error
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2008
Posts: 16
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Post by error on Nov 12, 2008 11:43:18 GMT -5
what can you and can't you put within a rock tumbler?
Sea glass? Metal such as coins? Old marbles - the kind actually made from marble? not-rock items such as ivory? Resin or plastic? Wood?
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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 Nov 12, 2008 12:18:04 GMT -5
Yes , Yes, yes...Real wood is probably not good to put in water. csroc
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vigodits
starting to shine!
Member since September 2008
Posts: 28
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Post by vigodits on Nov 14, 2008 18:07:56 GMT -5
Your pet hamster or anything else alive. I don't think vegetables would work either. ;D
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Roan
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2008
Posts: 600
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Post by Roan on Nov 14, 2008 18:50:44 GMT -5
Your pet hamster or anything else alive. I don't think vegetables would work either. ;D Meat, I think, won't work well. Unless you are making pate, of course
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Post by Bikerrandy on Nov 14, 2008 19:57:03 GMT -5
You can use the tumble to tenderize the meat, just don't use rocks with copper, lead, or mercury. A high quality chalcedony would do the trick.
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rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on Nov 14, 2008 20:02:45 GMT -5
what can you and can't you put within a rock tumbler? Technically you can put anything that fits inside of a rock tumbler in one, whether or not you like what comes out is a whole 'nother matter though "sea glass" is usually a good candidate. In nature, glass gets ground down by waves and sand which is usually pretty course compared to many of the grit ranges available, so if you want a softer or even glossy finish, running through a few stages in a tumbler is a pretty straightforward proposition. Alternately, pretty much any "junk" glass can get converted into "sea glass" with a week or two running in the course stage. Coins and brass bullet shells are commonly "tumbled" for purposes of cleaning, but this is a very different process than rock tumbling. In place of abrasive grit, typically metal items get tumbled with steel balls or pins, maybe a little soap, so that not much material gets removed but the surfaces get shined up. You do not want to put antique or collector coins in a tumbler as even light tumbling will remove some material and detract from the value of collectibles. Old marbles - the kind actually made from marble? Marble tends on the soft side of stone, also marble is not always of uniform hardness, so while there might be some benefit found by re-surfacing through tumbling, I would worry that the risk of undercutting or irregular shaping might dissuade some folks from this method. not-rock items such as ivory? Ivory is much softer than nearly all stones, so I wouldn't think ivory would be a good candidate for tumbling. Some harder resins and plastics could be candidates, but again typically their softness makes them less than ideal materials for tumbling. Again it comes down to- what are you looking for as a result? if you want a weathered driftwood appearence this could be a way to do it, but I think there are other techniques that might give you more control of what comes out.
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