There is like a dark green "casing" around the emeralds that I was unaware of and pretty much the same with the sapphires. They have gone 7 weeks now in the rough grit. Some of the emeralds are almost cleaned off completely. Mixed rocks: They went 3 days on the single TB and then 4 more days with another TB. They have worn down quite a bit. I put them in a new barrel, added two TB of 120/220 then added some ceramic beads to take up some space and help with the rotation. I plan to run them for another 7 days if I can wait that long, lol. I may have to open them up after 3-4 days and check on them. They really did cut down in size a lot after adding the second TB. One of the rocks has a lot of pitting that wasn't there before. I guess that is called under-cutting??? It is kind of a light green rock that I have no idea what it is. I knew I would hate myself for not taking pics but I was eager to get them back in the tumblers. Now I wish I had taken a little more time to get you all some pics.  |
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